Is Voice over LTE Arriving Too Late?

I was listening to an earnings call and heard the same thing I have been hearing in the marketplace:  Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is not a 2012 activity.  As a matter of fact, on the call it sounded like 2013 was the likely starting point for carrier demand according to the customer feedback this company had received.

Therefore, the webinar we are running with Radvision (soon to be Avaya) about VoLTE and RCS’ role in UC for the enterprise seems to me a very interesting topic.

Amongst friends, in the carriers we talk a lot about how much business they are losing to over the top solutions, which brings us to the issue of VoLTE.  While our GSMA friends dismiss the over the top market, it has changed the industry.

Skype is the principal way international calling is done and it wiped away a ton of overseas phone calls. Companies like 8x8 and Vonage have solved the problem for many by bringing the dial tone overseas.

So what happens if the enterprise adopts VoLTE before the Carriers are ready? Will this represent a further erosion of revenue generating traffic?

Is it possible that the enterprise becomes even more efficient by gatewaying traffic through its own version of the IPX?

Can a federation model be delivered using VoLTE as the connecting glue to network?

While the carriers see revenue regardless of wireline or wireless, the enterprise is wrestling with the impact of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) employee.

Finding ways to cope with employee preferences has given rise to Asset Management systems reinventing themselves and VPNs becoming more essential.  As the voice becomes more packetized it’s entirely possible that the business is compelled to bring it into a VPN.  

I was hoping to see Verizon Wireless HomeFusion embrace VoIP, but I am not sure that’s the sweet spot for the market.

The enterprise has embraced SIP Trunking and has interconnected its offices into a giant ETN (Note: archaic term for Enterprise Trunking Network should not be seen as the official term since it is a telecom term).

Given the BYOD mentality the carrier may find the market window closing.  See if I am right by joining us on April 23 for the Webinar.