Communications Crossroads - Fall 2007 - (Page 9)

VOIP, VOIP EVERYWHERE According to In-Stat, 36% of businesses that have adopted VoIP use multiple VoIP solutions, with smaller companies tending toward broadband IP telephony solutions and larger companies going more often with IP PBX solutions. … VoIP subscribers could account for more than one-third of all U.S. landline subscriptions in 2010, up from 10% in 2006, according to eMarketer (www.emarketer.com). The total number of U.S. VoIP subscribers will rise from 9.8 million at the end of 2006 to 41.3 million by the end of 2011. VoIP revenues crossed the $1 billion mark in 2005, versus just $212 million in 2004, according to a new study from TeleGeography Research (www.telegeography.com). NEXT BIG THING FOR TELECOMS: HEALTHCARE? Some experts are now pointing to the home/health care market as a potential growth opportunity for telecoms. eHealth is now the fastestgrowing ICT sector with 15% to 20% annual growth projected for the next five years. Here’s what’s happening in Europe: Nearly 20% of the population (70 million people) is more than 60 years old; that number will double in the near future. At a recent European Commission conference, experts pointed to statistics suggesting that ICT can not only dramatically reduce the cost burden on society, but also offer great market opportunities for service providers, as the market for smart homes applications triples in Europe between now and 2020. LEAVE THE WALLET AT HOME, BUT DON’T FORGET YOUR PHONE Japan is once again leading the way for consumers everywhere, as they become early adopters of the new uses for today’s mobile phones. E-wallet phones, GPS phones and related services are hot sellers in the Japanese mobile phone market, reports In-Stat. In Japan, 43.5 million—or 92% of the phones sold in 2006—were 3G, and camera, music player function, and above 2.4-inch screens with at least 240-320 resolution have become standard. GLOBAL BROADBAND MARKET BOOMING Over the past year, approximately 65 million new broadband subscribers signed up for high-speed access to the Internet. By 2011, total worldwide broadband subscribers will number 567 million, almost double the current 285 million subscriber base, reports In-Stat—and there’ll be more than 55 million households using a Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) for broadband access. A CELL PHONE IN EVERY HOUSE Thanks to demand in China, India and Africa, total mobile phone use will top 3.25 billion—that is, about half the world’s population, according to The Mobile World as reported by Reuters. That breaks down into 1,000 new customers signing up every minute. NEVER BE LOST AGAIN Now, instead of holding a compass in your hand to find your way, consumers will be able to use their cell phones. In-Stat says that 2007 could be the year that mapping and navigation applications truly arrive on mobile handsets. With a low price points—as little as $10 a month— GPS navigation in a handset offers similar functionality to stand-alone personal navigation devices. The market for navigation devices is expected to reach 56 million units worldwide by 2011, up from 14 million in 2006. Fall 2007 COMMUNICATIONS CROSSROADS 9 http://www.emarketer.com http://www.telegeography.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Communications Crossroads - Fall 2007

Up Front Contents TeleBites Cover Story: The World at Your Doorstep Business Advantages: Reaching Out to the Fast-Growing Hispanic Market Technology Today: Ideas from Foreign Telecoms You Should Consider Industry Calendar Index to Advertisers People Straight Talk

Communications Crossroads - Fall 2007

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