Can Wholesale Voice Termination Manage the Rise in VoIP Demands?

Gone are the days when you can use the excuse of not having a telephonic network to keep you connected to faraway places and places nearby for personal and professional reasons. The world has willingly adopted virtual communications to support digital transformation. The astonishing pace of this transition from traditional ways of communications to VoIP is nothing but a view through a periscope – a unique way of looking at innovation-aided solutions.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP )  technically converts a voice into a digital signal, thus enabling calls to data-driven devices. VoIP has been considered a worthy investment for business in the past decade and has taken over the enterprise world as the preferred channel of comms worldwide.

VoIP Termination: In VoIP termination, calls are patched from one VoIPnumber to another. It routes a call from one provider to the next until they reach the last provider and are received.

In summary, VoIP termination is a mutual agreement between providers/ carriers to connect callers around the globe- extending telephonic service coverage by their network and/or partner networks for places where the providers are physically or infrastructurally absent.

So, a VoIP termination service provider is a carrier that ensures your outgoing calls are connected to your recipients via their network and/or partner networks. VoIP termination services via their service level agreement are also responsible for security, audio quality, and least-cost routing. A-Z VoIP termination is a provider's complete list of rates for all available countries.  At the same time, SIP stands for Session Initiated Protocol, arguably interchangeable with "VoIP" termination in online content.

Wholesale Voice Termination:

Companies worldwide continue to embrace modernized communications, despite speculation that the surge in hosted voice demand in 2020 and 2021 was only a temporary shift in the market. Hybrid work models have proven to be more effective in global companies than anyone could have anticipated (confidently).

In no way are we saying that cloud migration has been straightforward. Integrating new VoIP services or technologies can be challenging, whether replacing a legacy PBX or optimizing your current business phone setup. First-time users of dedicated voice termination services had to be the most aware and pay special attention while adapting to this way of working!

To make confident, competent decisions about voice termination, operators, service providers, and carriers took over the role of educators in the past three years, and the results are nothing less than marvelous. The navigation through the complexities of global telecom is eased by the aid provided by service providers to make informed choices regarding the enterprises' voice termination needs- this in the past has included handholding from call origination to termination and beyond. Call origination is the location where the number is dialed from, while call termination refers to the recipient's location.

Categories of VoIP Termination Providers

VoIP termination providers or telecom carriers are broadly categorized into:

Tier 1 Telecom Carriers have their own and maintain their own infrastructure, including a direct network. Although large carriers peer with Tier 2 and sometimes Tier 3, they prioritize their own traffic above everything else. There are a limited number of Tier 1 carriers.

Tier 2 Telecom Carriers thrive on one or more peering agreements with Tier 1 carriers. Tier 2 carriers tend to piggyback off Tier 1 networks, but some maintain direct connections with multiple Tier 1 carriers and/or have their own infrastructure in certain regions, routing calls to the carrier best suited to handle the call based on location.

Tier 3 Telecom Carriers host their customers' calls with one or more Tier 2 carriers. There is a high chance of experiencing audio issues, post-dial delay, jitter, and dropped calls the more "handoffs" there are between networks.

Calls are not handoffs between Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers, while their own networks or different Tier 1s are better suited to optimize international connections.

Who Uses Voice Termination Services and why?

The most common businesses in need of reliable VoIP services are: 

1. BPOs & Call Centers: the handling and support of multiple or individual enterprises need a dedicated call termination provider. In a BPO, dropped calls and poor call quality are common problems, and a slight change in VoIP termination rates can dramatically impact your bottom line.
2. Partnered Services & Enterprises: VoIP termination providers frequently partner with enterprises and medium-sized businesses with international calling needs and need for unified communications. Dedicated voice services are usually integrated into existing systems using SIP trunking.
3. Embedded Communications: Social media and communication apps such as WhatsApp, FaceTime, etc., use VoIP termination services to carry out their calling functions.

Reasons Organizations Use VoIP Termination Services

1. Local Voice Termination: The ability to use local caller I.D. in target markets to display a familiar caller I.D. to avoid missing out on more than 75% of answered calls. 
2. Expanded Call Coverage: VoIP provides greater access to phone numbers in hard-to-reach places, such as app-based numbers, PBX-based lines, or unified communication accounts (like Teams). Companies that partner with a global voice termination to provide A to Z termination.
3. Price Reduction (Wholesale Call Rates): There is a significant cost saving when terminating VoIP services over PSTN (and it is easier to work with). With wholesale voice termination, you can avail of a wide range of services at the most affordable rates. Wholesale VoIP partnerships reduce headcount requirements and save time while allowing vendors to offer industry-leading rates.
4. Automated Work Flows: VoIP offers unified communications with integrated voice service to support automation technologies, enabling a ready-to-go communication network model replicating their range of customized services in any corner of the world.  
5. Unified Communications: Most VoIP termination providers offer unified communication integration which has a great track record for inducing and aiding productivity. 
6. Superior Call Quality:  By eliminating dropped calls, post-dial delays, and poor audio quality to guarantee good connection, independent of origination and termination location- the secret to efficient call- routing.

The  Rise in Demand for VoIP: The newfound insatiable appetite for uninterrupted communication and connectivity is the primary reason for the rise in popularity of VoIP, which is still a developing technology and, in relative terms, still young. Yet, it has been gaining ground on legendary communication services due to the following reasons:

1. Need for Mobility while a Rise in Remote Working Opportunity: For the modern-day workforce, remote or hybrid working is the way of life. In an environment of choice, a person is productive, and enterprises have noted this and have shown support. Virtual ones are safe, secure, and offer a fair chance at attendance. A meeting from a car,  a call from the mountain, or a video conference on an Island – may not be recommended but is entirely possible.
2. Automation, Digitisation, and Artificial Intelligence: In the world of enterprises, there is a strong adherence to automation and digitization. Artificial Intelligence also has an amazing capability to help optimize almost everything with a pattern. VoIP acts as the enabler- holding communication, collaboration, and innovation together while offering scalability, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility for Automation, Digitisation, and Artificial Intelligence to reach their potential.
3. New Found Love for the Cloud:  Cloud is the deployment platform for technology, infrastructure, applications, hosting, services, and storage.
4. Increasing Demand for Reducing Infrastructure Costs: the move from physical to the cloud is the only way to have sustainable, minimal hardware and optimal cost for infrastructure; also, a definitive factor is aiding the rise in scalability due to remote access to such infra.
5. Mobile Phone: With the proliferation of smartphones, VoIP traffic is on the rise. Increasing mobile internet usage and high-data voice calling applications have led to a surge in VoIP needs.

International VoIP Termination Trends and Stats

The global wholesale voice carrier market forecast is likely to be boosted by investments in the global telecom industry. As voice traffic and quality roaming services increase, the market is experiencing rapid growth in the Adoption of these technologies. Increasing voice traffic and high-quality roaming services require the Adoption of wholesale voice and data services. The Market Size for Wholesale Voice Carrier Services ($31,754.36Mn by 2028) is dominated by VoIP Call Services (4.6% CAGR).

Global: The wholesale voice carriers' market grew at a CAGR of 4.6% during 2021-2028, growing from $23,139.03 million in 2021; while the voice termination segment commanded 66.2% of the market in 2020.

According to Global Market Insights Inc.'s most recent research study, the international wholesale voice carrier market will reach USD 60 billion by 2027. Global VoIP carriers, in particular, are experiencing rapid growth as smartphone penetration continues to soar. As CSPs and telecom service providers purchase wholesale voice carrier services to improve revenues and mitigate losses, the international wholesale voice carrier market is expected to proliferate, providing new opportunities for market expansion. The market for interconnect billing is expected to grow 10% each year until 2027. This type of billing will offer more efficient accounting and auditing capabilities, enabling decision-making and transparency. Rapid developments in the telecom industry are also creating a demand for this service. The owned network segment is expected to have a market share of over 65% in 2020. This could result from expansion efforts by telecommunications companies and government initiatives to help expand fiber optics networks. The growth is enabled by combining different technologies to transmit voice communication over the Internet and commercial WANs (or enterprise LANs).

North America: 

• Promising Growth: The demand for the leased network is rapidly increasing in North America. Believe it or not, this type of service is much cheaper and more profitable than traditional infrastructure. The North American wholesale voice carrier market share from the leased network segment has grown at a 10% CAGR over the last 20 years, and we predict that it will continue for another 18 years.
• Strategic partnerships by Canadian telecom enterprises: Canadian telecom operators are partnering with one another to bring the latest communication solutions to their customers. They offer competitively-priced, quality service and devices. The partnerships were a success, in part because of the regulatory approval.
• The popularity of Web-based apps: The domestically oriented call type segment for landlines is worth $USD5 billion, spurred on by enterprise adoption of OTT voice and messaging technologies such as Google Voice, Viber, and Skype.

Latam:

• Growth due to increasing penetration of smartphones: Mexican businesses are opting for I.P. telephony services that can offer cost benefits over legacy telephone systems. The bandwidth/ capabilities of VoIP solutions enable strategic collaboration of Enterprises and telecom companies to tap the growing market.

Asia Pacific:

• Rise in Adoption of interconnect billing solutions: One of the main reasons these solutions are seeing widespread Adoption is it helps speed up digital transformation. The APAC industry billing segment is expected to grow at a 10% CAGR, and By 2026, it's estimated that the total APAC wholesale voice carrier market size will surpass USD7 billion.

Asia

• Increasing telecom frauds: Telecom fraud is a big problem in the Asia Pacific, and it's causing the market for fraud management solutions to grow. These solutions are becoming more and more important as companies try to prevent losses. The market for these solutions is expected to grow 12% per year through 2026.

Europe

The international wholesale voice carrier market in Europe is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of over 10% through 2027. The increasing penetration of 5G network services and government initiatives to analyze mobile termination rates are boosting the regional industry expansion. For instance, in July 2021, the Delegated Regulation that sets single maximum union-wide voice termination rates became applicable.

• Growing subscriptions for VoIP services: The number of VoIP subscriptions are growing in popularity across European countries. Many regional subscribers are starting to prefer VoIP-based calling because it has the tendency to be more affordable than traditional voice calls. The industry share from the VoIP segment is projected to be around 13% CAGR through the next five years. Wholesale voice carrier services that are VoIP-enabled provide telecom companies with enhanced technologies and also help to eliminate roaming charges.
• A gradual shift to voice termination: The European wholesale voice carrier market is expected to reach $11 billion by 2026. The market has seen a shift from conventional voice and data services to more efficient solutions provided by regional wholesale voice termination service providers. The wholesale voice termination segment is expected to represent more than 70% of the total industry by 2026.

How is the Industry Coping?

The facts and figures make VoIP's demand self-evident. Mobility, Automation, Digitisation, Artificial Intelligence, and the Cloud drive the demand for VoIP in business and are easily translated into business benefits. The industry has successfully delivered its promise by pushing innovation capabilities to provide businesses with the means to keep up with the demands.

A peek into the Future:

VoIP has already started harnessing the powers of Unified Communications to offer seamless, high-end integrated communication solutions that include content sharing, web and video conferencing, desktop sharing, and data sharing as a package. Unified communication provides businesses and consumers various ways to communicate via one manageable package. An effective unified communications platform enables firms to integrate all their channel- which is the current focus of all telecommunication channels.