Global majors push for IP telephony in Middle East
January 1st, 2007 - Posted in VoIPTelephone equipment makers are out to prove VoIP isn’t a four-letter word - and instead might be the perfect solution for rapidly growing enterprises throughout the Gulf.
VoIP, or Voice-over-Internet Protocol, is a way to transmit voice calls digitally over IP-based networks such as the internet.
The term gets a bad name because the UAE government bans popular services like Skype and Net2Phone. These firms are unlicenced to provide telecommunications services here, yet use the public internet to allow customers to make free or low-cost international calls.
However, the technology is becoming the technical standard as telecom companies install fibre optic networks to carry voice data. Both etisalat and du’s infrastructure is or will be IP-based.
Riding on the back of this new technology, Avaya, Linksys and other firms are targeting the growing Middle East market to supply businesses with VoIP phones and equipment.
Cutting edge
IP phone systems allow companies to add new extensions, with minimal technical oversight, immediately as their workforce grows. Nidal Abou Ltaif, managing director, Avaya Middle East and North Africa, says it’s “plug and play at no extra cost.” By comparison, in traditional analog or digital phone systems a technician must install new phone lines to expand capacity.
With VoIP, companies can deploy one system to cover multiple office locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and elsewhere. Some Avaya customers with large numbers of staff and call centres like etisalat, Emirates Bank and Morgan Stanley place orders of up to 3,000 to 5,000 IP phones.
Although more expensive at purchase, the VoIP-enabled phones are more cost-effective over the medium term because they allow for scalable systems, says Ltaif, who estimates that 90 per cent of new firms purchase IP-phone equipment.
Prospects
Avaya has also been creating solutions that allow executives on the go to always be connected. Under a partnership with Nokia, Avaya technology lets executives access their company email on their Nokia handsets. It also lets calls to the office line be routed to the mobile phone if the person is out of office. Avaya hopes to offer the same services on other handset vendors as well.
Recently, Avaya inked a deal with the Dubai Department of Health. Under the new system urgent calls to the main switchboard will be routed to doctors’ mobile phones, wherever they are. Soon, doctors will also be able to access patient charts and other digital files on their handsets.
Source: gulfnews.com