Making the TV another SIP endpoint
Don’t get this wrong, mainstream access to video calling from a big screen is hardly new. Besides Skype there have been (and are) a few options for using the TV and the living room as a spot for having personal video calls and traditionally, the common option would be to hook a device to the TV using a HDMI cable. The biggest issue with this option is that it does not remove the need of requiring a dedicated device placed in front of the user as well as the requirement of setting up the whole thing making the communications something you need to plan. Basically the TV merely acts as an output for the video and the audio.
If we are to dive into dedicated services, it is worth mentioning the year 2018 when Facebook launched Portal TV; a 149$ STB (Set-top box) that includes a video camera to allow users to perform video calls with other people (even if they do not have a portal device). This piece of equipment might raise the eyebrows of some people (especially after Facebook controversy on the Whatsapp integration) but it seems like the natural move of a company that is effectively the provider of communication services for a huge chunk of the consumer market with Facebook messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. There are limitations though on this Portal TV offer as not all the countries have access to the service making it a little bit limited.
Yet not everything is gloomy for operators, there are still opportunities and ways they can leverage in their position as communication providers. They adapted to VoD services by bundling those into their offer and even in some cases producing their own content. They are also still the most relevant player when offering phone lines to consumers which puts them in an advantageous position to control the way telecommunications can be delivered.
In Quobis we believe that Telcos can benefit from this position as the technology is available for making the TV another Telephony (SIP-like) endpoint allowing its subscribers to receive calls in the device of their liking; that being their mobile phone, their TV or any other endpoint that has internet connectivity. Offering multi ringing capability and interoperability of calls allows telecommunication providers to create a differentiated offer on which users are now free to seamlessly choose the device that is better suited to their liking. By integrating to the Telco network there is no limit in which service the subscribers are using because the TV acts effectively as telephony endpoint son in this way users can stop worrying on requiring a specific application depending on the person they want to talk to (is the contact on WhatsApp, does she have Alexa, did he install Telegram). This is why Quobis offers the possibility for service providers of integrating a voice and video service on the STB provided to their customers to effectively create a new communication endpoint on which users can perform SIP calls fully leveraging the Telco network creating new services and differentiation points to keep and attract new customers.
