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Thu, March 23, 2023 | 01:23
Voice calls disappearing
음성통화가 사라진다
Posted : 2011-08-29 15:28
Updated : 2011-08-29 15:28
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Only a few decades ago having a telephone at home was a symbol of wealth _ it was as expensive as owning a house here in the 1970s.

By Yoon Ja-young

Only a few decades ago having a telephone at home was a symbol of wealth _ it was as expensive as owning a house here in the 1970s.

The arrival of mobile phones and their eventual accessibility pushed communication and wired telephones out of the home. In 1999 the number of mobile phone users began surpassing that of wired telephone subscribers. Continued to surging until last year, mobile phones basically make wired telephone users - starting to fall from 2008 - obsolete.

KT Business & Economy Research Center noted in a report that voice calls and wired telephones are rapidly being replaced by text messages and mobile phones, but added that the future of mobile phones aren’t that bright either.

Telephone ― impolite means of communication

The announcement of AT&T, the first to provide a telephone service for the first time, shutting down its analog public switched telephone network in early 2010, was a symbolic event. Analysts said that the era of the wired telephone is coming to an end. Kim Hyun-kyung, a researcher at the center who authored the report, says that the telephone is an impolite means of communication. It interferes with daily life and annoys most people. The telephone rings whenever it wants regardless of whether you are trying to put your baby to sleep, taking shower, or cooking. In the past, one usually answered all calls, but more people are screening calls. Park Hee-sun, a housewife in southern Seoul, for instance, checks the caller identification first whenever the telephone rings. She picks it up only when it’s from her family or a few friends.

Kim points out that these days people don’t want a phone ringing to interrupt their life. They want to be free from the numerous phone calls that they don’t want to answer, and this intrinsic limitation is making voice calls disappear along with wired telephones.

The launch of voice over Internet protocols (VoIPs), which are much cheaper than conventional telephone services, has been threatening them during the past few years and the rapid expansion of smartphones contributes to their lingering death. The number of smartphone users surpassed 10 million in the first half this year and over half of the population is expected to be using smartphones in 2012. “The smart revolution, or big bang, means more than just more smartphone users. It brought diverse changes in the value chain, including contents, network, platform and the handset,” Kim said.

Smartphones influenced the way how people communicate thanks to the mash-up of diverse functions. Mobile VoIPs, the social networking service coupled with VoIPs, or the convergence with finance, location based services, augmented reality, and social commerce are some of the services available with the handy gadget. “The smart network, smartphones as good as computers, and smarter consumers following accumulation of user experience are byproducts of smartphone expansion. They can’t endure the boredom of wired telephones anymore,” Kim said.

Mobile phones also to disappear

As voice calls are not a major means of communication anymore, there will be a “New Babel Tower” with no language barrier thanks to the translation applications on smartphones, according to the report.

Similarily the fall of wired phones doesn’t mean the victory of mobile phones. Kim estimates that mobile phones will also eventually disappear. There are already signs that mobile phones are losing attractiveness. “Users started minding phone calls, either wired or wireless. It is especially so among young people and teenagers who are more accustomed to text messages and Kakao Talk than voice calls,” Kim said. A survey in the United States showed that 43 percent of teen subscribers are buying mobile phones purely for text messaging.

“The substitution of voice calls by text messages will accelerate thanks to the expansion of smartphones where fun and cheaper applications are available,” Kim said.

The network operators, meanwhile, are facing the dual burden of less voice calls and having to invest in new networks. “Decreasing voice calls will be the biggest threat to telcos as they depend on voice calls for over 60 percent of their sales,” Kim said.

음성통화가 사라진다
수십년전만 해도 집에 전화가 있는 건 부의 상징이었다 _1970년대 한국에서 전화는 집값만큼이나 비쌌다. 휴대전화의 도입과 이의 접근성은 통화와 유선전화를 집에서 몰아냈다. 1999년에 휴대전화 사용인구는 유선전화 가입자 수를 넘어서기 시작했다. 휴대전화 사용자수는 작년까지 계속 증가해 2008년부터 감소하기 시작한 유선전화 가입자를 한물가게 했다. KT경제경영연구소는 보고서에서 음성통화와 유선전화가 빠른 속도로 문자메시지와 휴대전화로 대체되고 있다고 말했다. 하지만, 휴대전화의 미래도 밝은 것은 아니라고 덧붙였다. 예의없는 통신수단인 전화 전화서비스를 처음 공급했던 AT&T가 2010년 초반에 유선전화 사업을 접을 계획을 발표하자 이는 상징적인 사건으로 받아들여졌다. 애널리스트들은 유선전화 시대가 끝나고 있다고 말한다. 보고서를 작성한 김현경 연구원은 전화가 예의없는 통신수단이라고 말한다. 전화는 일상생활을 방해하며, 대부분의 사람들을 귀찮게 만든다. 전화는 당신이 아기를 재우려 할 때든, 샤워를 할 때든, 요리를 할 때든 상관없이 자기가 울리고 싶을 때 울린다. 예전에는 사람들이 대개 모든 전화를 받았지만 가려서 받는 사람이 늘어나고 있다. 강남에 사는 가정주부인 박희선씨는 전화가 울리면 발신자 번호부터 본다. 가족이나 몇몇 친구가 걸었을 때만 받는 것이다. 김연구원은 요즘 사람들이 전화벨이 울려 생활을 방해하는 걸 원하지 않는다고 지적한다. 그들은 받고 싶지 않은 수많은 전화로부터 해방되고 싶어하며, 이 본질적인 한계는 음성통화가 유선전화와 함께 사라지게 만들고 있다. 기존 전화보다 훨씬 저렴한 인터넷 전화의 등장은 지난 몇 년간 전화를 위협해왔다. 이에 스마트폰의 급속한 보급이 전화의 종말을 가속화하고 있다. 스마트폰 사용자는 올해 상반기 1천만명을 돌파했으며 2012년에는 절반이 넘는 사람들이 스마트폰을 사용할 것으로 예상된다. “이러한 스마트 혁명, 혹은 빅뱅은 단지 스마트폰 사용자숫자가 늘어나는 것 이상을 의미합니다. 컨텐츠, 네트워크, 플랫폼, 기기와 같은 밸류체인에 다양한 변화를 가져왔어요,” 김연구원이 말했다.
Emailchizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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