South African companies are going to flock to voice communications making use of Internet standards and this is going to significantly boost revenues made by vendors in the mobile and telecommunications sectors, said Christopher Riley, CEO of mobile accessories and notebook retailer, The Notebook Company.
According to recent research conducted by World Wide Worx, more than 50% of the local companies polled recently said they would use VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) for the first time during 2005.
"We are going to see a lot of investment. Companies are going to be keen to join the real digital world and realise the benefits of costs savings brought about by VOIP," said Riley.
He said the deregulation of the telecommunications industry - effective from 1 February this year - is only one step in an ongoing process where "communications will be transformed as we know it now into a global communications system".
"It will transcend from basic telephony to a multimedia broadband network accepting voice, data, video, photos, instant messaging, TV, radio and a fluid interconnection of wireless, mobile and satellite communications - all based on Internet protocols. This is not a pipe dream," said Riley, "the way we communicate in the business world will change dramatically over the next 10 years."
One area he pointed to is mobile networks. "We are seeing an increasing propensity for people to want to be able to communicate remotely. That`s why laptop sales are so bullish and why they will continue to put pressure on PC sales in the years to come. New services like 3G, although in their infancy, will provide a platform for solid but cheaper communication over mobile networks. This is where a lot of money is going to be spent, both by businesses and by consumers at large."
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