A pair of market studies from In-Stat emphasizes the impact that the growing adoption of VoIP is having on multiple market segments. Chip makers and cable television operators, in particular, are expected to experience substantially increased revenue from sales related to both stationary and mobile VoIP deployments, according to In-Stat.

“In-Stat believes that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the future of voice communications,” says Sam Lucero, In-Stat analyst. “And while stationary VoIP deployments have been the first to gain traction in the market, mobile VoIP actually represents the greater market opportunity for VoIP silicon and equipment vendors.”

Embedded Linux has been used in mobile VoIP products that include the NexPaq first-responder phone and the dual-mode GSM/VoIP NEC N900iL (pictured at right) now available in Japan.

In-Stat projects that revenue from VoIP ICs will reach $938.4 million in 2008, up from $137.6 million in 2003. “The main driver for this rapid growth will be the integration of VoIP functionality with many 'dual-mode' cellular/VoIP (over WLAN) handsets, gaining mainstream traction in 2006 and ramping up extremely quickly in 2007 and beyond,” according to the company.

The second report examines the impact of VoIP on cable television operators. In that report, In-Stat estimates the total worldwide number of cable telephony subscribers to exceed 14 million by late 2005, growing to over 22 million by the end of 2008.

“The use of advanced IP voice technologies is beginning to attract more cable operators to the idea of delivering voice services,” according to Mike Paxton, In-Stat analyst. “Indeed, the buzz surrounding VoIP telephony services has been constant during the past year, and virtually all leading North American cable operators are either investing resources to further explore VoIP's viability, or have actually deployed the service.”

Further information on the two reports is available here:

• Hearing The Call Of Cellular: VoIP IC Market Analysis
• Cable Telephony Service: VoIP Finally Shows Up

 
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