Succeed like Skype
»Skype celebrated its ninth birthday on August 29, 2012. The service, which lets users make free calls over the internet, has become phenomenally popular. It is now used by 250+ million users, about a quarter of the user base of Facebook.
But unlike Facebook users, the number of people using Skype is growing at a rate of 40% year on year. Thirty-three per cent of all long distance minutes or 145 billion of 438 billion minutes is routed through Skype. Skype, now owned by Microsoft, will come integrated with future versions of Office, which will give it nearly a universal reach.
There are problems with Skype. It does not work as well on mobiles and has frequent outages. The company officials say they are working to make it work seamlessly across devices, PC or tablet or phone. In sum, Skype's contribution has been huge. It packaged a complex technology in a simple, likeable blue interface and spread the idea of free calls made through voice over internet protocol (VoIP)
The success of VoIP in the West contrasts with its chequered history in India. Despite the technology being around since 1995, it is yet to take off in the country, thanks to policy hurdles. Telecom service provides resisted it rightly fearing that it would eat into their voice revenue. So, in India you can only make computer to computer calls or call a phone outside the country from your computer.
The consumer-friendly National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012 identifies VoIP as a thrust area and finally frees it. With a smartphone, you will be able to call another phone through VoIP for free, if it is implemented. Experts are divided over the impact, the policy will have on the telecom industry. Some feel with India already having the cheapest calls in the world, the chances of unbridled VoIP further driving down tariff is low. An analyst said the policy is too little and too late. But a few are more optimistic.
The country has about 900 million mobile subscribers and just 100 million-plus Internet users, who are concentrated in urban areas. The penetration of internet in rural areas is abysmally small. Free calls would tempt rural users to buy better phones and start using internet, they say.
But before they can be proved right or wrong, VoIP will have to clear the security hurdle. Security agencies remain opposed to VoIP as terrorists have been found using it to evade detection. The Home Ministry wants service providers to provide real-time interception capability and pinpoint the callers' location. But despite a series of meetings on the subject, there has been reportedly no progress. Until, security agencies are satisfied, VoIP is likely to stay where it is now.
»Skype celebrated its ninth birthday on August 29, 2012. The service, which lets users make free calls over the internet, has become phenomenally popular. It is now used by 250+ million users, about a quarter of the user base of Facebook.
But unlike Facebook users, the number of people using Skype is growing at a rate of 40% year on year. Thirty-three per cent of all long distance minutes or 145 billion of 438 billion minutes is routed through Skype. Skype, now owned by Microsoft, will come integrated with future versions of Office, which will give it nearly a universal reach.
There are problems with Skype. It does not work as well on mobiles and has frequent outages. The company officials say they are working to make it work seamlessly across devices, PC or tablet or phone. In sum, Skype's contribution has been huge. It packaged a complex technology in a simple, likeable blue interface and spread the idea of free calls made through voice over internet protocol (VoIP)
The success of VoIP in the West contrasts with its chequered history in India. Despite the technology being around since 1995, it is yet to take off in the country, thanks to policy hurdles. Telecom service provides resisted it rightly fearing that it would eat into their voice revenue. So, in India you can only make computer to computer calls or call a phone outside the country from your computer.
The consumer-friendly National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012 identifies VoIP as a thrust area and finally frees it. With a smartphone, you will be able to call another phone through VoIP for free, if it is implemented. Experts are divided over the impact, the policy will have on the telecom industry. Some feel with India already having the cheapest calls in the world, the chances of unbridled VoIP further driving down tariff is low. An analyst said the policy is too little and too late. But a few are more optimistic.
The country has about 900 million mobile subscribers and just 100 million-plus Internet users, who are concentrated in urban areas. The penetration of internet in rural areas is abysmally small. Free calls would tempt rural users to buy better phones and start using internet, they say.
But before they can be proved right or wrong, VoIP will have to clear the security hurdle. Security agencies remain opposed to VoIP as terrorists have been found using it to evade detection. The Home Ministry wants service providers to provide real-time interception capability and pinpoint the callers' location. But despite a series of meetings on the subject, there has been reportedly no progress. Until, security agencies are satisfied, VoIP is likely to stay where it is now.