VoIP growth in LatAm driven by cheap & broadband

The power of VoIP is rolling into Latin America, driven by lower costs and the growth of broadband services. It's also affecting service provider profits, says the new "VoIP in Latin America" report by Frost & Sullivan.

In Brazil, the growth of VoIP and IP telephony is in part expected to cause a 2.8 percent early dip in local revenues and a 7.9 percent dip in long-distance revenues over the next six years. End users say they're reaching for VoIP for cost reductions. 

Frost and Sullivan expects the LatAm VoIP market to grow from earned revenues of around $72 million in 2007 to nearly $626 million in 2012. F&S says VoIP and wireless VoIP service providers need to ensure both operational efficiency and quality of service to thrive, along with effective distribution and promotion strategies.

Factors that will hinder VoIP growth include lack of number portability regulation, poor end-user awareness (i.e. marketing), low call quality levels and an "almost non-existent" VoIP pre-sales effort. VoIP carriers need to improve pre-sales support and customer service, along with creating new service bundles and improving VoIP quality.

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