Business News Holding

Tag: fixed-line-voip-services

  • TeleGeography Survey Shows VoIP Surge in Europe












    VoIP telephone services in Western Europe leapt to just under 30 million consumer lines by mid-2008 – up from 20 million only a year earlier.

    That figure has continued to climb and totalled 35 million lines at the end of the year, according to a survey by researchers TeleGeography.

    The study into fixed-line VoIP usage also found that while the aggregate pace of growth across Europe remains rapid, fixed line market trends in each country are surprisingly unique.

    Household penetration of VoIP telephony at mid-2008 ranged from slightly less than 50 per cent in France to less than 3 per cent in Spain.

    In terms of annual subscriber growth rates ranged from 544 per cent in Portugal to a comparatively anemic 13 per cent in Norway.

    TeleGeography analyst Patrick Christian said VoIP services are reshaping the fixed line market in Europe.

    But he said regional market differences were were much in evidence.

    "Europe may have a single market, but it’s far from common," he said.

    "However, while the uptake of IP telephony services varies widely, VoIP has been a powerful spur to innovation, even in some countries with relatively modest numbers of VoIP subscribers."

    This has taken the form of "incumbents" having to slash the price of traditional telephone services, to deploy higher-speed broadband networks and to introduce new video-over-IP services in the face of the challenge presented by IP-based competitors.

    TeleGeography projects that the number of VoIP subscribers will continue to grow strongly, increasing from 35 million at end-2008 to 45 million by the end of 2009.



  • Carrier VoIP Equipment Spend Down, IMS To Become Revenue Driver by 2011







    The worldwide market for carrier VoIP equipment has stalled after a pro-longed period of double-digit annual revenue growth that began in 2002.

    This led to the market contracting for the first time ever in 2008, with a drop in revenue of 6 per cent, according to Infonetics Research.

    On a brighter note, a second Infonetics report, found that IMS deployments are likely to become a serious revenue driver by 2011.

    Diane Myers, directing analyst at Infonetics, said the fourth quarter of 2008 confirmed what had been seen in the previous two quarters in North America, with signs in Western Europe and some parts of Asia as well.

    "The market for carrier VoIP equipment has stalled due to large deployments nearing completion and shifting strategic priorities," she said.

    "The global economic downturn will likely exacerbate the drop in VoIP equipment sales."

    The second Infonetics report paints a more optimistic picture for VoIP equipment manufacturers.

    It shows that worldwide sales of IMS (IP multimedia subsystem) equipment, including HSS (home subscriber servers) and CSCF servers, were up 94 per cent in 2008 compared to 2007.

    Myers said IMS deployments are growing, led largely by European operators.

    Fixed-line VoIP services are still the most popular applications delivered over IMS, however the reports suggests rich communication services will be an important part of the shift from fixed-line VoIP services to mobile networks and integration with standardized devices.

    She said the revenue total for IMS deployments is small currently, but will grow rapidly and become substantial in 2011 and beyond as mobile operators upgrade infrastructure.

    "With over 100 service providers worldwide having chosen their IMS vendors, less than half are fully deployed with live traffic," she said.

    "The move to turn-up the remaining deployments, in addition to new deployments, will help fuel the sales for IMS network equipment.

    "Mobile operator migration to IP and adoption of RCS will drive the deployments for IMS during the next four to five years."