The impact deregulation will have on the contact centre industry will come under the spotlight at a voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) conference to be hosted by CallingtheCape in January.
CallingtheCape executive director Luke Mills says for the first time international and local contact centre operators will be able to debate the legal and technical aspects of the choices they now have, following the telecommunications market liberalisation announcement.
The liberalisation, which comes into effect in February 2005, licenses value-added network service providers (VANS) to carry voice traffic over the Internet. Until now they have been restricted to carrying data only.
"For the first time, all the carriers - including the telecommunications companies and the VANS - will be there," Mills says.
Call centres have become a major industry in the Western Cape, employing 11 000 people in more than 100 operations. According to CallingtheCape, the industry`s growth rate is expected to be around 25% a year.
The conference will provide a forum for experts in the industry to share information about the opportunities that will become available after deregulation, the reduction in costs the introduction of VOIP should bring and what it will mean for infrastructure investment in contact centres.
The VANS panel discussion will include international vendors planning to offer VOIP, namely Gateway Communications, Telkom, Internet Solutions, British Telecom, T-Systems and UUNet.
These participants, which are also sponsoring the event, will discuss issues such as the provision of offshore connectivity and what communications technologies will be available to the industry.
Karel Botha, Spescom`s Western Cape regional manager, says the expected deregulation will result in greater competition due to a wider choice of service providers, which should drive down prices.
"In terms of technology, there will be much greater choice. Today, international connectivity from SA is limited to TDM [Time Division Multiplex] interface, which has restrictions on what you can do. With deregulation, the choice opens up to include voice over IP which can be run on Internet protocols," Botha says.
"As from February, the playing field will be more even and the benefits to both the industry and the country should be significant," says Angus MacRobert, CEO of Internet Solutions (IS).
"We believe that call centre operators will now be able to attract global players to establish their customer centres in SA and thus create substantial job opportunities and a world-class service. IS intends to play a major role in the provision of these services."
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