VoIP News

The worldwide broadband market stayed healthy in 2009, despite the continuing effects of the economic downturn, ABI Research has said.

Revenue from fixed broadband services rose to £110 billion last year, up from £97 million in 2008, according to the technology market research firm.

Adoption of IP telephony solutions could reflect this growth, with the rise in broadband uptake increasing potential access to web-based VoIP phones.

ABI Research found that the increasing popularity of other internet services, such as IPTV and online gaming, is driving demand for high-speed broadband, along with rising consumption of internet-enabled devices.

Khin Sandi Lynn, research associate at ABI Research, said that high-speed broadband allows operators to provide services like video on demand and interactive gaming, which generate more revenue.

ABI Research expects global fixed broadband service revenue to exceed £140 billion in 2014. Fibre broadband service revenue is rising quickly and is forecast to reach £16.3 billion in 2010.

VoIP solutions play a part in fuelling the clamour for broadband access, and broadband access makes it possible to use VoIP solutions, Allied Fiber told VoIP magazine INTERNET TELEPHONY recently.

Posted on: 2010-03-12, in: Broadband

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Mobile operators should invest in 4G without delay as it is already in demand, BroadbandIgnite has said.

The speed, reliability and multimedia functionality that 4G would bring to mobile applications like IP telephony solutions means that mobile customers want it now, according to the broadband communications forum.

Curtis Hartmann, in a post on BroadbandIgnite entitled Innovation is Calling, said that businesses and consumers want 4G because it can "improve the quality of their professional and personal interactions".

Delaying faster mobile internet deployment could damage the growth of mobile apps like VoIP solutions as users will abandon them if they cannot get the connectivity needed to use them.

"Innovation is calling and carriers need to answer the call," Mr Hartmann stated, as 3G is unable to keep pace with the rise in mobile data use.

He added that "any carrier dragging their feet will be left in the dust," explaining that "subscribers dropped like flies" when operators had delayed deploying faster services in the past.

Smartphones are fuelling growing demand for mobile data, technology market intelligence company ABI Research said recently.

Mobile internet revenues are predicted to grow as take-up of web-based smartphone apps, like those that emulate VoIP phones, accelerates.

Posted on: 2010-03-12, in: Broadband

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Consumer Focus has released a report, entitled Broadband minded: encouraging low income consumers online, which identifies the barriers preventing individuals from getting online and making use of a VoIP UK service.

According to Consumer Focus, fears over viruses, personal data scrutiny and new technology are stumbling blocks for some users, along with a general misunderstanding of how internet access affects communication.

Further education is needed for the majority of offline consumers to see and appreciate the benefits of the internet, according to the report.

Mike O'Connor CBE, chief executive of Consumer Focus said: "Government has made it a priority to encourage people to get online, especially those on low incomes. Cost is not the only issue and if the government wants more people online they need to deal with consumers' fears about the internet".

Posted on: 2010-03-11, in: Broadband

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Cisco has launched a new carrier routing system which will help to speed the distribution of VoIP traffic across the internet.

The CRS-3 (Carrier Routing System 3) cabinet is capable of delivering a data transmission rate which is, according to Cisco, twelve times the capacity of its nearest competing system and three times the capacity of current Cisco products.

The device will allow VoIP and video VoIP to be disseminated at speeds of up to 322Tbit/s (Terabits per second), allowing for multiple streaming high-definition video calls and more voice calls than you can feasibly count.

The system will go hand in hand with the proposed new 100Gbit/s (Gigabit per second) broadband networks, which are on the charts for future broadband deployments in a number of countries. Over the next few years Google has announced that it plans to trial a 100Gbit/s network across parts of the USA and products like the CRS-3 will play a role in this, providing the backhaul infrastructure for fast and accurate VoIP transmission.

Posted on: 2010-03-11, in: General VoIP

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Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a key driver to businesses adopting unified communications (UC), Telappliant has said.

Tan Aksoy, CEO and founding director of the VoIP business solutions provider, said that a VoIP UK telecoms platform is a "primary requirement" of any business looking at UC.

VoIP also drives UC uptake because telecom expenditure is "the first thing people look at when saving costs" as it is one of the biggest business overheads, Mr Aksoy added.

He predicted that the UC environment would see "further convergence" in 2010, with combined voice, mobile and video delivering a "single communications experience".

Mr Aksoy was speaking yesterday at the enterprise business communications event UC Expo in London, which concludes today.

Posted on: 2010-03-11, in: General VoIP

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