Voice or Hosted VoIp is a key offering for Cable Operators but old, legacy solutions are complex, expensive and are in urgent need for change to adapt to new customer requirements. Cable Operators should look for cloud options usually known as IaaS or PaaS (Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service) in order to boost voice profitability and expedite the launch of new services.
Cable Operators, in most countries, were the first to fully embrace VoIp to deliver voice services to their customers usually as part of a triple-play package (Internet, TV, Telephone) over existing legacy and perhaps old technology. However, VoIP 1.0 solutions are obsolete or have reached End-of-Life (EoL) whereas the market dynamics have shifted towards higher demand for better and feature-rich residential voice services as well as business voice services.
Key aspects to consider for implementing next-generation Voice solutions include:
Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Streamlined Operations
Virtual/Elastic Infrastructure (Cloud-Based/On Demand Service)
Total elimination of Moves/Adds/Changes (MACs)
Cloud-Based and Virtual Service Options are Available
IaaS or PaaS, whichever solution fits best for a Cable operator's deployment strategy is the new (and possibly only) solution that meets those requirements and by doing so, with an almost zero Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) business model.This model reduces the risk for transformation empowering Cable Operatorswith much higher margins and better resources to invest in growth opportunities.
For Cable Operators that have deployed hardware-based initially, specifically VoIP and IMS networks, moving to a virtualized architecture is just a matter of time. Legacy VoIP and IMS solutions do not go far enough, they usually require high CAPEX and add substantial complexity as well as operational distractions.
Residential Market Opportunities for Cloud-Based VoIP
Many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and Cable Operators are turning to VoIP to build market share, increase both customer loyalty and ARPU (Average Revenue Per User). Rural areas are usually well underserved and it's where the opportunities lie. Cable Operators trying to monetize on old legacy VoIP will simply end up with higher CAPEX in order to achieve this by physically expanding the capacity of existing old VoIP switches to cover less dense areas. By implementing an all-virtual or Hosted VoIP service, adding capacity for new voice services is done in a matter of minutes and it will reach those areas on the new or existing fiber network deployed for TV and Internet.
Takeaways
Moving to an IaaS or PaaS voice network deployment enables these Cable Operators faster market launches, an important cost-effective switch to Operational Expenditure (OPEX) rather than CAPEX model and an easier and more flexible platform ready to larger adoptions of perhaps Cloud-Based collaboration suites like Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and virtual meeting, tele-health and other important Voice-related services.
This virtual network option also calls for customer self-provisioning of services: adding more lines in real time for existing businesses, turning on new features such as Call Forwarding, Find-me-Follow-me and even configuring IVR and Auto Attendants remotely. All of this translates into higher customer satisfaction while reducing administrative costs.
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