VoIP surge expected in Spain and Italy

New reports predict that there will be a surge in the uptake of VoIP systems in both Italy and Spain over the next few years.

Research and Markets said that the Spanish fixed telecoms market was worth €8.3 billion at the end of 2006, with 19.2 million total voice connections including VoIP.

Meanwhile, the Italian fixed telecoms market was worth €11.3 billion at the end of 2006, with 34.1 million total voice connections including VoIP.

For both countries the company said:" We expect a surge in take-up of VoIP connections amid growth in broadband connections, which will more than offset the decline in fixed-line connections.

"The intensity in competition between operators will result in further reductions in tariffs resulting in declining ARPU [average revenue per user] levels for both business and consumer connections."

Recent research from Juniper Research said the global enterprise VoIP over Wi-Fi equipment market is to reach $15 billion by 2012.

The company claims the total market for enterprise VoIP access points and VoIP WLAN switch/mobility controllers will be worth around $2 billion this year growing to $15 billion in five years.

Revenues in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region and the Asia Pacific region are expected to reach $1.7 billion and $1.6 billion respectively by 2012.