VoIP industry continues to grow

The VoIP industry continued to grow last year as more users accessed the service, according to a new report.

US research firm Frost & Sullivan has revealed that VoIP and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) market revenues rose 22.3 per cent to $717.3 million (£472 million) in 2009. Frost estimates revenues to hit $3.9 billion (£2.5 billion) in 2016.

The increase in income was driven by a growth in the number of users accessing the service, with 40.1 per cent more VoIP customers than in 2008.

Elka Popova, Frost & Sullivan program director, claimed current customers are also investing in VoIP.

She said: "Service providers are investing in enhancing their VoIP access/trunking services in terms of survivability, redundancy, and trunk pooling to be able to offer greater value."

The research found many companies who deploy IP telephony solutions are attracted to the cost savings available with the technology.

Moreover, firms cited the ability to integrate VoIP with other forms of communication as a key reason for introducing it.