Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) functionality is increasingly being integrated into customer premise equipment (CPE), resulting in the overall market for the technology forecast to reach $1.3 billion in 2009, up from $208.7 million in 2004.
According to In-Stat, wireless handsets will become another key market for VoIP, with revenue from the IP Phone sub-segment expected to be the largest revenue market by 2009, despite currently being the smallest.
Commenting on the findings, Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst said: By the end of the forecast period, VoIP functionality will be integrated into a high percentage of new wireless handsets.”
Bogen continued: “From a revenue perspective, the IP Phone sub-segment, wireless and wireline combined, represents the smallest revenue market today, but will be the largest one by 2009. This reversal will occur due to high growth in business-orientated IP PBX/hosted PBX phones and dual-mode wireless handsets.”
VoIP IC revenue was found to be growing more slowly than other segments, with In-Stat attributing this to pricing pressure at the service provider level and filtering down through VoIP equipment providers.
The slow uptake of VoIP is also put down to a lack of consumer knowledge, with awareness of the technology yet to penetrate the marketplace, with research from TNS Telecoms shows that just 26% of US households with internet access claim to have heard of VoIP (see Consumers Lack Knowledge Of VoIP).
The latest estimates from Point Topic suggest that currently over 11 million people use retail VoIP, marking an increase from just over five million in mid-2004 (see Worldwide VoIP Subscribers More Than Double).
Revenues for residential voice over internet protocol (VoIP) in North America are predicted to expand considerably over the next few years, increasing to over $4 billion by 2010, up from $295.1 million in 2004, according to a new report by Frost & Sullivan (see Continuing Decline In Global Economic Confidence).
The research group estimates the number of residential VoIP lines to increase to about 18 million by 2010, up from just 1.5 million in 2004
A study by International Data Corporation (IDC) confirms VoIP’s increase in popularity, predicting that 27 million users will have subscribed by 2009, an increase of 24 million from the 3 million who currently use the technology (see Mixed Outlook For US Advertising Market).
Related Links
