Identification of success factors for the adoption of IP telephony in Nepal

Abstract

The Internet Protocol Telephony (or IP telephony) service market exhibits rapid development in terms of new services accessible with an explosive growth in number of users around the world. The diffusion of IP telephony has been geared up with the growing demand of Internet. This work presents the results of a study that attempts to identify success factors influencing the diffusion of IP telephony in technologically advanced countries. It combines insights from the experience of IP telephony in South Korea, Japan and Switzerland. Based on the identified influencing factors in the context of current market dynamics in Nepal, policy reform is proposed to provide IP telephony services for four categorically different markets in the country. The study recommends the inclusion of rural population in the ICT coverage through a high requirement of Quality of Service (QoS) and costing based interconnection for an independent IP telephony service. It also points out that the adoption of number portability tends to increase the service subscription dramatically. The thesis focuses on regulatory stances to be adopted considering the success factors for the diffusion of IP telephony. It does not highlight the choices for the last mile network to deliver service in the backdrop of extreme topography of the country.