Telefonica, IBM Apply Blockchain To International Voice

Telefonica and IBM are teaming up in a new collaboration. The two giants are working together to address the needs of transactional network activities, and they are starting with the routing of international voice calls.

The idea is to use blockchain’s shared, immutable transaction record to keep track of what goes where and for how long, and to use that to add new opportunities for efficiency and trust in such networks. All operators in the chain would have access to that data, adding visibility into what has always been a bit of a black box in the voice business.

Blockchain is one of those technologies everyone wants a piece of this year. In the telecommunications space, it certainly seems to be cropping up most frequently when looking at wholesale international voice.  Colt and PCCW have done some work down a similar path. Perhaps there really is some fire under all that smoke. – Telecomram Blings