Report: VoIP Users May Reach 4 Million

Broadband IP telephony may get big boost from the integration of cellular, Wi-Fi and VoIP, according to a report released Monday by In-Stat.

Noting that it estimates that 1.3 million Broadband IP lines were in the use in the U.S. at the end of 2004, the market research firm said it is forecasting 3.9 million lines in use by the end of 2005.

“The future growth of broadband IP telephony will continue to be driven by cost savings and feature service innovation,” said David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst, in a statement. “The integration of cellular, Wi-Fi, and VoIP, which is already taking place on a limited basis, will likely be the next big step in the growth of broadband IP telephony.”

In-Stat, however, pointed out some hurdles to user acceptance of broadband IP telephony, namely customer concerns over service quality that service providers must face. Customer education is still something of a challenge.

Additional concerns about the new technology include E-911 limitations that still must be addressed by many providers as well as connectivity failure during power outages.