New revenue killer rears its head

The beleaguered telecoms industry has another item to add to the list of forces undermining its voice revenues. Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) has been identified as the next revenue killer to attack this sector. In the US, people are talking about how IP is about to hit the fan.

Its significance cannot be ignored and it raises the question whether the telecom industry is heading for another structural dilemma.

VoIP now has a firm place next to regulatory issues, 3G and mobile phones even though this latest threat has been around for a decade.