The impact deregulation
will have on the contact centre industry will come under the
spotlight at a voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) conference
to be hosted by CallingtheCape in January.
CallingtheCape executive
director Luke Mills says for the first time international and
local contact centre operators will be able to debate the
legal and technical aspects of the choices they now have,
following the telecommunications market liberalization
announcement.
The liberalization,
which comes into effect in February 2005, licenses value-added
network service providers (VANS) to carry voice traffic over
the Internet. Until now they have been restricted to carrying
data only.
"For the first time, all
the carriers - including the telecommunications companies and
the VANS - will be there," Mills says.
Call centers have become
a major industry in the Western Cape, employing 11 000 people
in more than 100 operations. According to CallingtheCape, the
industry's growth rate is expected to be around 25% a year.
The conference will
provide a forum for experts in the industry to share
information about the opportunities that will become available
after deregulation, the reduction in costs the introduction of
VOIP should bring and what it will mean for infrastructure
investment in contact centers.
The VANS panel
discussion will include international vendors planning to
offer VOIP, namely Gateway Communications, Telkom, Internet
Solutions, British Telecom, T-Systems and UUNet.
These participants,
which are also sponsoring the event, will discuss issues such
as the provision of offshore connectivity and what
communications technologies will be available to the industry.
Karel Botha, Spescom's
Western Cape regional manager, says the expected deregulation
will result in greater competition due to a wider choice of
service providers, which should drive down prices.
"In terms of technology,
there will be much greater choice. Today, international
connectivity from SA is limited to TDM [Time Division
Multiplex] interface, which has restrictions on what you can
do. With deregulation, the choice opens up to include voice
over IP which can be run on Internet protocols," Botha says.
"As from February, the
playing field will be more even and the benefits to both the
industry and the country should be significant," says Angus
MacRobert, CEO of Internet Solutions (IS).
"We believe that call
centre operators will now be able to attract global players to
establish their customer centers in SA and thus create
substantial job opportunities and a world-class service. IS
intends to play a major role in the provision of these
services."
