Survey finds lots of cowboys in the VoIP market

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 08 December 2005 08:36

Business IT - Technology

A survey of VoIP service providers by telecoms industry researcher, Telsyte, has identified a total of 43 in Australia but says many fail to comply with mandatory requirements.

The survey found that 30 percent of consumer VoIP service providers have not registered with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), which is mandatory.

Only 44 percent of service providers detail cancellation conditions in their contracts as specified in the ACIF VoIP Fact Sheet. Seven service providers offer no terms and conditions information or documentation at all and the proportion of providers that explain their service guarantees has fallen by 20 percent (from 62 percent in May 2005 to 42 percent in December).

According to Telsyte managing director, Shara Evans, the results of the research suggest consumer VoIP service providers are rushing to market without properly preparing their services.

"As the VoIP market continues to grow - 23 new providers launched between May and November bringing the total number to 43 - there will be increasing pressure to gain market share," Evans said. "There needs to be closer scrutiny of providers' adherence to telecommunications regulation and industry guidelines to ensure this growth is not to the detriment of consumers."