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May 27, 2015

VoIP Services Market on 12-Figure Track by 2020


By Steve Anderson
Contributing TMCnet Writer

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A new report from Transparency Market Research is telling us all something that we already knew, but likely didn't know to its full extent. The report in question spells out just how big the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services market will be over just the next five years, and the top figure will likely astonish even long-time followers of VoIP services: $136.76 billion.


The Transparency Market Research report, titled “VoIP Services Market (Individual Consumers, Corporate Consumers, Mobile VoIP and Others) – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 – 2020”, noted that in just 2013, the VoIP services market was already a major force, accounting for $70.9 billion worth of value. But the growth wasn't about to stop there, and Transparency Market Research forecast a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7 percent until 2020.

Breaking down the numbers, meanwhile, offered more unusual insight. The biggest share of the VoIP services market's revenue came from the European market back in 2013, and the fastest growth is expected to come from the Asia-Pacific market. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to generate a CAGR of revenue of 13.6 percent over the forecast period as more subscribers come on board. The growth is sufficient that, by the end of 2020, the Asia-Pacific region will likely lead the field.

The computer-to-phone segment of VoIP services was the largest part of the subscriber count in 2013, accounting for better than a third—37.9 percent—of the total market. But the mobile VoIP segment—or the phone-to-phone portion—is set for big gains, set to offer a CAGR of 14.7 percent through 2020. The market that will least benefit here is the computer-to-computer market, as computers are becoming increasingly replaced by smart devices. Considering further that VoIP services are often less expensive than more standard equivalents—just look at what MagicJack offers for proof on that front—and thus more accessible to users, that's another factor driving big gains.

Image via Shutterstock

We all knew that VoIP services were a big deal. There are enough places to get such services—ranging from Skype (News - Alert) to Viber to Sprint and beyond—that it's hard not to know, at least on an anecdotal level, that VoIP services are highly prized and very popular. But looking at these numbers makes it clear just how popular these services really are. While that's great news, particularly for the consumer, it may not be for long. As more of our lives move to the Internet, we'll need more bandwidth to keep up. We're already seeing more than a few have issues of bandwidth caps, and if we start migrating voice traffic to the Web as well, can the Internet service providers (ISPs) handle it without resorting to restrictions?

Increasing fiber rollout suggests it's a possibility—even Verizon is planning to go all fiber by some reports—but will anyone else follow suit? The future looks bright for VoIP services, and though there are some points that may drag the market's potential down, there's a lot of bright side here, if it all works according to plan.




Edited by Maurice Nagle
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