VoIP could be 'game changing' technology

Increasing use of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services could change the face of communication forever, one analyst has suggested.

According to Juan Vela of US broadband service provider Ocaam Networks, the ability to make calls cheaply over the internet, coupled with IP TV, has "changed the telecommunications market like no other technologies before".

And this trend is set to continue, he suggested.

"Competitive pressure coupled with consumer demand for innovative services [will see] carriers... faced with a challenge to create and offer innovative services that leverage the technology options now available in the access equipment market," he said.

Mr Vela claimed that this may alter the way that current IT professionals plan their telecommunications support, suggesting that more emphasis will be placed on equipment that lends itself towards online services.

"It's easy to see how IPTV and VoIP are in every carrier executive's list of 'must haves'," he said.