“Given R-Jio’s lack of traditional voice offering and considering that its Vo-LTE (4G) offering may not be mature immediately, we see a possibility that Jio may look to acquire a VOIP license – Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note
New Delhi : With a government panel upholding the principles of ‘net neutrality’, Reliance Jio will possibly look at acquiring a VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) licence but may not offer free calls through this route, a research note said.
Besides, international revenue of telecom operators may remain under pressure as traffic would continue to move to VoIP players who offer free calls barring nominal data charges.
“Given R-Jio’s lack of traditional voice offering and considering that its Vo-LTE (4G) offering may not be mature immediately, we see a possibility that Jio may look to acquire a VOIP license,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) said in a research note. “In such a scenario, we do not see the possibility of free VOIP calls being offered,” it added. An official panel on net neutrality has proposed regulation of domestic calls on Internet-based apps like Skype, Whatsapp and Viber by putting them on par with services offered by telecom operators.
Commenting on this, BofA-ML said this is slightly positive for existing telcos like Bharti/Idea, “as cannibalisation of voice revenues from VOIP uptake will likely be slower”.
According to BofA-ML, existing OTT (Over the top) players like Skype, Viber, WhatsApp and Google Talk may give OTT license a miss as these companies are not telecom service providers and may not make an exception for one country.
“However, the home grown OTTs like Jio chat/Hike may possibly opt to take the license which may allow them to gain traction in the messaging space which is currently dominated by foreign OTT players,” it added.
The report however noted that since VOIP traffic is difficult to monitor, the arbitrage opportunity between international VOIP and domestic VOIP may lead to increase in illegal VOIP traffic.
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Aussie fund adds RIL to portfolio
New Delhi : Australia-based Platinum fund, having USD 18.5 billion worth assets under its fold, has added Reliance Industries to its portfolio with bullish outlook on downstream projects, as also company’s re-entry into telecom business with Jio later this year.
In its latest report, Platinum Asset Management said it has exited “from the short-lived hope for the aluminium sector with a smaller profit than last quarter, and exited Oracle and Bharti Airtel to make way for new… These include RIL.”The company is now in the midst of a new investment cycle where it is upgrading its petrochemical capacity and launching into new fields,” it said.
On RIL’s re-entry into telecommunications business, it said though investors have questioned the company’s ability as a newcomer to break into a crowded market but there infact is an opportunity for Reliance Jio as few companies in India have standing and free cash flow of USD 6 billion a year to force their entry.
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