Business VoIP "far outpacing" traditional telecoms

Sales of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) systems for business are increasing while traditional telecommunications see revenue dip, according to a new survey reported by TMCnet.

The survey, by Global Sources, found that enterprise VoIP sales increased by 31 per cent in 2007 compared to the year before.

Over the same period, sales of traditional business telecoms systems fell by 20 per cent.

According to the site, the turning point seems to have come in 2005, when worldwide private branch exchange (PBX) revenues declined 1.4 per cent to an all-time low of $8.38 billion (£4.28 billion).

Sales for internet protocol (IP) PBX began to rise at the same point, fuelled by a growth in VoIP, finishing the year 15 per cent higher at $2.88 billion.

At the same time, converged PBX sales grew ten per cent to $1.38 million, meaning that IP and converged PBX sales outstripped traditional PBX for the first time.

TMCnet adds that technological advances and improvements in voice quality have driven VoIP continued growth ever since, with some companies now abandoning legacy telephony systems altogether.

Colin Duffy of the Internet Telephony Services Providers' Association recently said that blanket VoIP coverage in the UK was an "inevitably" as networks convert to IP PBX.