The awaited end of rapacious money making from international calls is nigh, according to Telegeography.
International long distance traffic growth is slowing rapidly. According to new data from TeleGeography, international long distance traffic grew four percent in 2011, to 438 billion minutes. This growth rate was less than one-third of the industry’s long-run historical average of 13 percent annual growth. Because telcos must rely on strong volume growth to offset inevitable price declines, slowing traffic growth is making life ever more difficult for international service providers.
Governments, of course, haven’t a clue, and are erecting even more elaborate gateway monopolies (e.g. Bangladesh) and slapping extra taxes on outgoing international calls (Sri Lanka). The first is futile; the second is stupid. But the question is when international telephony disappears, not whether.
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Abu Saeed Khan
The Great International Gateway Circus of Bangladesh.