VoIP, RBOC STYLE

Voice over IP isn’t just a CLEC’s toy anymore. Verizon Communications and Qwest are now in the game, and they’re challenging the traditional notions of the RBOC as a tired old incumbent unwilling to embrace new technologies.

Both Qwest and Verizon have trials of VoIP running in their territories: Qwest in Minnesota, and Verizon in an unspecified location in its territory. Both are trying to determine if VoIP is the wave of the future and the replacement for their 100-year-old circuit-switched telephony service, or just a flash in the pan of consumer buzz technologies.

So far, the two companies are keeping the details of their VoIP projects close, neither wanting to give away details to current and potential competitors, but both carriers said they are gearing up for what will eventually be nationwide consumer launches. Qwest plans to be in its entire 14-state territory by the end of the year, and Verizon has announced it plans to launch its first commercial service this quarter and then expand nationwide.

“We’re waiting for the technology to get to the right spot,” said Michelle Switzenberg, project head of Verizon’s consumer VoIP deployment. “Basically we’ve seen really good success so far.”

Verizon initially envisions a service based on bundling, offering VoIP and enhanced features with its DSL service. Qwest is following a similar plan, bundling VoIP with its DSL service along with traditional POTS services such as voicemail and three-way calling, but adding such enhanced features as find-me-follow-me applications to the mix. In the future, Qwest anticipates offering a full IP feature set.

“We’re trying to understand the appetite for feature functionality,” said John Gonner, director of VoIP for Qwest. “As we understand that appetite more, we adopt it into our systems.”

Probably one of the biggest hurdles Qwest and Verizon face—as will all of the incumbents if they move to VoIP—is deciding which customers to market the service to, versus which to offer a more traditional service. While both carriers are primarily testing VoIP out with early adopters, they said that eventually the marketplace will determine which customers go with which service.

“We don’t make the decision—the customer does,” Gonner said. “Our goal is to simply fulfill that desire.”