The ManicaPost
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) says use of landlines by corporates is declining steadily as many users are switching to cheaper options like Voice over Internet Protocol (VolP).
VolP is a system for converting analogue signals to digital so that telephone calls may be made over the internet using a computer.
Corporate landline use in steady decline
POTRAZ said corporate subscriptions for fixed voice telecommunications maintained a steady decline throughout last year with sole fixed line provider TelOne, recording a 9.3 percent decline between the second and third quarters.
Figures that POTRAZ provided show that as of October last year, the number of active corporate landline users had dropped to 82 553 down from 90 977 in the second quarter.
In September 2015 corporate landline users numbered 100 599, which was a drop from 104 313 users registered in May 2015, showing that corporates were migrating from fixed voice communication.
POTRAZ also noted that corporates now tended to prefer reliable voice solutions and judging from a rise in its traffic the VoIP was being embraced as a landline alternative.
Latest figures show that traffic made from fixed lines to VoIP lines was up 15.4 percent in the third quarter of last year, while calls received from VoIP lines also went up by 6.4 percent.
Over the years VoIP has proved to be the best alternative to voice calls and has been sold with broadband solutions like Fibre to the locations that internet providers like Liquid Telecom and Telco have been pushing to their corporate clients.
To survive competition, TelOne last year introduced its own VoIP solutions, selling to clients that take up its fibre solution. — New Ziana.
