8 million U.S. Workers to Use VoIP by 2012 Print
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 07:53
Nearly 8 million U.S. workers will use IP telephony lines by the end of 2012, according to new projections from a business publishing company.
An indication of the increasingly popular technology’s reach, the figure will eclipse 5 million by the end of 2010, according to Pike & Fischer’s (News - Alert) Broadband Advisory Services.
Though larger companies are expected to fuel much of that growth early on, smaller companies likely will follow with technologies such as voice over Internet protocol, or “VoIP” systems, according to Rich Power, a contributing analyst at the Silver Spring, Maryland-based company and author of the report.
“The sales and marketing cycle may be a little longer for buyers in this segment,” Power said. “There is just too much at stake to risk changes to their communications systems unless they fully understand the risks and potential rewards.”
According to Pike & Fischer, more and more businesses are attracted to VoIP because it saves time and money.
By sending voice data in packets using the Internet rather than traditional circuits, the technology allows people to use the Web to transmit telephone calls. A major draw of VoIP is that there’s no surcharge for the service beyond general Internet access, much as users don’t pay for e-mail over the Internet.
The fact of VoIP’s cost-savings has led officials in some places to limit its use.
According to the new report, larger companies that have their own information technology staff members will lead the charge. The report calls for dramatic increases in revenue for companies that provide VoIP services. The number of customers will triple in the next five years and revenues will reach more than $6 billion, according to the report, dubbed “VoIP in the Business World: Market Forecast and Analysis.”
Most of those will be customers of major telephone companies, such as AT&T and Verizon (News - Alert), according to the report.
For a full copy of “Business World: Market Forecast and Analysis,” which costs $699, go to www.broadbandadvisoryservices.com.
Original source here.