Consumer VoIP services can offer very low-cost calls, especially for international and other toll calls, but a new Research Note from Telsyte finds that complex plans and wide price variations could result in consumers paying more for their service using VoIP.

Quantifying the Costs of VoIP is the first detailed analysis of Australian VoIP service prices based on the full range of industry data. Having compiled 42 residential VoIP plans and 33 PSTN plans for analysis as part of its Instant Benchmark service, Telsyte then re-rated a real consumer telephone bill using the prices from these plans to calculate the Industry Low, Industry Median, and Industry High VoIP and PSTN plans for a series of Consumer Baskets.

The surprising result is that even when the bill analysis only re-rates call charges, the most expensive VoIP services are more expensive than the median PSTN prices for all the consumer baskets used in the study. If the cost of broadband service and a PSTN access line (necessary to support an ADSL connection) are included in the analysis, VoIP only offers significant savings if the user has the time, patience and knowledge to find the cheapest plans in Australia.

Quantifying the Costs of VoIP also found that the existing price competition in PSTN services would deliver services at an overall cost comparable to VoIP for many Consumer Baskets.

VoIP only shows a clear, consistent, and undeniable advantage for users with very large numbers of toll calls — for example, with high numbers of National or International calls. The Research Note presents the impact analysis of expanding the customer's calls in these three categories.

Quantifying the Costs of VoIP is a 23-page Research Note which includes 9 Figures and 8 Tables. It is available now at a cost of $350 (ex-GST), and is part of Telsyte's Research Note series of "bite size" analytical documents designed to provide vital service and competitive information at an affordable price.

The report includes:

Bill re-rating showing VoIP and PSTN service costs for calls only;
Bill re-rating including VoIP on-costs and PSTN service costs;
Impact analysis of a change in call volumes.