Voice over Internet Protocol – or VoIP – is the transport of telephone calls over an internet connection. For a company that already pays for a broadband connection, long distance calls can become free of charge, albeit that VoIP handsets tend to be much more expensive than standard handsets.
The technology has the added attraction of being tax free, given that internet access taxes are presently forbidden in the US, although cash-strapped US states, concerned at losing revenue previously provided by highly taxed telephone calls, are hoping to change this.
According to the new report, more than 260 million new business IP telephony lines will be installed worldwide in the next four years, with revenue increasing from almost $1 billion this year to $5.5 billion in 2008. Costs for the VoIP user will fall as the technology proliferates, says the Radicati Group.
The study also predicts that VoIP uptake will be greatest in large corporations, which are likely to bolt on the new systems to existing land-line and internet networks. Smaller corporations are more likely to upgrade to a pure VoIP system, says the report.