High-speed port shipments could support next-gen VoIP hardware

Companies keen to make the best use of VoIP hardware may welcome the trend towards high-speed networking protocols.

According to a report from Infonetics, in 2010 port speeds of 10 Gbps or more accounted for three per cent of the market by volume, but saw 43 per cent of revenue investment.

With 100 Gbps Ethernet and optical ports penetrating the market, the analyst says the coming months will indicate whether second-tier speeds - in particular 40 Gbps - will fall in price.

Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics, says data centre deployments are a driving force behind the higher-speed installations.

"The enterprise 40 GbE port segment will be one of the most interesting to watch going forward, with the first shipments expected in 2011 followed by rapid growth," he adds.

Some telecommunications firms are already investing in VoIP hardware for their core networks, according to a previous Infonetics report, which noted all-IP backhaul growing in popularity during the shift from 2G to 3G mobile services.