A properly executed cable Voice-over-Wi-Fi service could “make a dent” in traditional cellular business, panelists Genband’s Perspectives15 conference in Orlando agreed, before citing a number of qualifiers that MSOs would need to meet in order to accomplish effective competition.
First off, and most importantly, MSOs would need to cut a wholesale deal with a cellular carrier for out-of-Wi-Fi locations outside hotspots, homes and offices but “they can make a dent if they do it correctly,” said Gary Sarson, vice president of business development for Taqua. “It’s definitely an interesting market.”
There are reasons why it might be a good path for MSOs to pursue, not the least of which is that 90 percent of Voice-over-W-Fi calls happen “when you’re in the home or office,” Sarson added.
Those locations, all the panelists said, need Wi-Fi because cellular signals, in particular 4G, don’t have the power to penetrate through buildings.
“People use phones mostly in the home so if you have the right MVNO environment it could work,” added Ian Jenkins, chief voice technologist at BT. “If you’re away from the home, use the macro network; if you’re inside the home use the Wi-Fi.”
The biggest hurdle for a cable VoWi-Fi service is that the cellular carriers themselves are already moving in that direction as way to handle increased demand for data on their 4G networks and to position their businesses.
Compounding the situation was the introduction of Apple’s iPhone 6 which included Voice-over-Wi-Fi capabilities. Other phone makers are expected to quickly follow.
Cable also doesn’t have a good track record of jumping into a new space.
“Comcast is famous for looking at this for years and years and years,” said Sarson.
Even without cable’s entry into the space—which would also be predicated on getting phone makers’ cooperation—the Wi-Fi market is “one of the hottest trends right now” and VoWi-Fi is “the flavor of the moment,” said panel moderator Kim Jones, senior manager of solutions marketing for Genband.
Today, he said, there are 50 million Wi-Fi hotspots; by 2018 there will be 340 million. Cable alone accounts for 10 million of today’s hotspots. The market demand, though, is not for best-effort Wi-Fi or for voice services that don’t roam.
“What the user wants to see going forward is Wi-Fi that’s just as good as cellular today (with a) seamless roaming experience,” Jones said.
Sarson agreed, noting, “You can’t expect the user to go to a separate app to make a phone call.
Telcos won’t let go of their customer base business easily, said Stephan Teral, principal analyst at IHS Infonetics.
“Voice at the end of the day is still a $500 billion business,” he said. “Mobile operators have to protect their space.”
They also have to be prepared to meet a model that’s already been pioneered by T-Mobile which, because it lacked spectrum, “went after Wi-Fi like crazy,” Teral said.
Telcos do have the advantage of understanding the foundation on which VoWi-Fi will be built: Voice-over-LTE.
“Voice-over-W-Fi is really an extension of VoLTE,” said Sarson. “To add Voice-over-Wi-Fi is a fairly simple thing because the VoLTE foundation is in place.”
No matter who does it, Voice-over-Wi-Fi is going to happen because networks are overloaded and consumers use “Wi-Fi in the home to offload data so it’s a no-brainer to offer voice as well,” Sarson concluded.
