The writing is on the wall - within the next year Voice over IP (VoIP) services will be a mainstream business reality in South Africa despite objections from Telkom.
Under existing legislation, VoIP, which uses efficient and cheaper Internet protocols to route voice traffic over company networks, is a grey area. But the convergence of network and telecommunications services is an unstoppable tide and South African firms stand to reap significant benefits if allowed to use it freely.
Says Mike van den Bergh, managing director of Gateway Communications (previously FirstNet): "Private companies have been allowed to carry voice traffic, with restrictions, over their networks since 1996. But under the Telecommunications Act, this facility has been denied to Internet Service Providers, Value Added Network Providers and their customers."
Effectively, this has pushed up the cost of doing business in South Africa while at the same time reducing efficiencies - something that needs to be avoided if the country is to remain competitive in the global marketplace.
"In many developed economies, VoIP is a reality that telecommunications companies have had to face for several years. In many cases telcos have embraced the technology for all the efficiencies it delivers.
"Typically, it`s possible to route three to four calls in the same space on an IP network that it is on a circuit switch used for traditional voice calls. With compression, the ratio can go as high as 10:1," says van den Bergh.
So why aren`t all companies routing their voice calls over their own IP networks?
"Many organisations have older networking infrastructure that does not support VoIP and it`s too expensive to replace it. But now there are the tools that can help older systems make the leap to IP telephony, thereby preserving existing investment.
"IP technology as a concept is a no-brainer but companies do need to exercise caution. They need to partner with firms that can deploy VoIP systems and provide services like network management, billing and related skills," he says.
Pressure is being applied by the telecommunications industry on government and regulatory authorities to relax the restrictions that go against the flow of converged technology like VoIP that will make South African businesses more efficient by making communications cheaper and more efficient.
"There`s no stopping progress and getting in its way hampers the efficient operations of South African firms which need to be competitive in a global marketplace," says van den Bergh.
FirstNet is South Africa`s oldest and most established provider of value added network and professional services. FirstNet and its parent company, Gateway IP, operate South African and pan-African VPN services for multinationals and other businesses.
FirstNet also provides, E-commerce and professional services to a variety of industry sectors in Southern Africa. Gateway IP is the leading provider of wholesale Voice over IP services to the African continent.
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