Telstra’s Head of Global Wholesale, Peter Hobbs, has today warned carriers focusing on Over-The-Top (OTT) and data services not to forget traditional voice services, which he believes are yet to hit their peak.

With global carriers increasingly focusing on emerging OTT and data opportunities, voice services are sometimes put on the backburner, but speaking at Capacity Middle East in Dubai, Mr Hobbs stressed that the most successful carriers will still keep front of mind the value of ever-evolving voice infrastructure.

“Voice services are sometimes misunderstood and undervalued by carriers because of the challenges they present, such as squeezed margins and increased competition, but it is a mistake to ignore voice altogether,” said Mr Hobbs.

“The common misconception seems to be that OTT players have stolen the voice market from operators, but in reality they have expanded it. We have only really touched the surface of voice service capabilities and the market is big enough for both OTTs and carriers to thrive, with significant opportunities for co-creation too.”

According to Mr Hobbs, new business and MNC applications are two primary drivers of voice requirements, which means enabling a consistently high quality service underpinned by platform and network capabilities are key.

“The growing HD trend – including developments in HD voice, IPX and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) – delivers increased quality and is where operators have a distinct advantage over their competitors and where they can grow their minutes too.

“HD voice is like HDTV, but instead of high-definition images, you get high-definition sound, no background noise and crystal-clear voice quality. Offering these superior quality services is key for carriers and partnering with the right wholesaler is the first step.”

Mr Hobbs went on to highlight Voice over IP (VoIP), specifically Mobile Voice over IP (MVoIP), as a potential space for major growth. This brings HD voice to mobile and integrates voice, video, and private branch exchange communications to connect computers, telephone connections and internal/external mobile networks.

“The rebirth of the voice services market is already beginning to happen and those who capitalise on it quickly will see the greatest success,” he said.

“At Telstra, voice is still very much at the top of our agenda and we are confident that carriers who choose to give it the same priority and take advantage of this opportunity will not be disappointed,” Mr Hobbs concluded.