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As the competition continues for those smartphone companies seeking to dominate the market, there is much speculation throughout the industry as to who will emerge the winner.

For Mike Campbell, Director of Product Management, Solutions, for Sigma Systems, the dominant players will be able to keep up with the pressures of bandwidth and data and scale their networks for the anticipated amount of traffic.

At ITEXPO East 2010, Campbell will discuss the delivery of advanced business VoIP for the SMB.

TMC (News - Alert) (News - Alert) CEO Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) recently interviewed Campbell -- and their full exchange follows:

Rich Tehrani: Smartphones continue to rise, find their ways into offices and homes alike. Who will dominate that market and why?

Mike Campbell: The winning smartphones will be able to keep up with the pressures of data and bandwidth; can also deliver voice/applications and are suitable for the enterprise.

Looking strong for home & office: Droid & Blackberry

Strong but not enterprise-ready: iPhone (News - Alert)

A contender: Palm webOS

Service providers that can scale their networks for the amount of traffic that smartphones create will be the winners in that part of the battle. No matter how advanced a smartphone is, the network must be able to provide the quality of service needed for those applications.

Looking strong: Verizon & AT&T (News - Alert)

A contender: Sprint

 

RT: We hear more and more about high-definition voice features in IP communications products and services. What is going to drive wideband audio and HD VoIP into the mainstream market? How long will it take?

 

MC: Just as was the case with VoIP and video calling (conferencing), the consumers shall lead the way. Adoption of VoIP, for instance, soared when cable MSOs offered it to residential users as part of bundle packages with unlimited minutes. Telcos went after the business VoIP market initially, where the profits are higher but penetration was slow.

As telcos and cablecos continue to roll out over-the-top apps that link voice services to consumers’ HDTVs, the subscriber will hear the difference and want it. This was the case with Blu-Ray… you really didn’t understand the difference between blu-ray & a regular DVD until you saw it.

While some smaller carriers are offering HD VoIP to SMBs, enterprises will be slower to adopt HD.

RT: What’s the most innovative product that’s going to hit the market in 2010, from a company other than your own?

 

MC: Apple Tablet, Google (News - Alert) Nexus One.

 

RT: We entered 2009 in a recession and now we’re seeing signs of the economy picking up. How did the slow economy affect demand for your products and services and what are you anticipating in 2010?

 

MC: Although the economy has been sluggish, Sigma Systems (News - Alert) still had a great 2009 with multi-play efforts in international markets and an increased interest in device provisioning and mediation in North America.

We expect 2010 to be a year where advanced advertising really takes off and trials move into full-scale deployment in North America. In the international markets, triple-play in Europe and FTTH in Asia Pacific will still be big drivers for the OSS space in 2010.

RT: President Barack Obama has been in office for nearly a year. What has surprised you, whether a pleasant surprise or disappointment, about his presidency, policies and administration?

MC: Transparency and up-to-date progress on initiatives, national broadband plan, etc. Obama and Blackberry security (note: it’s not an iPhone). (See: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/Technology/)

The dedication to bridging the digital divide and bringing true broadband to every American has been impressive and will be great for the future of the telecom industry.

RT: If you were president of the United States, what tech-friendly policies would you enact?

 

MC: As Obama has already made broadband a priority, I would make sure the U.S. was in the top 10 countries of broadband penetration by building out an infrastructure that would give more Americans broadband access.

 

RT: What are some of the areas of market growth in the next few years?

 

MC: Advanced advertising; business voice services; mobile applications; and non-traditional service bundling, such as home VoIP, mobile and online TV.

 

RT: I understand you are speaking during ITEXPO East 2010 in Miami, to be held Jan. 20 to 22. Talk to us about your session or sessions. Who should attend and why?

 

MC: The session will discuss the delivery of advanced business VoIP services for the evolving SMB, which wants to take advantage of its service providers’ latest features and broadband capabilities.

 

Attendees will learn how these services can provide SMBs with the ability to unify communications, improve productivity, work from anywhere and enhance customer service.

 

Commercial network operators looking to maximize services should attend this session.

 

RT: Please give me one outrageous prediction pertaining to our markets for 2010.

 

MC: Nortel (News - Alert) will re-emerge to take market share from incumbents. Conan O’Brien will return to Brookline, Massachusetts, to live in the basement of the home where he grew up, from which he’ll use his payout from NBC to launch a triple-play telco from the basement of his childhood home. The only TV programming offered will be reruns of his show.