Canada and EU Lag Behind U.S. in SIP Trunking Adoption
Global use of SIP trunks expected to grow. Canada and EU lag behind U.S.
Businesses in the United States are leading the way in adopting SIP trunking for their communication needs, reports Infonetics, a technology market research firm.
Outside of the U.S., infrastructure and regulations are the hurdles standing in the way of greater use of SIP trunks.
In Europe there are a host of incompatible networks that make it more difficult to deploy SIP but lately it’s becoming more available.
“Legacy telecom access methods like ISDN/PRI pose numerous challenges,” said Peter Quinlan, VP Integrated Business Video Services for Tata Communications, in this article from TheUCBuyer.
“Being behind the U.S. is a result of lagging regulations, however the EU has moved quickly to catch up in terms of regulations and is experiencing significant SIP trunking adoption and growth,” said Quinlan.
Reliable PSTN Slows SIP Trunking in Canada
Traditional telephony connectivity methods are slowing the growth rate of SIP trunks in Canada as well.
Jon Arnold, a Toronto-based IP communications industry analyst, comments in his UCStrategies article that in the Canadian market, “it’s not uncommon for 20+ year old systems to be going strong.”
“For a lot of companies, there’s just no reason to change when the phones work so well and the PSTN is so reliable,” said Arnold.
Arnold cites a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) report that shows that well-established telecommunication companies “hold an 88% share of revenues and 86% of lines” because TDM is still very profitable for them – they don’t have a reason to offer SIP trunks to their customers, unless they ask for them.
Perhaps what’s more telling about the Canadian SIP trunking market is the lack of reliable, affordable high-speed internet access.
It’s been shown that SIP trunks can reduce costs but, “SIP Trunking will only deliver that if you have sufficient bandwidth, and that’s simply not available across the board,” Arnold explains.
Canada is a big, beautiful country so geography is one challenge to get remote and rural broadband access.
Michael Geist, Professor of Law at Ottawa University, suggests that Canada simply isn’t setting the bar high enough for broadband target speeds.
Global SIP Trunking Market Forecast Expects Growth
Overall, the global SIP trunking market is expected to grow.
The efficiency of consolidated voice and data networks with failover support that SIP-based communication offers will continue to drive interest.
Quinlan notes that it’s Skype for Business however that is driving international interest for SIP, saying that Skype for Business “seems to have been the tipping point for most large enterprises.”
Other SIP trunk market highlights from the Infonetics report include:
- North America is the largest market for SIP trunking services – growth is fueled as new geographic markets open up.
- Businesses deploy SIP in stages – More businesses are using SIP trunking, but they are not converting 100% of connections to SIP, “SIP is typically being deployed at one or two sites to start”
- Infonetics expects worldwide SIP market to reach $8 billion in 2018
- Businesses want hybrid solutions – SIP trunking is commonly packaged with PBX and Unified Communications (UC) services
Read More
Infonetics: SIP trunking services market expected to top $8 billion by 2018
UCStrategies: Telecom 2015 – The State of the Canadian Market
Michael Geist: Missing the Target: Why Does Canada Still Lack a Coherent Broadband Goal?