Study: IP Telephony to Experience Fastest Growth in 2007

Some 49% of Latin America companies believe IP telephony is expected to be the fastest-growing technology within the telecoms sector in Latin America in 2007, according to a study published by BNamericas.

BNamericas' survey IT Spending in Latin America 2007 showed that 20% of companies interviewed said Wi-Fi would be the fastest-growing technology, while 19% opted for mobile technology.

Brazilian companies were the most optimistic about IT with 61% saying the technology would lead this year, followed by 53% of Argentina companies, 51% in Mexico and 50% in Chile.

Some 24% of Mexican firms predicted mobile telephony would lead the way, while 28% of Chilean companies said the leader would be Wi-Fi.

"IP is the technology that is currently leading convergence. IP is no longer a value added solution in itself. Now it is considered as a base platform to add value," tech consultancy IDC's Latin America senior telecom analyst Diego Anesini told BNamericas.

According to Anesini, one of the main reasons why companies are adopting IP technologies is to reduce long-term calling costs.

Anesini said Chile is showing the highest level of adoption of IP solutions followed by Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

According to IDC, some 75% of Latin American companies with more than 250 employees would be using IP telephony by the end of 2007 compared to 66% at present, Ricardo Villate, general manager of IDC's Southern Cone unit, recently told reporters in a press conference.

"The adoption of IP solutions is no longer a discussion. Nowadays, few companies are investing in traditional technologies," US networking equipment vendor Cisco's (Nasdaq: CSCO) director of operations for South America Sebastían Ballerini told BNamericas.

The executive said companies within the SME segment are rapidly adopting IP technology.

Enrique Carrier, director of Argentine consultancy firm Carrier y Asociados, told BNamericas that many vertical segments such as banks stand to benefit from IP technology, especially segments with decentralized operations, as they can eliminate the cost of calling to their different branches.

Meanwhile, 63% of companies within the petrochemicals sector considered IP telephony would be the fastest-growing technology this year, far more than the average of those interviewed overall. This sector predicts considerably lower levels of growth for mobile technology (17%), Wi-Fi (14%) and WiMax (3%).

In the banking sector, 55% of companies believe IP telephony would see rapid growth during this year, while only 16% expects mobile technology or Wi-Fi would lead the ranking.

Among the companies interviewed in the IT sector, 35% considered IP telephony would have a rapid growth this year, 25% for Wi-Fi, 23% for WiMax, while 18% considered mobile technology would lead the ranking this year."

Posted to the site on 6th April 2007