Despite the fact that it’s still a young technology, VoIP is quickly capturing a significant chunk of the telecom market. Considering that the Telecom market, as of 2007, climbed to nearly $1.3 trillion – the potential for the VoIP industry to capture significant revenue is huge. According to a 2008 review of the VoIP industry by The Digest, subscription revenues within the industry total $1.44 billion within the U.S, while Jupiter Research indicated hardware revenues in the VoIP market were an impressive $5.5 billion in 2007.

 

VoIP Market Forces

 

All industry experts are estimating tremendous growth within the VoIP industry, however there are many variables within the industry to take into consideration, such as the advance of China’s electronic technology capabilities and market penetration, as well as the effects of different actions taken by telephone, cable, and purely VoIP companies in order to capture a larger share of the Telecom market. One thing that’s for certain is that, right now, nothing is for certain. However there are trends that indicate where there is most potential for growth, and where certain niche markets may thrive.

 

Within the next few years, VoIP market will grow exponentially to move beyond 50% of the world’s telecom traffic. It is even predicted that global telecom traffic over IP will increase to 75% within the next 5 years. This is a huge demand, considering that there are fewer than 100 million VoIP subscribers globally today.

 

Current VoIP Market Trends

 

The highest growth in number of current subscribers will be seen in the Asia Pacific. Among the top VoIP providers based on subscriber numbers and overall revenue, the top 3 are cable companies, followed by pure VoIP companies. These players are likely to dominate the industry for many years to come. They include Charter Communications, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable Inc, Comcast, Skype and Vonage. Their combined subscriber base is expected to reach 1.5 billion by 2010. Presently the cable companies have already captured 75% of the market, with their subscriptions increasing.