Broadband IP Telephony To Reach 3.2 Million By End Of 2005

The strong growth of IP technology is partly attributed to the increasing popularity of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) with the high-tech market research firm claiming the technology is beginning to radically transform the world of telecommunications.

According to In-Stat, carriers and enterprises are gradually shifting from their traditional circuit-switched infrastructure to VoIP, with this prediction confirmed by Infonetics Research forecasting VoIP revenue in North American to hit $23.4 billion in 2009, up from just $1.24 billion in 2004 (see VoIP Revenue To Hit $23.4 Billion In North America By 2009).

Commenting on the future uptake of broadband IP telephony, David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst said: “The future growth of broadband IP Telephony will continue to be driven by cost savings and feature service innovation.”

He continued: “The integration of cellular, WiFi, and VoIP, which is already taking place on a limited basis, will likely be the next big step in the growth of broadband IP telephony.”

The In-Stat report also found that one of the main obstacles hindering the growth of IP telephony is consumers lack of knowledge on the technology, with the firm asserting that consumer education and acceptance are still major challenges for service providers.

This concern is echoed in research in a study from TeleGeography Research, which shows that 30% of residential broadband subscribers in the US have never heard of VoIP (see VoIP Fails To Reach US Consumers).

Despite these problems however, In-Stat estimates that by the end of 2005 there will by 3.9 million broadband IP lines in use, up from 1.3 million at the end of 2004.

Elsewhere, In-Stat expects strong growth for IP technology in the Asia-Pacific region, with television streaming through the medium (IPTV) forecast to rise by nearly 80% annually through 2010, predicting the market’s revenues to reach $4.2 billion by 2010 (see Asia Pacific To See IP Reach $4.2 Billion By 2010).