Business

Thursday March 19, 2009

Internet telephony becoming cheaper and easily accessible

By LEE KIAN SEONG


PETALING JAYA: The mobile phone service is beginning to get some competition as telephone calls via the Internet become more pervasive.

There are currently many technologies and software available in the market for free calls via the Internet to any part of the world.

This particular segment has emerged as a new growth area. Telecommunications company Asia Trade Sdn Bhd commercial director N.M. Kumar said Internet calls were becoming cheaper and easily accessible.

“Consumers can access the free call service through broadband Internet using Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), wireless fidelity (WiFi), 3G or wire lines,” he told StarBiz.

N.M. Kumar

Kumar said Internet phone calls were very common nowadays and consumers could find various options online for international or local calls via Internet telephony service.

“Anyone can become a service provider of an Internet telephony portal in the borderless world,” he said.

Asia Trade has created an entrepreneurship programme for people to conduct the Internet telephony business.

“We provide opportunity to access into Internet telephony communication devices, which is readily available via on-net purchase or retail purchase via local agencies or companies,” Kumar said.

“Our technology uses GSM, WiFi or Internet telephony via personal computer or mobile phone just like the rest in the market,” he said, adding that the products would be shipped directly to the person who purchased it and the user deals directly with the company through the web portal.

Asia Trade is targeting 5,000 subscribers for its service.

The company provides a few types of phone devices for Internet call access, which includes Pirelli In-Voice Phone and the Shark.

Pirelli In-Voice Phone combines GSM with Internet while the Shark is a LAN cordless dual phone that could be used as an Internet device or a digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT) phone.

Kumar said the potential growth for Internet telephony products was huge in Malaysia as the segment was still in its infancy.

“Many service providers don’t want to invest in this technology as the cost is very high and the margin is slim,” he noted.

Kumar added that many had failed in developing this service, as they did not have the right marketing plan.

“There are many service providers in the Malaysian market but the acceptance level is still very low,” he said.

However, Kumar said the technology would gain popularity once the awareness had been established.

He sees demand for Internet telephony picking up during this economic crisis as people start to cut costs.

“Many businesses and individuals will look into Internet telephony currently as an alternative as it is free,” he said.

According to Kumar, the size of the Internet telephony market is directly pegged to the size of the broadband market.

There are currently two million broadband subscribers in Malaysia.

“The technology takes up minimum bandwidth and in Malaysia, it is more than enough to cater for this requirement,” he said.

Kumar said the nation had to be on par with the rest of the world in developing this technology as the popularity of the technology was growing.

“Many users experience the advantage of free calls between friends or branch offices in the world by using this technology,” he noted.

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story