Xu Yu: Domestic VOIP companies should unite to grow bigger

JasonYoo

Xu Yu: Domestic VOIP companies should unite to grow bigger [Copy link]

It is estimated that VoIP will account for 40% of global telecommunications traffic by 2008. However, there are still many problems with VoIP in China: Can it reach the quality of traditional telephone networks in terms of security and stability? Can it reach commercial standards from a technical perspective? Obviously, the development of VoIP has brought huge challenges and opportunities to traditional operators, emerging telecommunications operators and Internet companies, and will also affect the structure of the telecommunications industry. In this case, how to develop VoIP? How to regulate VoIP? How to make VoIP better serve people?

On April 24th from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, Ms. Xu Yu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Communications and Information, Telecommunication Research Institute, Ministry of Information Industry, visited Tencent to discuss the current development status and future development strategies of VoIP and the development trend analysis of VoIP related regulatory policies.

[Host] Good afternoon, everyone! Tomorrow, April 25, the "First China VOIP Development Summit Forum" will be held. Before the summit forum, we invited Ms. Xu Yu, deputy director of the Institute of Communications and Information, to be a guest at Tencent to discuss the policy development trends related to VOIP. First of all, we welcome Ms. Xu Yu to Tencent as a guest.

[Xu Yu] Good afternoon, everyone! I am very happy to come to Tencent to discuss VOIP issues with you. I am from the Telecommunications and Information Research Institute of the Ministry of Information Industry. The host's introduction just now was not very clear, so I will add some more.

[Host] Let’s start with VOIP itself. VOIP itself is very familiar in the industry, but for many ordinary netizens, they don’t know what it is and what it exactly means?

[Xu Yu] I think it may not be too unfamiliar to netizens, but the concept may be different from the concept of VOIP discussed in the industry. I think that for the general public or each of us, the understanding of VOIP is from the concept of IP phone. We may think that an IP card bought on the street or dialing 96446, 17905, etc. at home to make a call is the so-called IP phone. For everyone, IP phone means cheap, that's the concept. But I think that the so-called IP phone, which has been discussed more in the past two years, should actually be called broadband phone or Internet phone. It has attracted everyone's attention because it is cheap, convenient to use, and has various forms. But from a technical point of view, the so-called IP phone or VOIP is actually a voice signal that is compressed into frames and transmitted as a data packet on the network. It may be transmitted through the Internet or through a dedicated IP network. This is the concept of VOIP in a broad sense.

[Host] VOIP is cheaper than ordinary phone calls. We want to know why. Because according to the past development characteristics, it is also a new technology. Usually the cost of new technology is very high. Why is VOIP so cheap after it appears? Why is it so cheap?

[Xu Yu] This question is easy to answer from a technical perspective. Why are IP phones cheap? Because the IP phones we are talking about are basically based on the Internet. The Internet is an open network architecture. Everyone is on the Internet. It also has QIS, which is not particularly guaranteed, because it is completely built on a service on the original Internet. In other words, the cost it charges now is not the total cost from building the network to setting up some servers, from no network to providing services. It transfers most of the costs to the traditional network, so its cost is not the real cost required to provide this service. If we understand it from the perspective of understanding, I think it should be such a concept.

[Host] What kind of impact and value can the birth of VOIP bring to the general public or the lives of ordinary people?

【Xu Yu】 I think the most direct experience for ordinary people is that it is cheap. The main reason is that the cost is not included in the original network cost, so it is cheap for ordinary people. This is one reason from the perspective of technology development or service provision. Another reason for the cheapness is that when voice services were provided in the past, for example, only China Telecom or China Netcom could provide them in China. After VOIP came out, more people could provide voice services, and the resulting competition meant that prices continued to fall. If you use the original traditional network technology, then in order to provide this service, you may have a lot of duplicate construction and a series of other problems. But now that VOIP is used to provide voice services, the economic threshold has been greatly lowered, and there will be more participants. With more participants, the price will generally go down, and the direct feeling for users is that it will be cheaper. But I personally think that from a future perspective, VOIP brings us not only the problem of cheapness, but also the epoch-making significance of what we call multimedia communication. In the past, we may sometimes talk about video conferencing or video calls, which are difficult to achieve in traditional telephone networks. In the future, many of us may be accustomed to seeing the other party when dialing or making a call at home. This is a benefit that can be brought to ordinary people from a future perspective. The price is low now, and it may be a multimedia service in the future.

[Host] What is the current development status of VOIP in the country?

[Xu Yu] I think it is difficult to describe the development in China in a very simple sentence, because I personally think it is still quite complicated. When talking about this, I think we should distinguish between two types of VOIP. The first type of VOIP is what we know in the general sense. It is the phone call you make after dialing 96446 at home. This type of phone has entered the Chinese market since 1998 or 1999, and users have started using it. I think the public is already very accustomed to using this service. The other type is broadband phone. At present, the market is a bit chaotic, and there are several aspects. The first is from the perspective of its operators or the companies that provide services, and their qualifications and capabilities are uneven. The service is quite chaotic, for example, there are various ways, such as installing an IP phone directly at home, or directly selling cards, or registering through software or downloading it online. However, relatively speaking, the service is only for calls. Whether the quality of the call is guaranteed, whether you can enjoy the service you deserve after paying, etc. is still difficult to say. At present, there are many complaints in society because there seems to be no universal standard in this market, and the operation is quite chaotic. For the majority of users, it may also feel quite chaotic. I'm not sure whether it's genuine, whether I can use it, whether it's guaranteed to work, or what problems it might have.

[Host] Why are there so many such companies or enterprises?

[Xu Yu] As I just said, IP telephony is a service provided by our current Internet access. I personally think that there are several types of companies. The first type includes what we call instant messaging, and I think Tencent is one of them. After providing customers with some software downloads, users can talk to another computer user through headphones. So, from this perspective, some companies that were originally in the field of instant messaging have also entered the VOIP field. There are also some companies that are a bit like a traffic collection company. After issuing various cards or promoting various IP phones, they collect traffic and send it to operators. Operators may give them wholesale prices, so their costs should be reduced. In other words, it should be said that the different ways of providing make this market more chaotic. This is the first point. From a policy perspective, the current issue of how to manage, govern and regulate this business should be the focus of discussion in the past two years, and there is no particularly clear conclusion at present. The industry may be more optimistic about future development, but the industry is not particularly clear, so there is not much discussion. There will also be some companies that think they are more confident in the development of this market and enter this field.

[Host] What are the country’s main concerns about VOIP now?

【Xu Yu】 Actually, I think we should first talk about how the government considers the VOIP policy. The VOIP policy that everyone is talking about now is actually the question of whether these companies are allowed to operate. I think that for most users, this policy may be relatively simple, saying that this thing is cheap, good, and convenient.

Why don't we allow people to operate? From the government's perspective, the starting point and aspects it considers are broader. Because our current telephones have been developed for decades, the services and security of traditional telephones are regulated by a series of standards. After users pay for these services, they get service guarantees and consumption guarantees. There is a complete set of regulatory policies to regulate operators. However, VOIP has only been around for a few years, and the world is currently paying close attention to the regulation of VOIP. From the government's perspective, the first thing to consider is the rights and interests of the majority of users. It is not just whether you provide users with cheap services, but more importantly, whether the rights and interests of users can be protected when they enjoy this service. Let's take a simple example, such as anti-terrorism or harassing calls. From any country, there is a function of monitoring calls. Once I think it is suspicious, the government's law enforcement agencies have the function of monitoring. IP phones cannot be monitored from the current technology. Users may face multiple threats, security threats, public harassment, and a series of other problems while enjoying cheap services. These cannot be guaranteed at present.

Therefore, I think the government should first consider these issues. In addition, it should also consider the regulatory policy issues brought about by IP telephony. For example, quality assurance. At present, the quality assurance of broadband telephony is not particularly complete. Therefore, it has certain problems. In other words, after users spend money, it seems to be very good according to the current situation. However, when it is actually operated as a business, it still does not fully meet certain requirements. Therefore, I think the government will also pay more attention to this.

[Host] SKYPE operates globally. What is the attitude of governments around the world towards it?

[Xu Yu] As for SKYPE, what we netizens know about it is that after downloading the SKYPE software, we can make calls and communicate. This is a basic understanding. The international regulation of SKYPE is basically the same as that of China. The consistency means that it is about SKY itself. For example, if two users have installed SKYPE on their PCs and mine has installed SKYPE, and we use a headset to talk, there is no regulatory problem at present. Basically, everyone is using it. However, one regulatory issue that needs special attention is that SKYPE uses the PC to call my home phone, or I call the PC. This service is called SKYPE IN or SKYPE OUT internationally. It is basically regulated as a basic telephone service. This is a trend.

[Host] It seems that in China, a Skype call cannot be longer than five minutes, right? It seems that there is a restriction.

[Xu Yu] From the perspective of regulatory policy, the most important thing is not to restrict this, but to restrict the law enforcement wiretapping mentioned earlier, to restrict some guarantees of QIS, to restrict call quality issues, and perhaps to impose some responsibility requirements on the SKYPE operator itself. The so-called responsibility requirements, for example, our telecommunications companies actually bear a lot of social responsibilities, including services, etc. But there is no such responsibility for Internet companies. In a sense, SKYPEOUT is connected to traditional voice services, and it uses traditional network resources and other issues, so it should be subject to the same or similar regulatory requirements as traditional telephone services.

[Host] I remember there was a VOIP equipment seminar in early April. At this seminar, we can see how the domestic VOIP enterprises are developing?

[Xu Yu] Mainly including the purchase of large equipment such as routers, I think that some traditional IP companies, including Cisco, ZTE, Huawei, etc., have entered this market. Another manufacturer that is of concern now is actually some software developers or marginal manufacturers, and there are also many IP terminals mentioned earlier. It can be said that there are many companies that have entered this market or are optimistic about this market.

[Host] I think these companies, whether they are making equipment, providing services, or operating, are still in the planning stage, preparing for the arrival of VOIP in the future. So is their current investment just a pure investment? Is there any return now?

[Xu Yu] It should be said that it is not just an investment, but also a return. Because although there seems to be no policy or regulation that allows certain companies to provide this kind of PC TO PHONE service, from a policy perspective, the government allows China Telecom and China Netcom to conduct experiments. But in fact, there are probably many companies doing this business in the market. Since there is no statistical data, I guess there must be hundreds of companies. That means that this market is still of a certain scale, and they are not only investing, but also actually using it.

[Host] We would like to know if China Telecom and China Netcom have made any progress in this experiment?

[Xu Yu] It should be said that we started planning this pilot in July and August last year, and after the pilot, it took several months for each company to come up with some plans or programs for the pilot. From what I know, the current pilot is going according to the original preliminary plan, but it may be a little slower than I originally thought. But after all, it is in progress, and in the pilot, as far as I know, there are also some new business models, not just the pilot to replace the traditional long-distance phone calls. I believe that after a period of pilot, there should be some conclusions, and we can also see some other applications of VOIP in the future.

[Host] So is this experiment conducted according to plans that have been used abroad, or are you relying on your own exploration?

[Xu Yu] Because the business model of VOIP itself or other value-added services it can provide, in this experiment, there are no set rules for what must be done. It is more up to the operators to decide how to do it when entering this market. The government also hopes that the two operators can summarize some business methods and business models after the pilot, so as to provide some policy basis for future policy making.

[Host] There are six major operators in China. These two are currently conducting tests. What do the other four think?

[Xu Yu] I think we should first talk about the content of the test. The main business model of this experiment is the PC TO PHONE business model, which is to connect the traditional network to the voice service. We also know that the traditional voice service users are mainly on China Telecom and China Netcom. Since this is called an experiment, it is also for exploration. From this perspective, of course, it is more appropriate for companies that provide this kind of service to do it. So this pilot is only carried out in these two companies.

[Host] In the future, not only can PC to PHONE be realized, but also calls can be made to mobile phones. In the future, in addition to China Telecom and China Netcom, mobile operators may also participate, and they also need this model. When a PC calls my mobile phone, how can I make a profit and how can I avoid impacting my existing business? What will be the difference between the development of fixed-line operators and mobile operators in the future?

[Xu Yu] I think so. The question you just mentioned is about the mobile phone. I think this is a trend, because according to our follow-up research, we believe that IP phone impacts not only fixed phones, but also traditional mobile phones. This impact can be easily understood. That is to say, if I can make calls as long as I can access the Internet with broadband, it means that I can use this thing in Beijing and Shanghai, and I can use the same number or the same person. This actually means that it has the characteristics of mobility. This service has a certain substitution effect on traditional mobile calls. Including some new technologies, or other local area network access, as long as you can access the Internet, you can provide this service. After these things are more, a mobile phone may be dual-mode, and I don’t need to go through the mobile network to make calls. This is also a risk for mobile networks. Just now I mentioned that mobile networks may also face the impact of IP phones. On this issue, I think that operators should have a clear understanding and know that future substitution is irresistible, or it is a trend now. The key is how to consider combining it or how to use it to better integrate with existing businesses. I think there will be this trend and everyone will move towards the mobile network.

[Host] If you consider it from this perspective, I feel that the day when VOIP can be truly put into commercial use is still a long way off.

[Xu Yu] I don’t think it’s very far away. I think I started to pay more attention to this issue two years ago. I also clearly feel that there is a big difference between the understanding two years ago and the understanding two years later. From a technical perspective, there are also many improvements. From the perspective of entrants, the popularity is also increasing. From the government’s perspective, there are many problems, which we have seen and are now looking at how to solve them. Some may be solved from a technical perspective, and some may need to be solved through standardization and the formulation of some rules. I can’t say it’s very far away. I should say that it will definitely be in the process of gradual advancement, and some businesses may be able to use it relatively quickly. But some may involve more problems and may be a little later, but it can’t be said to be very far away.

[Host] You have done in-depth research in this field. Based on your observations and research, when do you think VOIP licenses will be issued?

[Xu Yu] The issue of issuing licenses is something that everyone is very concerned about and is also very sensitive. I think it is not easy for me to answer this question because it is a decision that the government makes after considering various factors. Once the so-called opening or allowing many companies in society to operate this business is completed, it means that our entire telecommunications market in China is in a completely open state. I just mentioned the previous question. In fact, the reason why IP phones are so low and why they are in such a state now is due to historical reasons and the fact that they do not consider costs. In fact, if we sort out these issues, I think that if you want to talk about the operation of IP phones, it may not be the same as it is now, and not many people may pay attention to it. It may be that many companies want to enter, and the economic and technical barriers must be raised.

From the perspective of issuing licenses, I personally think it is difficult to predict.

[Host] If the country really wants to issue a license, what kind of prerequisites are needed? What conditions must be prepared?

[Xu Yu] I think that once the rules for QIS protection, monitoring, and other services are formulated, this is a relatively simple issue. The most critical issue, I think, is that the government must grasp the sustainable development of the entire telecommunications industry and must fully consider what stage VOIP should be in and what impact it should have on the market. I think the most difficult thing for the government is not to formulate these rules. It is easy to formulate these rules, but it may be impossible to achieve them now. This problem exists internationally. No one is quite clear about the impact of PC TO PHONE services on the traditional telephone market or how its rules should be formulated without affecting the development of a new technology and at the same time allowing the entire telecommunications industry to continue to develop. So I think that we cannot simply raise questions and make them public after we are ready. I still hold this view. That is, the government will consider these issues.

[Host] Are there any organizations or regulations for VOIP in the international market now? Or do governments of different countries formulate them themselves?

[Xu Yu] Basically, it is up to the governments of each country to do it, because it is the same as our telephone business. The network standards are international, but the actual service, the rules and requirements for operating in this market are all set by each country. In fact, the most typical example is the United States. We all know that the US VOIP is very open, but in fact, the US also has very strict restrictions on VOIP. For example, at the end of last year, it was stipulated that each IP phone provider must be able to provide law enforcement monitoring functions, which means that the economic cost and equipment cost of providing IP phones must be modified, etc. In fact, the United States is relatively strict.

[Host] At present, what is the gap between our country's VOIP software and hardware technology and that of foreign countries?

[Xu Yu] Actually, I personally think that from a technical perspective, the gap between Internet technology and Internet applications is not as big as the rest of us think. I don’t think there is much of a gap. If there is a gap, it may be in the ability to develop business on that platform, but from the perspective of technology itself, there is no gap between China and foreign countries.

[Host] I saw a forecast that VOIP will account for 40% of global telecommunications traffic by 2008. What does this data mean?

[Xu Yu] It means two things. The first thing I think means that the network transformation of operators has reached a certain scale. The so-called network transformation, we just talked about IP phones, IP packets, and voice services are transmitted in the form of IP packets. Now we all know what the major operators are doing. The next step is network transformation. Network transformation means that all future networks will be IP networks. All the above phones are IP phones. As long as the voice packets are transmitted in the form of data packets, they are IP phones. This is the increase in the amount of IP voice transmission after the operator has carried out network transformation. Second, we have been talking about Internet phones and IP. Now the business volume of IP phones that everyone is talking about will indeed continue to rise. After users recognize it and gradually adapt to the way of talking, it will be fine. I think both aspects have meaning.

[Host] So that means, by 2008, many of our ordinary people will be using this service?

[Xu Yu] I don't think we can say that directly. I think these are two different concepts. Because for users, it's because it's cheap, but they don't know whether they are using an IP phone or not. For example, if you apply for a so-called bound IP phone at home, the user won't feel any difference. In addition, after the operator's network is upgraded, it's still a phone when you make a call. If my gateway is all IP when the call comes in, the user won't feel anything. I think there will be a certain number of users by then, but I personally feel that the difference will not be that big. Those who may feel the difference are like what we call IP people or users who often use PCs. This habit may be greater. Maybe when making calls online, the user's perception of this change will be slightly greater. For ordinary people, the difference between 2008 and 2006 will not be that big.

[Host] Last year I saw a small product that was like a USB flash drive. When you plug it into a computer, it will have a software that can dial mobile phones and phone calls. It has phone credits in it and can make calls directly. What kind of service is this?

1 [Xu Yu] This is what we call PC TO PHONE, from a PC to a phone. Strictly speaking, it is not a formal business model at present. Users may have to be careful when using it. You may buy this USB card for hundreds of yuan, but in fact your service may not be guaranteed. There may be no one to protect your rights after you buy it. Therefore, when using it, users should pay attention to the protection of their rights.

[Host] Nowadays, there are many Internet calls everywhere on the streets, including domestic, international, long-distance and local calls. What should people pay attention to when using these services?

[Xu Yu] Currently, the monthly subscription and 7 cents per minute that are being hyped in the market are similar to what you just said. That is, there are some companies doing this work, and the work they are doing is what I talked about before.

Why is it so cheap? I think it may be the same as why IP phone is cheap. Everyone accesses the Internet, and the Internet has already paid the broadband access fee. For those operators, after the aggregation, the operator gives him a price, maybe five cents per minute. When he gives it to the user, he can operate as long as there is a price difference. Because he does not bear the network component, he only bears the promotion cost of a user. Therefore, he can actually maintain it.

I think users should pay attention to several issues when using this kind of phone service. First of all, this kind of phone service is absolutely not equivalent to traditional phones. For example, dialing 114 or 122 may not work. Even if you dial 110, using a traditional phone, the telephone company can tell the 110 emergency station and report your exact location, and they can find you. But this phone service does not have any service guarantee. Second, the operators currently do not have any guarantee. From the national perspective, these operators have no guarantee that the business operations provided by you are legal. The third thing to note is that the call quality is not guaranteed. I just said that if the mobile company wants to seal up this issue or this service, you may not be able to make calls anymore. It is possible. So users should be more cautious when choosing Internet phone services.

[Host] In other words, don't be greedy for cheapness. VOIP has a promising market. There are three main players that may enter this market, including traditional telecom operators, emerging telecom operators, and traditional Internet companies. What does VOIP mean to these three parties?

[Xu Yu] For traditional operators, the impact is greater than the advantage. I think so myself, because all traditional enterprises have established a complete network, for example, the services provided, the business methods, etc. are already very complete. VOIP is a substitute for them, and it is a shock. In this respect, traditional operators are definitely not particularly happy to accept the impact brought by this new technology. Most traditional operators have this mentality, because it has a great impact on their main business, and it should be more of a challenge than an opportunity. For emerging operators, it is definitely more of an opportunity than a challenge. Emerging operators can overcome this challenge. Originally, I had to build a network and make a lot of investments or do a lot of high-tech work before I could provide this kind of voice service. Now I can provide voice services in this way. So for new operators, this thing is definitely welcomed. For the traditional so-called Internet industry, it is actually similar to the concept of emerging operators. For example, some software developers, such as instant messaging providers, for them, VOIP voice services are more like a value-added service. So from this perspective, the latter two types of companies will be more active in entering this market.

[Host] Besides unclear policies, will they face exclusion from traditional operators when they enter this market?

[Xu Yu] I think it depends on how you look at this question. As I just said, traditional operators themselves are a challenge. Under the conditions that policies allow, they will definitely protect their own interests. I think this is understandable. So I think it is inevitable that emerging operators will be resisted by traditional operators. This is the case in any country. I can say that at the beginning of this year, the Finnish government also received a lot of complaints, of course, from telecom operators. Regarding some cooperation with SKYPE, a government department was also sued, and SKYPE was later restricted in Finland.

[Host] Some people say that for China Mobile and China Unicom, promoting VOIP will involve huge expenses, including a major replacement of basic equipment and an increase in costs. Is this true? Is the cost really that high?

[Xu Yu] The renovation of their own facilities is necessary, but I don't quite understand what the huge cost means. Does it mean that China Unicom and China Mobile do not have their own broadband access networks? If they want to provide services to users, they need to build their own broadband user groups. If so, they may even need to wire the local network. From this perspective, it will definitely require a lot of investment. Of course, if it is just to provide a service, including the access mentioned above, it can basically be done now.

[Host] For emerging operators, if they want to do VOIP in the future, what kind of business model should they have?

[Xu Yu] I think there are two business models for VOIP. The first is that it provides long-distance calls, which is basically the same service as traditional voice services. It operates with the goal of lowering prices, expanding the user base, and gaining profit margins. I think this business model is a great substitute for traditional telephone operators, and it will inevitably be resisted by traditional operators. In addition, if this is the goal, then as long as the basic operators lower their prices, they will have no way to survive. If all operators pursue this goal, the future prospects of this market will be very narrow. I think the most critical point of VOIP is that it will develop better in the future. It is necessary to give full play to the intelligence of VOIP and combine it with the Internet to generate more services. It can be regarded as a value-added service on broadband access.

[Host] In addition to this voice service, what other refreshing services will there be?

【Xu Yu】 For calling or forming a small group, or the scope of calling, the calling method is different. So I think this method should be combined with some internal data services of enterprise management, as well as the interactivity with enterprise management, etc., to make this kind of service more attractive. For example, for an enterprise, I can provide an Internet phone. All Internet phones that call me are a bit like an intelligent platform. You can see how my customer service staff operate. You can imagine that I call a customer service phone now. My thing has a problem. What should I do? The customer service staff only tells you what to do in the first step and what to do in the second step. When the Internet phone comes out, I may make this Internet phone call, and the customer service will be able to interact with the user directly. Such services may be more attractive. IP phones or future features should provide value-added services in this regard, using the universal transmission of data services, etc., and multimedia features to provide such services will be more valuable.

[Host] Will the telecom operators' rejection of VOIP technology slow down the overall development of VOIP?

[Xu Yu] There will definitely be exclusion, and it is inevitable that the process will be affected, because you have to use the network of other telecom operators to provide services. IP telephony is a service on traditional telecom networks. If traditional network operators do not provide it, the business based on this aspect will definitely not develop well. It will be affected to a certain extent, but overall, I think that this trend should still go in that direction. User demand is also going in that direction, and technology development is also going in that direction. Telecom operators should actively respond to and face these problems. It may be said that they can transform the network in a leading way, or in a leading way, and then cooperate with some IP telephony providers to provide services together.

[Host] The first VOIP Summit will be held tomorrow. During these two days, what do you think will be gained and what expectations do you have at this summit?

[Xu Yu] I took a quick look at the agenda, and I think it's quite rich. All parties are discussing this issue. I hope or feel that the participants can get some help from all aspects, such as the relationship between the current VOIP products and operators, and the business model. Many of the questions you asked just now may be explained by different representatives at the meeting. Everyone may have different understandings. Of course, I think that the business model of IP phones is much richer and more diverse than the traditional phone business model. So I think everyone can get information from all aspects from that meeting, which can greatly supplement some of their original ideas.

, [Netizen] Many people say that IP technology has fully reached mature commercial standards. Do you think this statement is accurate?

[Xu Yu] I don't think it's quite accurate. From the perspective of the technology itself. If you only provide a call, and you pick up an IP phone to make a call, the quality is good, the real-time performance is good, and everything is good. If you look at it from this perspective, it is called a mature level, and this is basically certain. Many aspects are not taken into consideration, such as the law enforcement monitoring I just mentioned, and the connection to the emergency call center, and the location of the call to you as a user. These things have not been solved so far. There is also the power supply problem. Now the telephone is remotely powered, but once the power of the Internet phone is gone, it means that you can't make a call. Our telecommunications service emphasizes 99% of the service quality. If there is a power outage at home or too many air conditioners in the summer, the power outage will put you in a state where you can't communicate. In fact, many problems cannot be solved by IP phones at present. The service quality of this kind of call through IP is still incomparable with traditional telephone services in all aspects. So I think what I just said is not particularly accurate. Maybe it only takes into account the call itself, and does not consider that this is a network, and the various aspects involved in the network itself are not considered.

[Netizen] In response to the government's unclear policy on VOIP, various media are currently holding VOIP seminars and exhibitions. What do you think of this phenomenon?

[Xu Yu] Actually, the first problem is the same as 3G. 3G has been hyped in China for several years. Various forums and conferences are held every year. People always say that the policy is unclear, but there are about 20 3G conferences every year. This shows two problems. The first problem is that everyone is optimistic about it. Whether it is investors, operators, equipment providers, or even users, they are very concerned about this issue. This issue itself is optimistic about the future development prospects of 3G and VOIP. This is the first and most critical factor. I think it is basically in this state.

Second, because the policy is unclear, for example, if I am an investor, I would like to collect information from all aspects through various channels so that I can make a judgment. I think this is a very normal phenomenon. The more this situation is, the more people will follow it, or the more divergent the topics discussed. So if there are so many issues to discuss, various meetings must be held. If everything is determined, then when everyone discusses, it may be about how to do this thing, and it may be one or two topics. Now there are all kinds of problems, nothing is certain, and all problems are being discussed.

[Netizen] During the two sessions, there was a rumor that licenses would be issued in June. What do you think?

[Xu Yu] I am very surprised, how could such a rumor come out. I think it may just be a saying, or some people may think that it is almost June, so it should be clear. Maybe the source of the news itself is not necessarily about the issuance of licenses, but there are certain sayings or whether the government research has certain results. It should be said that there was a pilot in July last year. Do people think that after a year, there should be some sayings? Maybe from this point of view, at least from my point of view, I have not heard clearly that there will be licenses issued in June.

[Host] A while ago, there was news that Iger was going to sponsor the Chinese Super League. What kind of situation was this? And it attracted a lot of attention at the time.

[Xu Yu] I have roughly understood this matter, but I have forgotten how it was said. To answer this question, I think I can probably answer it from this perspective. Because VOIP itself is now very important for VOIP companies to expand their user base and expand their brand. Now there are some IP phones. I have always believed that SKYPE does not make profits through real operations, but through the capital market. What it needs to do now is to expand its user base. In this way, can it make its brand memorable through sponsorship and other means, and then be able to quickly expand its user base in the future if possible. I think it is more from this perspective.

[Host] When we were talking about the future of VOIP, we mentioned three main players, but we forgot one of them is foreign operators. If the policy becomes clear in the future, whether it is traditional telecom operators or emerging ones, such as foreign SKYPE, they will enter China. How should our companies respond?

[Xu Yu] Foreign operators reflect the international nature of the Internet. We have so many companies doing this business now, but if we really want to do it, I think it is very necessary for Chinese companies to unite to become stronger and bigger. Because companies like SKYPE have strong financial strength, and they promote it internationally. For Chinese companies, if we need to fight against them, I think we should unite as soon as possible, because on the Internet, it has become a fact, then you are the standard, you are the boss. The rules of the Internet, the bigger you are, the more benefits you get. So I think on this issue, I think Chinese companies should unite to become stronger and bigger. Including instant messaging or similar companies, now these small fights only make money in the short term. In order for Chinese companies to really fight against them, they still have to unite.

[Host] Finally, can you please tell us what kind of keynote speech you will deliver at this VOIP Summit?

[Xu Yu] I will talk about China's policies the day after tomorrow. Actually, when I first received this invitation, I felt quite embarrassed because this policy issue is a sensitive topic. In addition, we are a research institution, not a government agency. The answer to this question can only be from our research perspective. I think what issues should be considered when formulating VOIP policies? I may also give a brief introduction to the current VOIP policies in the world. I will also introduce what aspects of the government's attention it pays to this issue at this stage. From my own personal judgment, I think what aspects should be considered in order to make future development stronger and bigger are mainly these two or three aspects.

[Host] Due to time constraints, our interview ends here. Thank you very much to Ms. Xu Yu from the Institute of Communications and Information for visiting Tencent Technology today. Thank you very much.

[Xu Yu] I am also very grateful to Tencent for giving me this opportunity to communicate with netizens. I also hope that in the future, I can further communicate with netizens on various occasions.