This paper doesn’t dispute the fact that customers will continue to benefit significantly from VoIP as quality of service has improved while costs have continued to come down considerably rather our objective is to focus more on the viability of providers that encompass this sector of the market. We aim to first describe how VoIP has proliferated into the global dominant platform it is today, the infrastructure and definition of VoIP, VoIP’s classification schemes, the growth of technologies leveraging the VoIP platform while disrupting traditional carriers business models, covering the topic of VoIP security, explaining the different regulatory frameworks around the globe and finally concluding with an opinion on the competitive landscape.

1. Page |1
The Evolution of VoIP
A look into how VoIP has proliferated into the global dominant platform it is today
Submitted by Bradley Susser
April 27, 2012

2. Page |2
Table of Contents
Summary…..…................................................................................................................................3-4
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4-7
VoIP definition and Architecture …..............................................................................................8-11
VoIP Classification Scheme…......................................................................................................11-12
Growth of Technologies & Companies Leveraging the VoIP Platform......................................12-21
Security Issues & Countermeasures…………………………………………………………………………………………21-24
Global Regulatory Frameworks...................................................................................................24-27
Conclusion….................................................................................................................................28-30
References…................................................................................................................................31-34

3. Page |3
Summary
The advent of the Internet has allowed many new technologies to leverage this medium,
drive innovation and create a substantial revenue base for many organizations around the world.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the telecommunications arena, in particular the area of Voice Over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) which has changed the entire landscape of the industry in accelerating the
migration over the last several years to VoIP services and in contrast has diminished the need for circuit
switched telephony providers as quality of service has improved considerably. The UK regulator,
OFCOM, even anticipates that all voice traffic will shift over to IP technology [OFCOM (no date)]. VoIP
has not only allowed for organizations to thrive but has reduced costs not only for its providers but
customers as well. Although these attributes are indisputable increasing competition among providers
has forced many organizations to provide a diversification in their offerings by leap frogging off of VoIP
in order to stay ahead of their advisories and remain viable businesses. This leads us to two opposing
opinions on the outlook for many of the organizations within this realm. For example, Infonetics
Research in its February 2012 report stated that global sales of telecom VoIP and IP Multimedia
Subsystem (IMS) equipment jumped 15.8% in 4Q11 over 3Q11, to $690 million [Infonetics Research
(Feb. 2012)]. Just one thing to note is that Infonetics labels IMS and VoIP separately but perceives them
as being similar enough to depict them together. Moving further ahead the research firm indicated that
for the full year, Latin America was the big standout, with a 34% increase in carrier VoIP and IMS
equipment sales. Now here is the caveat. Infonetics for the full year saw the overall carrier VoIP and IMS
market ending down 2.1% in 2011 over 2010 to $2.6 billion. In fact in March of 2012 Standard & Poor’s
said it anticipates expansion in the cable VoIP sector to hit a wall and see an extensive fall off in months
to come [O’Neill (March 2012)]. We are more apt to agree with the former opinions that provide a more
positive outlook and as you will be able to assess these downward numbers depicted in the prior
sentences are just temporary and will increase significantly as the second leg of this evolutionary new
medium continues to mature due to rapid technological advancements, innovation and the integration

4. Page |4
of emerging technologies that will add additional value by complimenting the VoIP sector as a whole.
This paper doesn’t dispute the fact that customers will continue to benefit significantly from VoIP as
quality of service has improved while costs have continued to come down considerably rather our
objective is to focus more on the viability of providers that encompass this sector of the market. We
aim to first describe how VoIP has proliferated into the global dominant platform it is today, the
infrastructure and definition of VoIP, VoIP’s classification schemes, the growth of technologies
leveraging the VoIP platform while disrupting traditional carriers business models, covering the topic of
VoIP security, explaining the different regulatory frameworks around the globe and finally concluding
with an opinion on the competitive landscape.
Introduction
The telecommunications industry worldwide has gone through a number of transformations
over the years primarily due to government and regulatory policies and initiatives. Due to the
convergence and advancements in Information and communications technology (ICT) most sovereigns
around the globe have come to the realization that government owned and monopolistic telco’s are far
less efficient than their privately run organizational counterparts. We would be remiss if we did not
explain how this broad based school of thought came into being and furthermore helped in fueling the
growth in VoIP. Let’s take for example the telecommunications landscape of the United States in its
historical context. AT&T which in the early 1900’s had a monopoly on the United States
telecommunications infrastructure placing local carriers in a no win situation by forcing them to concede
to every demand at their bequest otherwise AT&T would disallow access to low cost carriers to
interconnect to its vast network [Nuechterlein & Weiser (2005)]. This is a case whereby the government
had to step in and give the perceived effect that in order to increase competition it would break up
AT&T geographically into the baby bells. The bell companies would control different regions of the
country keeping AT&T as a natural monopoly. This forced the baby bells to each stay within their own
geographical boundaries and anyone choosing to place a long distance call had to still interconnect first

5. Page |5
with AT&T who would then reap the rewards due to its scale of economy. In other words without clear
indication of bribery it was understood that AT&T could protect its monopoly status if they in turn did
favors for the government such as passing the costs of rural customers that were significantly higher
onto other businesses or urban areas and in turn matching their own interests with the political goals of
regulators. In the early 1970’s the FCC adopted rules allowing competition into the telecommunications
equipment market which inevitably caused a domino effect. What we mean is that now local carriers
were able to dramatically increase call volume, reduce prices because AT&T rates were through the roof
and effectively build a rival network while earning large profits even with a small share of the total
customer base. This lead to the growth of firms like MCI who provided business oriented long distance
service through microwave technology and the growth of access services such as high speed links
between local and long distance networks. At first AT&T tried to thwart competitive efforts by refusing
access to its long distance lines or keeping those lines continuously busy forcing the government to step
in and mandate non-discriminatory interconnections. Finally in 1996 congress abolished the natural
monopoly of AT&T by disallowing exclusive franchises, ordered all telecommunication’s carriers to
interconnect with any requesting carriers and declared all local and long distance markets open for
competition. Contemporary technological convergence became more prevalent at the start of the
1980’s and has expanded at a rapid rate ever since. In the telecommunications industry the first signs of
convergence appeared through the introduction of digital switching. In the mid-1980s analog telephone
systems were transformed into fully digital networks. Since the devices on each end of the data stream
do not care what channel links them together, companies were no longer technologically confined to
their own markets. Online computer services, voice telephony and broadcasting were no longer services
offered on varying platforms but rather all these different media had now converged together into one
operating platform. It is here the FCC believed these new ICTs did not have monopolistic tendencies
and furthermore would fuel competition while keeping costs at bay for the average citizen.
In other countries such as Colombia they too have adopted many policies that coincide with the

6. Page |6
United States which is why in February of 2012 Colombia won the award as the government with the
most innovative telecommunication policies in the world [Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y
las Comunicaciones (Feb. 2012). It won the "Government Leadership Award 2012" for the Live Digital
Plan, at the Global Telecommunications Conference in Barcelona. The award was won based on clear
principles that encourage private investment and healthy competition over the past year. Colombia
went from 2.2 million Internet connections to about 5 million in the last year and a half and
implemented measures that have allowed through public-private actions the massification of
the Internet in such a way that broadband connections grew by 130% and computers in Colombia today
have the lowest prices in the region. Clearly this is just one case but it is representative of many nations
throughout the world and further affirmation that privatization, liberalization and increasing
investments allow societies to access cutting edge technologies, increase telecommunications
infrastructure to supply network access and enhance electrical infrastructure to make the ICTs function
efficiently. Through this empirical research it is no wonder Infonetics stated that for FY2011, Latin
America was the big standout, with a 34% increase in carrier VoIP and IMS equipment.
Contemporary policies also raise doubts about the efficiency of state owned telecommunication
entities as many once believed this could stifle competition. This has proved not to be the case which
can be seen in the late 2011 financials of three Indian state owned telecommunications companies
[Economic Times (Aug. 2011)]. In a release in late August of 2011 State-owned telecom companies –
BSNL, MTNL and ITI – together incurred losses worth Rs 4,893 crore in 2009-10. The release goes on to
say BSNL had submitted a proposal to the Department of Telecom (DoT) seeking financial help to
operate commercially unviable services. It must be also said that although many sovereigns have taken
an open market approach that unfortunately is not true of Africa as VoIP is still in its infancy stages.
Dries Plasman of Voxbone, a market leader in providing worldwide geographical, toll-free and iNum
telephone numbers, told TMCnet, “First of all, the deregulation of the telecoms environment has yet to
happen in most of the African countries [Schmelkin (April 2012)]. These battles have started, however

7. Page |7
because the incumbent operators are very powerful and protective of their territory the process of
deregulation is very lengthy.” Plasman also goes on to say “A second limiting factor is the network,” he
added. “Wired networks are not as capilar as in other parts of the world. This limits the use of fixed VoIP
as a substitute for classical PSTN landlines. It must be noted that Africa’s GDP growth is expected to be
5.3 percent in 2012 and 5.6 percent in 2013 [Chuhan-Pole (Feb. 2012)] but that is mainly because
commodities make up most of the continents revenues and the commodity markets could contract if
Europe debts crisis and China’s slowdown in growth continues to persist. Never the less, in order to
diversify the economy it’s essential for Africa to take contemporary telecommunication initiatives such
as the ones prescribed by Colombia and the U.S. to provide access to all its citizens which should
increase job growth, enhance competition, lower costs and decrease information poverty. Furthermore
Africa’s leadership should learn from the United States mistakes of the past and start making an effort
to deregulate its telecommunications industry immediately.
The content that encompasses the introductory paragraph shows that there is still an ample
amount of market share for telco providers to exploit and that state owned entities are not one of the
reasons that would cause the VoIP market to hit a wall as they are inept at keeping up with private
carriers. This also provides additional proof and perhaps is a good explanation of why most sovereigns
around the world have opened up their markets to private competitors. However in the preceding
chapters to follow we will provide additional regulatory information on numerous government policies
such as regulatory environments, deregulatory environments and those that impede competition.
Furthermore you will also be presented with data that depicts the effect carriers like Skype have had on
more traditional providers which have been on a downward trend since the early part of the decade
backing up S&P’s claims that this medium may have in fact hit a wall in particular for incumbents. The
question we address is why pure play VoIP providers and new entrants are thriving and turning the
traditional telecommunications industry on its head while incumbents are faltering?

8. Page |8
VoIP definition and Architecture
Before moving ahead we should begin by first defining what the term VoIP actually signifies.
VoIP is technology that concurrently carries voice information in digital form using packet switching that
leverages and moves over a corporate network based on the Internet protocol or the public Internet. In
other words a VoIP phone call transfers data from one computer system to another and dismantles a
voice message into data packets that may run along disparate routes before being put back together at
their terminating destination [Curt M. White (2011)]. A gateway which is a processor next to the calls
point of termination places the packets in the appropriate order via digitization, codec
(compression/decompression) and encapsulation and guides them to the recipient’s telephone number
or the IP address of the receiving computer. The quality and clarity of VoIP has improved significantly
due to the expansion of network bandwidth, voice compression and packet reassembly algorithms
implemented in CODECs (coder/decoder, which converts analog voice into digital data and back again,
and may also compress and decompress the data for more efficient transmission), prioritization of voice
over data transmission, header compression, intelligent routing and balancing of various compression
and transmission parameters [Herman Labs (2009)]. Remember, the problem with incumbent
technology is that it needs to be supported by a large amount of bandwidth for each call, and it can only
support certain types of calls [Nokia (Oct. 2003)]. Furthermore, the hardware needed to run circuit-
switched networks is extremely costly because voice and data services have to be transmitted over
disparate wires and in turn need separate hardware to accommodate the two types of traffic hence
VoIP is becoming the dominant platform in this space.
Now that you know the definition of VoIP we will extrapolate with the categorization of
signaling protocols that encompass the VoIP platform. First off we will discuss what are known as
Session Control Protocols accountable for the formation, maintenance and tearing down of call sessions

9. Page |9
[Antoniou (June 2010)] They are also responsible for the intervention of session parameters such as
codecs, tones, bandwidth capabilities, etc.. Two of the most well-known protocols used with VoIP are
the H.323 standard and the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). There are advantages and disadvantages
among both protocols but Cisco believes incorporating them both on a single gateway is essential and
they also state another integral part of dual-protocol deployment is the ability for H.323 gatekeepers
and SIP proxies to interwork and share routing capabilities [Cisco (2002)]. In helping to compare the two
technologies we have acquired what we deem to be an adequate representation of some differences
between these two protocols. First we will begin with H.323 which was first deployed by ITU-T in 1996.
H.323 was created to provide robustness and optimal interoperability for a wide range of applications
encompassing multimedia communication over IP networks, including audio, video, and data
conferencing [Packetizer (2012)]. H.323 is limited to multimedia conferencing, so the complexity of the
system is constrained accordingly, it has defined a number of features to handle failure of intermediate
network entities, it encodes messages in a compact binary format that is suitable for narrowband and
broadband connections, it extends with non-standard features in such a way as to avoid conflicts
between vendors, it interfaces between the endpoint and gatekeeper for address resolution and it has
various authentication and encryption mechanisms.
SIP introduced by The Internet Engineering Task Force in 1998, on the other hand many believe
will become eventually the primary VoIP standard [Curt M. White (2011)]. SIP is designed to create,
modify and terminate a voice session between two or more entities without any devices in the network
getting involved however in practice other devices will be incorporated if special requirements with
regards to network traffic are a necessity or the call must go through the PSTN. On the other hand some
say SIP has a few interoperability problems as there are no strict guidelines as to what functionality any
given device must support especially as SIP became more complex focusing on voice communication
and then expanding to include video, application sharing, instant messaging, presence, etc. [Packetizer
(2012)]. Furthermore SIP has not defined procedures for handling device failure, messages are encoded

10. P a g e | 10
in ASCII text format unlike H.323 but sometimes messages get so large it can cause delays and packet
loss however efforts have been made to binary encode SIP to alleviate this problem. While SIP has no
address resolution protocol, per se, a SIP user agent may route its INVITE message through a proxy or
redirect server in order to resolve addresses. Finally SIP as well does deploy authentication and
encryption schemes. Contrary to Packetizer, according to Nokia complete deployments of H.323
requires a lot of overhead whereas SIP is a much more streamlined protocol, created precisely for IP
telephony [Nokia (Oct. 2003)]. Smaller and more efficient than H.323, SIP takes advantage of existing
protocols to handle certain parts of the process. For example, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP)
is used by SIP to establish a gateway connecting to the PSTN system. Simply put a gateway is a network
feature that supports conversion between the audio signals transported on telephone circuits and data
packets transmitted on the Internet or over other packet networks. IP Telephony architecture known
as Soft Switch is based on SIP which enables carriers to provide IP to IP services, PSTN to PSTN services
and IP to PSTN services which are services we describe in greater detail in the next paragraph. Further
affirmation of Nokia’s assessment is described from Infonetics Research in April 2011 whereby the firm
stated in a release that adoption of SIP trunking services (private switchboard VoIP that facilitates the
connection of a private branch exchange (PBX) to the Internet) was the primary driver for
enterprise Session Border Control (SBC) sales which is a device used by VoIP networks supporting voice
and video connectivity (inclusive is providing security, call processing & traffic management
capabilities)[Helmes (March 2006)] from the enterprise IP network to Service Provider SIP trunks,
growing 220% worldwide in 2010 [Infonetics (April. 2011)] and in its latest 2012 report the research
firm indicated SIP trunking service revenue jumped 128% in 2011 from the previous year, as businesses
adopt SIP trunking [Infonetics (April. 2012)] . Whether you consider H.323 as more advantageous or SIP
as the optimal protocol perhaps it makes sense to make use of both as each has their own positive and
negative attributes.
Now that we addressed Session Control Protocols we will briefly describe the Media Control

11. P a g e | 11
Protocols. Media Control Protocols are accountable for the formation and the destruction of media
connections. They are used to open and close media pin-holes on VoIP gateways and to process
messages coming from those gateways. The Media Gateways are the VoIP elements that transmit media
between the IP and PSTN networks. They are controlled by an entity that is called Media Gateway
Controller. The latter uses a Media Control Protocol to control Media flows on the Gateway. The two
main Media Control Protocols are MGCP and Megaco (H.248).
VoIP Classification Scheme
Traditionally VoIP has been classified based on IP to IP services, PSTN to PSTN services and IP to
PSTN services [Nuechterlein & Weiser (2005)]. IP to IP services is what’s known as peer-to-peer voice
telephony as both ends of a call must run on top of an IP (Internet Protocol) broadband platform. This is
essentially makes use of computer to computer type applications. This was first developed by Jeff Pulver
who offered his pulver.com instant messaging service that informed members when other subscribers
were online and at what IP address a member can be reached. Pulver provided no transmission
functionality so subscribers had to use their own broadband and this service could not call ordinary
telephone numbers on a PSTN nor were they provided with their own phone numbers. These peer to
peer applications can only link to other subscribers who have downloaded the software which may
make use of a central server for voice communication or do not require a central server at all. Another
example of one of the early IP to IP services is the original non public switched telephone network
(PSTN) interconnected, version of Skype.
PSTN to PSTN services which is known as phone to phone service from a caller’s vantage point is
just like any other long distance call placed over the PSTN except when the originating local carrier of
the call hands off the call to a long distance provider it converts the original signal into an IP packet that
gets passed along to its IP backbone and on the terminating end of the call the packets are converted
back to its traditional format used by circuit switched networks and then the call gets passed back to

12. P a g e | 12
receivers local carrier. Incumbents such as AT&T are progressively utilizing IP technologies into their
existing networks to minimize costs or enhance service/product offerings. In fact numerous wireless
providers use an incumbents IP backbone for its backhaul link from cell towers to their switches.
Finally there is IP to PSTN services which require a subscriber to obtain a broadband connection
in order to place VoIP calls over this connection except in this scenario callers receive their own
telephone numbers and can connect with anyone who is served by any circuit switched network. Some
examples of IP to PSTN services are many of the cable companies, SIP and H.323-based services, Vonage
Holdings, Microsoft’s Skype Out (users by credit to make calls to other networks) and Skype In (user’s
receive a phone number for off-net calls, voicemail, SMS and its Wi-Fi access product Skype Access), SIP
and H.323-based services, such as Empathy, Linphone, Ekiga and the Google Talk service.
Skype and its other formidable competitors are becoming so complex with their diversified VoIP
models that perhaps categorizing these services is negligible and is perhaps one of the reasons why
governments have found it difficult in regulating the industry or perhaps it is unnecessary to do so. It
must be said though that the FCC does have some compliance standards that VoIP providers must
adhere to. This is particularly true of those organizations that started out as a VoIP entity but
broadened their business models into the area of regulated telephony unbeknownst to them creating
state and federal licensing problems.
Growth of Technologies & Companies Leveraging the VoIP Platform
In order to stay competitive in the VoIP arena many organizations over the years have offered
an array of services bundled together to allow consumers to pay a single monthly fee as opposed to
separate fees for each service offering. For example cable companies have been combining cable
broadcasting, Internet and VoIP services at a single monthly fee while trying to attract additional
customers and in turn these customers would receive these services at significant cost savings as
opposed to purchasing each service separately. You may recall, in our opening summary we said S&P

13. P a g e | 13
stated that VoIP could soon hit a wall but what we did not extrapolate on was that this would solely
encompass cable operators. The rating agency’s release exclaims “cable operators, which for years have
been piling up revenue from VoIP phone service while their telco competitors have watched their
bottom line from landlines erode, may finally be in line to share the pain as economic pressure, rising
prices and market saturation finally may be prompting consumers to hang up their landlines with cable,
too. The culprit may not be the VoIP service, but the high-cost of pay-TV and the rising bill that has even
the more stalwart consumers flinching. According to S&P 80 percent of U.S. households have a pay-TV
service and shell out about $135 a month for it. Consumers may be looking to unbundle services to keep
their entertainment intact. “Perhaps cable companies were becoming too complacent with their
business models as the release further goes on to say “The likelihood that cable’s residential boom time
has come to an end is that consumers are looking more to smartphones and other VoIP options.” In
contrast many pure-play VoIP providers have not been sitting idle but have continued to enhance
innovation, leverage growing technologies to converge with their existing VoIP infrastructures and
diversify their offerings helping to fuel subscriber growth while increasing both top and bottom line
numbers. Analogous to the former sentence is just like in the areas of project management and IT
Security Risk Assessment a VoIP carrier must have an ongoing analytic iterative process that never ends.
Furthermore a growing number of new organizations are entering the VoIP market which
could also significantly adversely impact cable operator’s earnings. According to Insight Research
Corporation “A new crop of hosted service providers will offer PBX-like voice services at lower
Reoccurring costs and with minimal site equipment expense [Insight Research (March 2012)].” The chart
depicted below shows how Skype is having a significant effect on VoIP traffic and why it has been
adversely impacting traditional carriers. In other words this company has turned traditional carriers on
their heads by changing the dynamics of the entire telecommunications industry. Furthermore it has
revitalized the industry and indirectly attracted a new crop of organizations to enter into the VoIP arena.
As you can see in 2009, 12% of all international voice traffic was on Skype. In the graph below, we can

14. P a g e | 14
see that this growth rate remains steady near 15% annually. 27% of all the world’s voice traffic was via
VoIP. However, the populations of developing countries remain some of the least connected in terms of
global traffic and hence that’s where the growth potential is enormous for those who differentiate
themselves from the competition. Just one thing to note according to Skype Journal more than 41.5
million people were running Skype on April 23, 2012, an all-time high [Skype Journal (April 2012)].
Where Did the Growth Go?: The Skype Effect
Figure 1. TeleGeography A Division of PriMetrica, Inc
So what do these new diversified models that pure VoIP player carriers and new market
entrants seem to be exploiting in the VoIP arena? Well rather than the traditional platforms like VoIP
over PSTN, cable or DSL the convergence of mobile, Wi-Fi (VoWi-FI or VoWLAN), satellite, Voice 2.0
applications (includes cloud telephony), soft phones (software that enables a computer to perform as a
telephone via VoIP usually comes with a headset or a hand-held device, and using the numbers on the
keyboard to dial), embedded VoIP in online games, incorporated with SIP and H.323 based services are
just a few of the emerging services that are being utilized. In addition many upstart companies and even

15. P a g e | 15
incumbent VoIP players have been globally focusing on penetrating market share not just on individual
consumers but the small, midsize and large business segments of the industry. Also you do not need to
be a capital intensive company with enormous resources to start your own VoIP business due to the fact
that competitors no longer need to own a network and bringing facilities-based providers into direct
competition with service-based competitors has allowed easier barrier to entry. IPsmarx Technologies is
one of several firms with numerous accolades that help entrepreneurs start their own VoIP companies
by providing essential solutions such as soft switch solutions, a SIP based calling card platform and a
multi-tenant IP-PBX platform with integrated billing to create viable businesses [IPsmarx (May 2011)].
Take for example the hosted service provider 8X8 which trades on the NASDAQ. The company has been
focusing primarily on small to medium sized businesses, distributed enterprise organizations and
government agencies by developing and marketing telecommunications services for Internet protocol,
or IP, telephony and video applications as well as web-based conferencing, unified communications
services (which bridges the gap between VoIP and other computer related communication
technologies), managed hosting and cloud-based computing services which prior to the cloud many
businesses took an on premise hardware approach [O'Neill (Jan. 2012)]. Infonetics reported demand for
cloud-based services helped push hosted PBX and UC service revenue up 33% and seats up 44% in 2011
which is clearly evident when looking at 8X8 and although residential consumers revenues still surpass
businesses, that trend may not last as the business segment is growing about twice as fast [Infonetics
(April. 2012)]. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had more than 27,600 business customers. In
offering further proof of the company’s success through innovation and diversification in January of this
year 8X8 reported revenue of $23.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012, a 31 percent increase
from a year ago. It also topped analyst earnings estimates with a 73 percent Year over year increase to
$2.6 million, or 4 cents per share.
So let’s talk about these technologies that are allowing VoIP providers to differentiate
themselves from traditional carriers and in turn helping to significantly improve their balance sheets.

16. P a g e | 16
We will begin with mobile VoIP which is a communication technology structure that the general
public uses to transmit and receive phone calls with the Internet connection on a mobile device. This
varies from standard cellular service as the call is not being placed through the voice network. Instead,
the call is being transmitted over the network of a third party mobile VoIP service provider. Since the
transmission of the call is placed over the Internet as opposed to making use of an ordinary cellular plan
costs are reduced significantly and in addition the user is not charged long distance carrier fees. Two
main methods of delivering VoIP to mobile devices is over-the-top (OTT), in which the voice calls travel
over carrier-provided data networks and the other is via LTE (long-term evolution), a technology that
lets carriers themselves deliver voice calls over IP links to the handset. Prominent OTT providers include
Skype, fring, Line2, Nimbuzz, Rebtel, Truphone, Viber, Vopium and others [Infonetics (Oct. 2011)].
Verizon Wireless will introduce native mobile VoIP over LTE in 2012. In February of 2011 In-Stat
forecasted that the transition of VOIP from fixed-line phones to more mobile phones will encourage
spending in the space to rise to $6 billion by 2015 [Maisto (Feb. 2011)]. One of the main reasons for the
anticipated numbers is that mobile VoIP is becoming more integrated with mobile applications and the
convergence of social networking apps. In-Stat stated Europe, the Middle East and Africa will account for
the largest portion of mobile VOIP revenues in 2014 at 39 percent, followed by Asia/Pacific at 32
percent, and North America accounting for 21 percent. TechNavio's reported in March of this year
Mobile VoIP by 2014 could reach $5.3 billion in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and because carriers
in those regions have high rates for mobile phone usage only a small portion of international voice
traffic originates via cell phones. However as the VoIP infrastructure continues to be built out, along
with the integration and growing popularity of mobile apps the opportunities for market penetration in
these regions are tremendous [Technavio (March 2012)]. Furthermore mobile/smartphone phone sales
and usage have soared over the last several years due to its multitude of features and ubiquitous nature
therefore as these devices converge with VoIP the revenue streams that can be generated could be
astronomical to say the least.

17. P a g e | 17
Now you may ask yourself why someone would make use of the next medium we are about to
discuss, if most people already own their own mobile phones. Well, organizations are increasingly
merging employee cell phones with corporate telephony which leads us to Wi-Fi VoIP (VoWi-FI or
VoWLAN). Wi-Fi VoIP makes use of the IEEE 802.11 set of standards connects calls from the voice-
enabled wireless device to a WLAN access point via discrete data packets rather than an analog voice
stream and then to a VoIP gateway or IP PBX [TechTarget (Aug. 2005)]. The call is transmitted to its
intended destination within the private network or out onto the Internet or PSTN. If an organization has
numerous staff members with voice-enabled wireless devices cost can be reduced considerably by
permitting its users’ to generate calls inexpensively over an organizations VoIP Wi-Fi network and
organizational leaders are capable of having a more centralized command to control and monitor its
employees data. These phones would also work of course in Wi-Fi hot spots.
The next medium that is primarily used by people in remote regions of the world such as the
Military, television reporter’s or private maritime operators and can be advantageous in particular to
developing countries is Satellite VoIP which many also predict will one day provide interoperability
among satellite and mobile devices but for now if you have no other option it may be a viable solution.
There are still some technical issues with regards to this technology especially due to the amount of
time the data transmits to the satellite and back to earth causing poor quality of service such as delays
known as latency brought about by slow network links, drop calls (packet loss which occurs when there
is a large amount of traffic on the network) and sometimes degradation of voice quality caused by
packet loss or jitter (irregular packet flow such as packet delays arriving at the receivers location) [Oishi
(2005)]. However firms like Cisco are making strides in this area and once portable devices become
optimally efficient this market could surpass all other devices that leverage the VoIP platform. These
satellite issues have been witnessed quite often when a news correspondent is located in a remote
region of the world perhaps reporting in more recent times from a war zone such as Iraq or
Afghanistan. A news anchor will often times communicate with the reporter who is only capable of

18. P a g e | 18
conducting an interview via satellite phone due to their locality as there is no other efficient modes of
communication other than making use of satellite technology. In other words the area the news
correspondents are reporting from lack any other type of appropriate telecommunication’s
infrastructure. The reporter usually has one option which is to talk via a satellite device where it is
clearly evident from the vantage point of the television viewer, as he/she watches the anchor on
television ask the reporter a particular question that it takes the reporter around a quarter of a
second or more to respond to the anchor. Often when calls are connected via VoIP Satellite they have
packets per second constraints therefore Cisco’s IP multiplexing schemes combines multiple VoIP
packets from a single stream or multiple streams into a large packet, and then sends this large packet
over the packets per second (pps)-constrained link to alleviate some of the problems talked about in the
prior sentences [Cisco (2012)]. A demultiplexing process is then executed by another instance of the
same product on the other end of the pps-constrained line. This in turn increases overall throughput
over the constrained link. Companies in this marketplace include Net2Phone and Vonage who have
partnered with large satellite companies such as the likes of Hughes Electronics and others. Currently
VoiP in remote areas of the United States make use of geostationary satellites that have sufficient
bandwidth avoiding the problems described above. For example VSAT Systems out of Ohio offers
satellite VoIP service via a geo-stationary satellite for people who live in rural areas (VSAT Systems (No
Date). The customer’s computer is connected to your network, which in turn is connected to the
Internet by VSAT Systems. The subscriber’s computer sends a request for a transfer of data - both
transmit and receive. That request is transmitted from the end user computer, through their home
network, to the indoor satellite modem which has a port for the your indoor phone or the user can
make use of a softphone which modulates the signal and passes it to the VSAT dish stationed right
outside ones residence. The VSAT dish converts this signal to an RF signal and sends it to a satellite
located in the geostationary orbit (A circular orbit positioned approximately 22k miles above Earth's
equator with the exact point in time and direction as the rotation of the Earth) at the speed of light. The

19. P a g e | 19
satellite via low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites in the geo-stationary orbit retrieves this signal and transmits
it to one of the VSAT Systems teleports in Akron, Ohio. This illustrates the fact that although the packets
of information travel tremendous distances via the space segment, the packets hop fewer networks due
to the large reduction in the number of inter domain and intra domain routers giving an opportunity to
minimize latency. The request then goes to VSAT Systems’ network operations center, which acquires
the requested phone number from the web server, across the U.S. Internet backbone which is then
delivered to the receiving party. This is a simplified description of VoIP satellite however there are
numerous models being deployed through portable and stationary devices commercially and to the
individual consumers but they go beyond the scope of what we are trying to address in this paper. Our
purpose was just to give you a taste of how satellite VoIP is evolving and its ability to provide VoIP
carriers with an additional revenue stream.
Next we briefly discuss voice 2.0 applications. Web 2.0 applications by themselves which really
were the foundation of voice 2.0 apps are second generation web tools as opposed to static web pages
that allow for organizations and individuals to increase internet functionality through collaboration and
information sharing such as making use of social networks, wikis, blogs, RSS, software mash-ups
(software services allowing for people to mix and match content or software elements to formulate
something new) and cloud computing. In the context of VoIP it is trends, technologies and applications
used to bring IP telephony to the Web to create a new class of voice-enabled applications. In other
words increasing cutting edge mash-ups integrated with this platform yield significant benefits both for
individuals and organizations alike. In the case of enterprises VoIP calling features are Web and server
based applications frequently used in call centers for XML call control functions, such as call hold, call
transfer, conferencing and more [Lauricella, Michael (March 2008)] . Take for example firms that make
use of customer relationship management applications for sales and marketing to track their
communications with their clients as it makes logical sense to incorporate voice into the equation
through integrated telephony features. Broadsofts BroadWorks VoIP platform used by many carriers in

20. P a g e | 20
particular with CRMs offers such features as screen pops on inbound and outbound calls whereby the
customer’s phone number is recognized through caller ID and the customer’s contact file opens on the
operator’s computer screen. CRM users can use click-to-dial calling from within CRM contacts for more
efficient dialing; firms can operate detailed reports on call usage by employees and track which
customers are calling in most commonly; all information is auto-logged with the associated contact,
including notes taken by the user; and a call control function answers calls, places callers on hold or
transfers a caller to an administrator from within the CRM application. This is just one of many models
that can be used in voice 2.0 applications to increase an organizations return on investment (ROI).
Furthermore from an individual’s perspective these applications allow individuals to send voice, data,
video and instant messages via IP due to their ubiquitous nature. Also users will have a great deal more
of control over whom they communicate with, how and when as opposed to a central authority.
Companies such as Skype and Google Talk are Voice 2.0 applications with proprietary protocols and
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).
Finally cloud computing has become an enormous asset to many organizations and therefore it
it’s not surprising that it has now being utilized by VoIP carriers worldwide and is a crucial component to
those businesses as it has helped to garner considerable amounts of capital. Cloud offerings in the VoIP
arena also allow VoIP players to minimize costs by not owning and operating their own infrastructure
while allowing them to pay more attention to innovation and maximizing one’s own revenues.
Organizations in other industries also utilize cloud services to save money by not having to create their
internal telecommunication networks that would require expensive adapters, server hardware, software
and place additional stress on their own systems. From an individual standpoint people can use the
cloud to place calls from their web browsers saving costs on added peripherals. In a press release issued
by Voxbone, a private global VoIP network provider founded in 2005 with offices in Brussels, Los Angeles
Mumbai and Singapore, on January 25, 2012 its CEO Rod Ullens stated “We're seeing indications of
accelerated adoption of cloud communications services in a number of areas that lead us to project

21. P a g e | 21
major demand in wholesale VoIP services. As the technological bridge between cloud communications
networks and traditional PSTN and mobile networks, Voxbone should have a great 2012 [Voxbone (Jan.
2012)]." Just to give you an indication of cloud computing in general Gartner Research stated Worldwide
SaaS revenue driven primarily from cloud growth will jump 17.9 percent in 2012 to $14.4 billion, up from
$12.3 billion in 2011, according to the analyst firm. The ramp up will continue through 2015, when SaaS-
based revenue will reach $22.1 billion [McCarthy (March 2012)]. Now imagine what percentage of those
numbers will fuel VoIP as providers such as Voxbone continue to offer services in the cloud. The
company overall saw its full year top line 2011 numbers grow 19 percent, while minutes of use on its
global network increased by 33 percent to 2.8 billion. It’s diversified VoIP offerings, innovation and
multi-cultural employee base has allowed Voxbone to penetrate market share from a multitude of
countries around the globe. Currently the organization services 51 countries and plans to further exploit
its market by adding an additional five to seven countries in Asia and South America to its network. This
relatively small company is also an excellent example of how the telecommunications landscape is
changing to make barriers of entry a lot easier for new participants to enter the VoIP realm while
negatively impacting more traditional carriers.
Security Issues & Countermeasures
As technology industries and even organizations continue to proliferate so too does the inherent
risks associated with IT security. These are issues that need to be addressed on an ongoing basis in
particular in the area of VoIP. One could not dispute the fact that wirelines are susceptible to attacks but
when you are linked to the data network and share a multitude of the same software/hardware
elements as well as infuse wireless (radio wave) technologies the number of vulnerabilities starts to
increase considerably therefore before implementing a VoIP network one should mitigate these risks by
identifying the various threats and vulnerabilities and further deploy the appropriate countermeasures.
Attacks on VoIP systems such as Dеnіаl of Sеrvіcе (DoS), eаvеsdroppіng, pаckеt spoofіng, mаsquеrаdіng,

22. P a g e | 22
VoIP spаm аnd phіshіng, buffer overflow attacks and toll frаud just to name a few are quite well known
as these exploits are propagated in similar fashion throughout the entire ICT spectrum. The purpose of
this section is not to define each one of these exploits as many in the ICT community already are quite
familiar with these threats but rather create awareness and offer information on how to
countermeasure these attacks which can adversely affect VoIP providers and customers alike. The thing
that one must be made aware of is that VoIP does secure its networks by making use of a security
protocol suite known as IPsec (IP Security) which includes encryption, authentication, integrity
validation and anti-replay to provide secure access to corporate private networks however IPsec and the
current range of corporate network edge Network Address and Port Translators (NAPTs) are not
compatible with the Next Gen services provided by VoIP architectures [Newport Networks (2006)].
Having said that, although it is impossible to completely prevent an attack from happening it is essential
to initiate the appropriate steps to mitigate any potential risks and deploy mechanisms that are lacking
such as that in IPsec’s protocol suite. We talked briefly in our VoIP definition and Architecture section
that H.323 and SIP protocols do offer security measures but to expand upon them further H.323 rеlіеs
on thе H.235 stаndаrd that аddrеssеs sеcurіty іssuеs іncludіng аuthеntіcаtіon, іntеgrіty, prіvаcy, аnd
non-rеpudіаtіon as well as a sеcurе sockеt lаyеr (SSL) for trаnsport-lаyеr sеcurіty whereby SIP usеs еnd-
to-еnd аnd hop-by-hop security mechanisms [B, Goode (Sept. 2002)]. Here are some additional
measures that should be taken to safeguard your VoIP network. First off, Cisco suggest isolate VLANs
(which are an effective closed circle of computers that disallow any other computer access to its
facilities) for voice and data which helps prioritize voice over data and also keeps traffic on the voice
network hidden from those linked to the data network; use monitoring tools and intrusion detection
systems to identify break in attempts through traffic and log analysis [VoIP Lowdown (Dec. 2006)]; Gary
Miliefsky, founder and CTO of NetClarity, suggests locking down IP and MAC addresses that permit
access to the administrative interfaces of VoIP systems, and putting up another firewall in front of the
SIP gateway; use multiple layers of encryption for call signaling and data packets that are sent out. The

23. P a g e | 23
Secure Real Time Protocol (SRTP) which encrypts communication between endpoints and Transport
Level Security (TLS) which encrypts the whole call process are two encryption mechanisms that many
find useful; set up multiple nodes, gateways, servers, power sources, call routers and form an alliance
with more than one provider to deal with potential network failures; formulate isolated firewalls so that
traffic crossing VLAN boundaries is restricted only to applicable protocols; update patches on a regular
basis; keep your IP PBXs in a domain separate from its other servers and restrict access; softphonеs
are extremely vulnerable as they have full аccеss to system resources and vital system information so
hackers can take аdvаntаgе of the prіvіlеgеs of the user therefore minimize the use of softphones;
perform security audits on a cyclical basis; allow only devices and users who are authenticated and
privileged to acquire access to your network by limiting access to the Ethernet port; use IP phone
vendors that offer digital certificate services to authenticate devices; protect gateways and the LANs
behind them with a blend of an SPI firewall, application layer gateways (ALG), network address
translation (NAT) tools and SIP support for VoIP soft clients; manage server traffic separately from VoIP
signaling and call traffic; sort SIP traffic by looking for abnormal packets and traffic patterns that appear
irregular; the application layer is the easiest to infiltrate so analyze call setup requests at the application
layer and issue necessary security policies so that only those call setup requests that conform to them
are accepted; Isolate voice traffic by blocking PC port access to the voice VLAN; use proxy servers to
process data that comes in and goes out. Authentication and integrity are ensured when signaling
messages travel between user agents and SIP proxies by integrating SSL tunnels with SIP proxies; run
only applications that are necessary to provide and maintain VoIP services; configure applications
against misuse by forming a list of granted caller destinations; affix endpoint security layers o keep out
devices that are not authorized on your LAN or WLAN; administrators should set up rigorous entry
criteria to inhibit access to devices that potentially pose as a danger; refrain from remote management
and audits but when necessary use Secure Shell (SSH) or IPsec (IP Security) for the purpose; and use
IPsec tunneling rather than IPsec transport as they differ in encryption modes that support secure

24. P a g e | 24
exchange of packets at the IP layer. The use of IPsec transport encrypts only the data while hiding the
source and destination IP addresses. This inhibits administrators from knowing who initiated the call
when they examine traffic patterns. In affect by performing all the security countermeasures
incorporated in the prior sentences you will optimize your network making it more robust while
minimizing the potential of any attack to propagate. Remember attacks can cost an organization a
significant amount of money particularly do to downtime, it can ruin ones reputation making a viable
organization eventually insolvent and in addition there could be severe legal repercussions so it is
essential to align best practices in the area of IT security with a VoIP platform.
Global Regulatory Frameworks
In this section we look at where VoIP is gaining ground and the increase in governments around
the world’s willingness to open its markets up to VoIP providers however we will not go into complete
details of what comprises of each countries regulatory framework but rather just provide a brief
overview of information on which regions and countries allow, tolerate or ban VoIP. In 2004, VoIP was
legalized in 46 countries mainly in Europe, North America and Asia. VoIP was also broadly permitted in
another 57 countries where there was no clear regulatory framework or licensing for VoIP [Biggs (Nov.
2009)]. Among these two categories just over half of all countries permitted VoIP in 2004 and towards
the second half of 2009, the proportion of countries where VoIP was allowed rose to two thirds with 92
countries having legalized VoIP and 39 countries tolerating it. Meanwhile, the number of countries
where VoIP was banned shrank from 80 in 2004 to 49 in 2009, or about a quarter of all countries for
which data exist. In our introductory paragraph we described Colombia as winning the award for the
most innovative telecommunication policies around the world whereby the country went from 2.2
million Internet connections to about 5 million in the last year and a half. Well it just so happens that the
fastest growing regions for international VoIP traffic presented in an ITU 2009 white paper by economist
Phillippa Biggs was Central America and South America. While the world has focused on China, Brazil

25. P a g e | 25
and India on their improving economies and growing infrastructure they have failed to look at the region
and culture that could outstrip them all, that being Latin America and the entire Spanish speaking
population. One thing many people forget is that the Spanish language is second to one of the most
widely spoken languages in the world so it is no surprise that VoIP traffic in Central America and South
America are surpassing other regions of the globe. Below is a chart provided by Telegeography on
International VoIP traffic and as you will see Central America and South America have the largest traffic
increase out of all the regions that the chart comprises of. Although predated as the data reflects
the years between 2005 and 2007 it does not deviate that considerably from today’s regional trends.
Figure 2: Inbound International VoIP Traffic, Selected Regions, 2005-2007
Source: TeleGeography Inc. (2008).
Many sovereigns differ in their definitions of VoIP which is one of the factors that determines
what type of policies and regulations they choose to implement. We now take a closer look at some of
the regions around the world and how VoIP is regulated. In Africa as of 2006, some 30 out of 42 African

26. P a g e | 26
countries forbade the widespread use of VoIP by regulation or by law. By mid-2009, VoIP had been
legalized in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries with four additional countries tolerating VoIP and 24
outright banning it. The number of African countries where VoIP could be regarded as open to private
operators had nearly doubled, rising to about 20 (including North African countries) but there is still
much work to be done in deregulating and providing an efficient VoIP infrastructure. There is however
an unlicensed grey market for VoIP but many operators are not yet passing on the full cost savings from
VoIP to their subscribers and many of these grey market participants have had some African countries
filter their services, confiscate their equipment and in some cases jail the owners of these services. After
Africa, Arab nations came in second as being narrow minded and the least liberalized when it comes to
VoIP. By mid-2009 VoIP had been legalized in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Palestine and Jordan with Qatar,
Lebanon, Mauritania and Saudi Arabia just tolerating this platform. In contrast 12 countries were still
not fully open to the use of VoIP with nine of them banning it completely. This data in total covered 22
Arab economies. The Asia Pacific region is probably one of the most diversified parts of the world when
it comes to VoIP regulation especially as it comprises of a vast mixture of developed countries and those
that are underdeveloped. Inclusive is the benefits of the digital economy not being justly shared, giving
rise to a digital divide among this region of the world. By mid-2009, two-thirds of Asia Pacific
governments allowed or tolerated VoIP. Eighteen countries had legalized the use of VoIP, with eight
tolerating its use outside of their regulatory frameworks. In contrast 9 sovereigns preserved outright
bans on VoIP with another 4 markets remaining closed to the use of VoIP (China, Myanmar, Nepal and
Tonga). This data contains 39 countries that encompass the Asia Pacific region. In the Americas region
by 2009 VoIP had been legalized in many Latin American countries where in total three quarters of the
35 economies that were incorporated in this data legalized or tolerated the platform. Licensing was
required for operators offering VoIP in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and
Venezuela, although those licensing restrictions were not enforced in many countries. VoIP for
consumer use remained officially illegal in Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Paraguay, Guyana and

27. P a g e | 27
Nicaragua but as we have described numerous times above this region of the world has experienced the
largest traffic increase out of all the regions and we believe there is considerable room for additional
growth. In the Caribbean many incumbents first resisted and fought their governments but eventually
market liberalization, the increase in mobile services and the market entry of competitors with
significant capital and aggressive roll-out plans have changed the telecommunications landscape in this
region allowing for easier barriers to entry. The last regions we will be discussing are Europe and
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) which are all the former republics of Russia except the
Baltic States. Most European countries have always accepted and liberalized VoIP although they do
differ somewhat in their definitions and regulatory treatments. Only in Belarus does VoIP continue to
remain opposed to in country traffic. All in all countries worldwide are beginning to take a more pro
positive stance towards VoIP as noted in the empirical data above therefore as market liberalization
continues on its path towards growth many VoIP providers will have an even greater chance to exploit
this arena with the growing ability to penetrate an increasing amount of market share. Below we
provide an additional Graph from ITU News that was distributed in September 2009 on worldwide
regulation of VoIP from the periods 2004 to 2009
Figure 3 — Worldwide regulation of VoIP (2004–2009)
Note — “Closed” means countries where wholesale VoIP is permitted, but retail VoIP is
banned, as well as those countries where only the incumbent is licensed to provide VoIP.

28. P a g e | 28
Source: IDATE From ITU News (September 2009)
Conclusion
The primary objective of this paper was to demonstrate how the entire competitive landscape
of the telecommunications industry has been turned upside down through the advent of VoIP and to
provide a brief description of its architecture. We believe that eventually there will be no need for
circuit-switched telephone networks and that VoIP will be the dominant platform just making use of IP
to IP telephony. This is becoming more evident due to the growing number of sovereigns increasing
willingness to embrace VoIP as they are beginning to foresee the benefits this platform will yield in
improving their economies through increasing competition by allowing for new entrants easier barriers
to entry particularly due to hosted VoIP services, improved innovation, greater efficiency and significant
cost savings for carriers, firms in other areas of industry and consumers alike. As noted above
traditional carriers are seeing a number of new VoIP providers eating into their profit margins because
they have unified their communication technologies by incorporating and integrating voice 2.0
applications, mobile technology, satellite technology and leveraging cloud computing whether it be for
enterprise based customers or individual consumers to increasingly grow both top and bottom line
numbers. In contrast many of the more traditional carriers including the cable companies have
remained too complacent with their current business models over the last decade and not being
proactive enough in areas of innovation and diversification allowing VoIP pure players and new entrants
to erode many incumbents market shares while adversely affecting their bottom lines. It must be said
that incumbents over the last couple of years have finally come to grips with the fact that their VoIP
counterparts are passing them by therefore they have been in more recent times taking the appropriate
initiatives to make use of their resources that enable them to acquire many VoIP technologies and
organizations. Furthermore we see at least half of the world’s population currently live in urban areas

29. P a g e | 29
and that number should increase substantially in the years to come. Therefore VoIP providers can
exploit emerging market economies as more countries continue to liberalize VoIP and focus on
minimizing information poverty by putting in place policies and regulations that allow the
underprivileged and those in rural areas to access communication technologies (ICTs) such as affordable
access to core information resources, continue to develop telecommunications infrastructure to supply
network access, optimize electrical infrastructure to make the ICTs function efficiently and maintain a
skilled workforce so that ICT infrastructure will keep all the technology working without any disruptions.
In offering additional proof on the positive impact emerging economies can have on VoIP carriers, IHS
iSuppli's for example reported that in April of this year the developing regions of the world will be the
biggest source for new broadband activity in 2012 [Ratliff (April 2012)]. The release also goes on to say
Broadband telecommunication services in particular will increase most rapidly this year in the MEA
region, where subscribers are projected to grow by as much as 38 percent. Asia and Latin America will
also be strong areas with double-digit growth in 2012, compared to the single-digit expansion rates
forecast for the relatively saturated broadband markets of Europe and especially North America.
Although some of the statistical data varies as to the MEA region and Latin America in their growth
prospects they are minimal and one should just focus on the fact that both regions of the world will
offer vast opportunities for VoIP to continue to blossom in the many years to come. This all
being said VoIP providers and new entrants must not fall into the trap of their predecessors by
becoming too complacent and egocentric but rather being proactive in continuing to always innovate
and diversify their offerings on an ongoing basis as well as making sure that their networks remain
robust and secure by implementing best practices. Inclusive is providing the ability for consumers too
access emergency services and keeping abreast or up to date with the laws and regulations as they
differ around the globe. For example the FCC has taken steps to require that providers of VoIP services
that use the PSTN including wireless networks, to originate and terminate calls meet enhanced 911
obligations and are required to report network outages, so the commission can monitor and maintain a

30. P a g e | 30
resilient service [Kerr (Feb. 2012). They have also required carriers to safeguard customer’s personal
information or there can be severe legal repercussions. Some of these measures seem fair as they will
increase consumer confidence but the FCC and other regulators around the globe must take due care to
not implement to many regulatory obligations as it can stifle growth in an industry that has thrived
primarily because there has not been excessive regulation in this area. Moving on, If a proactive model
is applied along with some of the aforementioned advantages talked about above in particular
increasing penetration into emerging markets as they continue to mature than certain VoIP
organizations will be well rewarded. Remember as markets mature they eventually reach a certain
plateau only to make way for new innovations that will revitalize and capitalize an array of industries
around the world. VoIP is doing just that!

31. P a g e | 31
References
Antoniou, Stelios (June 2, 2012). Title: “VoIP Signaling Protocols” published by Trainsignal.
http://www.trainsignal.com/blog/voip-signaling-protocols
Biggs, Phillippa (November 20, 2009). Title: “Voip per country Voice over Internet Protocol: Enemy or
Ally?” published by ITU. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR09/doc/GSR09_VoIP-
Trends_Biggs.pdf
Chuhan-Pole, Punam (February 1, 2012). Title: “Africa’s 2012 growth prospects appear bright, but
downside risks could dampen momentum” published by The World Bank
http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/africa-s-2012-growth-prospects-appear-bright-but-downside-
risks-could-dampen-momentum
Cisco (2012). Title: “Cisco IP Multiplexing” published by Cisco http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/
gov/aag_c45-697642_v2.pdf
Cisco (2002). Title: “H.323 and SIP Integration” published by Cisco
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk652/tk701/technologies_white_paper09186a0080092947.shtml
Economic Times (August 17, 2011). Title: “State-owned BSNL, MTNL, ITI incurred losses worth Rs 4,893
cr” published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-08-17/news/29896496_1_iti-telecom-equipment-
manufacturer-state-owned-telecom-companies
Goode, B. (September 2002) Title: “Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)”. Proceedings of the IEEE, VOL.
90, NO. 9.
Helmes, Thomas (March 2006). Title: “Next Generation Technology and Standardization” published by
ITU-T http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/ngn/200603/presentations/s5_helmes.pdf
Herman Labs (2009). Title: “VoIP Overview” published by Herman Labs.
http://www.hermonlabs.com/Products/innerData/pdf/Voip%20Overview.pdf
IDATE (September 2009). Graph: “Worldwide Regulation of Voip” published by ITUNews.
http://www.itu.int/net/itunews/issues/2009/07/21.aspx

32. P a g e | 32
Infonetics (February 21,2012). Title: “High-growth segments kicking into gear in 2012 in carrier VoIP and
IMS equipment market” published by Infonetics. http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2012/4Q11-Service-
Provider-VoIP-and-IMS-Market-Highlights.asp
Infonetics (October 8, 2011). Title: “Infonetics Report Shows Speed, Complexity of Mobile VoIP Growth”
published by VoIP Evolution http://www.voipevolution.com/2011/10/infonetics-report-mobile-voip-
growth.html
Infonetics Research (April 2011). Title: “SIP trunking drives 70% jump in enterprise session border
controller market” published by Infonetics. http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2011/Enterprise-SBC-Report-
and-SIP-Trunking-Survey-Highlights.asp
Infonetics (April 5, 2012). Title: “VoIP services market growing strong as businesses seek flexibility,
easier management” published by Infonetics. http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2012/VoIP-UC-Services-
Market-Forecast-and-SIP-Trunking-Survey-Highlights.asp
IPsmarx (May 2011). Title: “What is Cloud Based VoIP Service?” published by IPsmarx.
http://blog.ipsmarx.com/2011/05/what-is-cloud-based-voip-service/
Insight Research (March 30, 2012). Title: “Telcos and CableCo Small Business Units Poised to Take a
Revenue Hit, Predicts Insight Research Corp.” published by send2press.
http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2012-03-0330-001.shtml
Kerr, Dara (February 15, 2012). Title: “FCC requires voip providers to report service outages” published
by cnet news. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57378872-93/fcc-requires-voip-providers-to-report-
service-outages/
Lauricella, Michael (March 2008). Title: “Weaving Voice into Contact Management with Web 2.0”
published by Contact Professional. http://www.contactprofessional.com/solutions/crm/weaving-voice-
contact-management-with-web-20-939
Maisto, Michelle (February 2, 2012). Title: “Mobile VOIP to Reach 139 Million Users by 2014: In-Stat”
published by Ziff Davis Enterprises. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/VOIP-and-Telephony/Mobile-VOIP-Use-
to-Reach-139-Million-Users-by-2014-InStat-891246/
McCarthy, Jack (March, 27, 2012). Title: “Gartner: SaaS Revenue Growth To Top 17 Percent In 2012”
published by CRN. http://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/232700368/gartner-saas-revenue-
growth-to-top-17-percent-in-2012.htm;jsessionid=rWjDaEToHj+KnnADuEOlYQ**.ecappj03
Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (February 28, 2012). Title: “Colombia,
the country with the best telecommunication policies in the world” pubished by Ministerio de
Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones. http://www.mintic.gov.co/index.php/mn-english-
news/853-colombia-the-country-with-the-best-telecommunication-policies-in-the-world

33. P a g e | 33
Newport networks (2006). Title: “IPSEC IN VOIP NETWORKS”
http://kambing.ui.ac.id/onnopurbo/library/library-ref-eng/ref-eng-3/physical/voip/91-IPSec-and-
VoIP.pdf
Nokia (October 2003). Title: “Sip for Voip” published by Nokia.
http://www.nokia.com/NOKIA_COM_1/About_Nokia/Press/White_Papers/pdf_files/whitepaper_sip_fo
r_voip.pdf
Nuechterlein, Jonathan & Philip J Weiser (2005). Title: “Digital Crossroads” American
telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age published by The MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-14091-8
OFCOM (No Date). Title: “Regulation of VoIP Services” published by OFCOM. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
consult/condocs/voipregulation/voipregulation.pdf
Oishi, Tokuo (2005). Title: “VOIP AND SATELLITE SYSTEMS” published by NSG Datacom.
http://www.nsgdata.com/solutions/application_briefs/NSGData_VoIP%20and
%20Satellite_R1_052705.pdf
O’Neill, Jim (January 19, 2012). Title: “8x8 tops earnings estimates, sees revenue grow 31%” published
by Fierce Enterprise Communications. http://www.fierceenterprisecommunications.com/story/8x8-
tops-earnings-estimates-sees-revenue-grow-31/2012-01-19
O’Neill, Jim (March 28, 2012). Title: “High-growth segments kicking into gear in 2012 in carrier VoIP and
IMS equipment market”. Published by Fierce Enterprise Communications.
http://www.fierceenterprisecommunications.com/story/sp-warns-cable-voip-revenue-could-follow-
telco-landline-biz/2012-03-28
Packetizer (2012). Title: “ h.323 vs Sip” published by Packetizer
http://www.packetizer.com/ipmc/h323_vs_sip/
Ratcliff, Lee (April 16,2012). Title: “World’s Developing Regions to Provide Strongest Broadband Growth”
published by isuppli Research http://www.isuppli.com/Home-and-Consumer-
Electronics/MarketWatch/Pages/World%E2%80%99s-Developing-Regions-to-Provide-Strongest-
Broadband-Growth.aspx
Schmelkin , Carrie (April 5, 2012). Title: “With VoIP Adoption Lagging in Africa, PBX Provider Sonetel Sets
out to Help” published by TMCnet. http://pbx.tmcnet.com/articles/284140-with-voip-adoption-lagging-
africa-pbx-provider-sonetel.htm
Skype Journal (April, 4, 2012). Title: Skype Topped 41.5 Million Concurrent Users Online Today”
published by Skype Journal. http://skypejournal.com/blog/2012/04/23/skype-topped-41-5-million-
concurrent-users-online-today-chart/
Sutherland, Ed (March 28, 2005). Title: ”Enterprise VoIP Adoption? Gradual but Rapid, Say Experts”
published by WI-FI PLANET. http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/voip/article.php/3493136.

34. P a g e | 34
Technavio (March 7, 2012). Title: “Report: The Mobile VoIP Market in the EMEA Region to Reach US$5.3
Billion By 2014” published by VoIP Monitor.
http://www.voipmonitor.net/2012/03/07/Report+The+Mobile+VoIP+Market+In+The+EMEA+Region+To
+Reach+US53+Billion+By+2014.aspx
TechTarget (No Date). Title: “SIP trunking (Session Initiation Protocol trunking)”
http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/definition/SIP-trunking
Techtarget (August 2005). Title: “VoWLAN (Voice over WLAN)” published by TechTarget
http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/VoWLAN
Teleography (2012). Graph: “Where Did the Growth Go?: The Skype Effect” published by TeleGeography
A Division of PriMetrica, Inc. http://www.telegeography.com/research-services/telegeography-report-
database/index.html
VoIP Lowdown (December 1, 2006). Title: “25 Ways to Secure your VoIP Network” published by m-indya
http://www.m-indya.com/shownews.php?newsid=2576
Voxbone (January 25, 2012). Title: “Voxbone Sees Continued VoIP Growth After Strong 2011”published
by Voxbone http://www.voxbone.com/pressRelease.jsf?id=313
VSAT Systems (No Date). Title: “How broadband satellite Internet works” published by VSAT Systems
http://www.vsat-systems.com/satellite-internet/how-it-works.html
White, Curt M. (2011). Title: “Data communications and computer networks” 6E pp 333-336