HD VoIP to play big role in consumer market

High-definition (HD) VoIP solutions could be more attractive to consumers than businesses, voip-news.co.uk has said.

This will especially be the case if VoIP providers connect their HD offerings to multimedia services, according to the independent online VoIP market information publication.

While IP telephony solutions are seen as being mainly for voice calls, they could be used to support music and video, particularly in the mobile market.

"What we're therefore seeing is the potential evolution of VoIP - from simply a way of getting cheap phone calls, to becoming an integrated multimedia service support in its own right," said Brian Turner, executive editor at voip-news.co.uk.

In an article entitled Are VoIP HD phone systems ready for market?, Mr Turner said that while VoIP carriers will talk up the clarity offered by HD VoIP, that is not its most beneficial feature.

"Instead, VoIP itself may well be evolving into a service provision that goes beyond its original vision. Certainly it would not be the first technology to do so," said Mr Turner.

Consumers should consider IP telephony solutions like VoIP over increasingly "archaic" landlines in 2010, according to a recent article on investing assistance website SmartMoney.com.