The IP market growth is still curbed by the interconnectivity prohibition between PSTN and IP. IP is likely to pick up only after DoT relaxes its regulations.

The voice solutions market is still going strong, seemingly unaffected by the recession that other industries are facing. The ISDN PRI market is growing by the day with the service providers still aggressively migrating the age old POTs users/customers by offering an irresistible combination of a digital PRI line packaged with state of the art EPABXs.

On the growth drivers of the Indian voice solutions market

Aggressive promotion by the service provider industry is the sole driver of the growing PRI usage in the country today. The GSM/CDMA industry is too stepping in trying to capture some of this market space by offering a wireless EPABX on similar grounds. IP is likely to pick up only after DoT relaxes the regulations on the interconnectivity between the networks.

On the market and technology trends in the voice solutions market

The analog PBX is steadily phasing out, especially with the modern customer concentrating more on the application benefits that help improve productivity. The ISDN PRI EPABXs are currently dominating the market space with IP enabled EPABXs on the second foot. Pure IP PBXs are gaining popularity with the ITeS/BPO/call center industry.

On the impact of the slowdown on the market

The slowdown has really not affected the voice solutions market. Infact, now the customer has become more conscious of the cost saving benefits that an EPABX can provide. Even big giants are going to the core to find better and more cost effective solutions with respect to their telecommunications. All this translates into more opportunities for the voice solutions industry to exhibit the true potential of the solutions they were offering but that were not fully exploited till date.

On the key demand verticals

The hybrid/digital EPABX fits the requirement of the SOHO users aptly. The SME segment is looking for a communication platform that helps it save costs as well as improves the overall productivity of the end user. The corporate and enterprise segments need a telephony platform that offers everything, voice, data, video etc.

On the key challenges faced by the players in India

The Indian players are currently doing better business as compared to their foreign counter parts, especially in the service provider driven PRI segment. But when it comes to entering the high end enterprise segment, the brand identity of players like NEC, Panasonic, Siemens, etc. poses a hindrance in terms of customer acceptability.

On major policies or regulatory issues that are affecting the growth of the market

The IP market growth is still curbed by the interconnectivity prohibition between PSTN and IP. Although TRAI has already suggested to DoT that this rule should be abolished, the voice solutions industry still awaits DoT's consent on the same.

On the future of voice solutions market in India

If service providers start assuring good bandwidth at low cost, IP is definitely the way to go as soon as DoT relaxes these regulations.