VoIP sounds the death knell for landlines

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services will swallow up traditional forms of telephony when the world wakes up to the capabilities the technology offers via mobile handsets.

That's the opinion of Trefor Davies, chief technology officer (CTO) of Timico and council member of the Internet Telephony Service Providers' Association (ITSPA).

He believes that people, particularly the younger generation, are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to communicate with their friends and when mobile phone providers properly realise what VoIP can do for their customer base, the death knell will truly be sounded for landlines across the country.

"VoIP is very much used in social networking and new generations of mobile handsets - I shy away from calling them smartphones, because it won't be long before every mobile phone is a smartphone – which have easily downloadable VoIP apps that people can use over Wi-Fi," Mr Davies said.

"For consumers, this is almost certainly the way ahead. For example, in our house all four kids have smartphones. They rarely use the house phone unless it is to call one of their friends’ mobiles - and therefore avoid paying for the call themselves. Their communication is otherwise via social media. Once mobile apps for these platforms properly embrace VoIP, you can kiss goodbye to the landline."

His comments echo those made by Martyn Davies (no relation), telecom consultant at Weird Crater, recently.

He stated that VoIP will soon bring about the end of the old style dog and bone created by Graham Alexander Bell back in 1874 but its dominance will not end there as he feels that in the not so distant future VoIP services will dictate how all telephony is run, including mobile phones.

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Posted by Louise Tate