VoIP service revenue roughly doubled in the Asia Pacific, North American, and European regions, from 2004 to 2005, and is expected to continue booming at least over the next 5 years, a report from Infonetics Research said.
A combined $120 billion will be spent on VoIP services between 2005 and 2009 in the 3 regions, the report also said.
'Businesses around the world are migrating to IP for increased functionality, greater flexibility, improved productivity, and the potential of growing revenue through better customer service,' said Stéphane Téral, principal analyst at Infonetics Research.
'VoIP services continue to pick up fast in North America and in many parts of Europe, particularly in central and Eastern Europe, where small businesses have a strong appetite for business trunking, IP Centrex, and VoIP VPN services,' Téral continued.
'In Asia Pacific, VoIP service revenue about doubled that of North America and Europe in 2004, and continues at a blazing pace. China will likely emerge as a major VoIP business market in the coming years because the Chinese government is encouraging carriers to accelerate the migration to IP Centrex and IP PBX from their existing TDM Centrex.'
The report said between 2005 and 2009, VoIP service revenue will grow from $2.6 billion to $13.3 billion in North America, $2.3 billion to $12.7 billion in Europe, and $4.2 billion to $12.9 billion in Asia Pacific
In terms of VoIP service revenue coming from residential versus business customers, the report said 51% came from North America, 72% in Europe and 83% in Asia Pacific
The report also said the number of worldwide VoIP subscribers is expected to almost double 2005 to 2006, when it will top 47 million.