Submarine cable operator Seacom has entered the voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) market following its partnership with telecommunications and networking solutions provider, Saicom Voice Services.
The partnership will see Seacom provide enterprises and SMEs with VOIP and cloud private branch exchange (PBX) services over a white-label platform. This is in addition to its existing Internet access and cloud services that the undersea cable operator already provides.
Seacom owns and operates a high-capacity international network consisting of multiple submarine cable systems connecting Africa to Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Seacom's submarine and terrestrial networks stretch across 17 000km.
The company's move into the VOIP market is besides adoption of such services being slow in the South African market. In a recent report, global digital specialist adviser Analysys Mason said local users are more resistant to substituting mobile voice calls with Internet calls. The firm says the two main reasons cited were concerns related to call quality and cost.
Other players in the local VOIP space include Telkom, Neotel, iConnect, Internet Solutions and Vox Telecom.
"We were looking for a voice partner that uses reliable and high-quality infrastructure, and Saicom Voice Services' Broadsoft carrier-grade platform gave us the quality assurance that we needed," says Grant Parker, head of Seacom Business.
"Having a full-fledged IP telephony solution completes our service offerings to customers in terms of data and voice," he adds.
"We are looking to build long-term relationships with trusted partners and the strength of our partnerships have been key to the success of our business right from the beginning," says Greg de Chasteauneuf, chief technology officer at Saicom. "Our strategy is to build our channel platform in order for resellers to partner with us and in turn extend their service offering to their customers with voice solutions."
Riaan Pietersen, general manager at unified communications (UC) solutions provider Wanatel, says while the adoption of VOIP solutions may have had a difficult start due to its unfortunate reliance on past subpar Internet connections, the current array of quality connectivity options at the VOIP reseller's disposal makes VOIP easier to offer, sell and manage.
He points out the misconception that VOIP does not work and ideas that VOIP is only cheap because it's an inferior service are slowly and rightfully beginning to fade away, much like business's reliance on copper to make phone calls.
Global market
Market analyst firm IHS says the global VOIP service market totalled $73 billion in 2015, a 5% increase over the prior year, fuelled by businesses' move to cloud-based services and session initiation protocol (SIP), as well as service providers' de-emphasis of legacy voice connectivity.
Diane Myers, senior research director at IHS Technology, says VOIP services, both residential and business, have become acceptable alternatives to landlines in most developed countries. Although residential VOIP service remains a significant portion of VOIP services revenue, business services and a dynamic supplier landscape are driving growth.
She notes the competitive landscape has become highly fragmented for VOIP business services, with an increasing number of PBX and UC vendors, enterprise agents and resellers expanding into the market along with traditional service providers.
"Additionally, hosted PBX and UC services are being pitched alongside SIP trunking as more multi-site businesses seek out hybrid solutions. Continued strong worldwide growth is expected for the VOIP service market over the next five years, when it is forecast to reach $83 billion in 2020," says Myers.
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