Awareness of Voice-over-IP service (VoIP) has yet to penetrate the marketplace, despite predictions that the technology will rise to 19.2 million lines by the end of 2007, up from 6.5 million at the end of 2004, according to TIA and Wilofsy Gruen and Associates.
A new survey from TNS Telecoms shows that just 26% of US households with internet access claim to have previously heard of VoIP service. Charles White, vice president of TNS Telecoms said: “Consumers are receptive to the service quality, cost savings and other benefits VoIP has to offer.”
White added: “But companies need to make an increased effort to communicate these benefits to the marketplace.”
A number of recent studies have forecast strong VoIP growth and predicted penetration to reach nearly 20 million households worldwide by 2010. Although currently the uptake is slow, over the next five years VoIP is estimated to reach about 25% of the high-speed internet access market, generating nearly $1 billion (see VoIP To Reach 20 Million Households By 2010).
TNS Telecoms revealed that the level of consumer awareness is virtually unchanged from nearly a year ago, when a poll by Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 27% on internet users in the US had heard of VoIP .
No increase in VoIP awareness over the last two years has to be a matter of concern for VoIP providers, however a recent report from research company, International Data Corporation (IDC), claims that the technology is beginning to attract more consumers, due to the decline in price (see VoIP Gaining In Popularity).
IDC predicts that 29 million users will have subscribed to the service by 2009, an increase of 24 million from the 3 million who currently subscribe.
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