Telcos Must Turn Consumer VoIP From A Problem Into An Opportunity

Voice over IP (VoIP), long thought of as the death knell for traditional telcos, is gaining traction but is not overtaking the traditional voice market. Today, as cable continues to drive the market for VoIP, telcos risk becoming commodity service providers. Telcos must wrest control of the VoIP space from multiservice operators (MSOs) by marketing VoIP aggressively in bundles, on the Web, and as part of customer retention and win-back programs. But to drive adoption beyond the cost-conscious in the future, providers must offer voice applications that drive richer experiences through device integration and features that cross service boundaries. Operators must step up the marketing effort across channels by extending channel distribution, turning service centers into experience centers, and highlighting new voice services on the Web.