T-Mobile USA's announcement this week that it will launch
a $10 per month home phone service nationwide sent shock waves through the
Internet voice industry, experts say.
“This is another indication that VoIP as a standalone
business is getting tougher,” said Moe Tanabian, a principal with IBB
Consulting. “It remains a very valuable application but the VoIP business is
changing.”
The T-Mobile service sets a jarring new price floor in an industry that has
long depended on landline service prices remaining artificially high. (see T-Mobile At Home with $10 Phone
Service)
But a $10 per month price leaves little room to maneuver for VoIP providers
whose profits depend on thin margins derived from telecom arbitrage. Their
revenue must stay ahead of the hard costs of voice transport and termination.
There are also equipment costs and the high costs of constant innovation,
marketing, customer acquisition, and customer retention.
Just offering a raw service does not seem like a sustainable business
proposition so a number of Internet voice providers are seeking alternative revenue
generating strategies.
"VoIP is sustainable as a piece of a larger puzzle so for instance the
cable companies are successful because VoIP allows them to reduce customer
churn," Mr. Tanabian said.
Many VoIP firms have focused on offering cheap international calls particularly
international calls made from mobile phones which tend to be costly. Others
seek to integrate Internet voice in lifestyle, entertainment, and business
applications.
Vonage for instance is getting ready to launch VonagePro, a
"prosumer" service that allows consumers to pick features that fit
their lifestyles from a menu of options including visual voice mail and
international calling plans.
"Low prices don't drive customer loyalty because customers rotate between
the cheapest offers," said Charles Sahner, a spokesman for Vonage.
"Customers come for the price but stay for the features."
Vonage which has faced tough financial times in large part because of its high
customer acquisition and retention costs hopes to become such an integral part
its customers' lives that they will not switch solely on the basis of price.
"We envision a future where customers will be loyal to us because we're
helping people to communicate without boundaries enabling their lifestyle
choices and helping them share their dreams," Mr. Sahner said.
VoIP firms such as Jaxtr are adding elements of social networking to improve
the "stickiness" of their services, while firms such as Jajah have
sought out partnerships with social networking and other lifestyle firms to
embed voice in their applications.
Jajah has also sought out carrier partnerships to add its services as part of a
menu of landline, mobile, and VoIP services.
"VoIP is valuable as a plug-in service so the VC investments being made in
VoIP are being done with an eye towards eventual acquisition,” Mr. Tanabian
said.