As North American telecommunication markets become increasingly saturated, new offerings by emerging service providers pose a growing threat to incumbent providers. This is forcing them to revamp existing structures and product offerings. To combat intense competition and offer product differentiation, existing participants are turning toward converged voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and IP telephony solutions. This move enables incumbent providers to rapidly expand customer reach and improve long-term competitive positioning.

This Frost & Sullivan research service provides vital information on the North American business VoIP and IP telephony service markets including several primary segments - managed premise-based IP telephony, VoIP for virtual private networks (VPNs), VoIP access, and hosted IP telephony. The study includes in-depth information on market drivers and restraints, industry challenges, and strategic recommendations. Comparative analyses of several next-generation services allow participants to effectively capitalize on growth opportunities.

VoIP and IP Telephony Solutions Boost Customer Satisfaction and Provider Ability to Penetrate the Business Market

Offering providers an edge in a market crowded with next-generation service providers, converged telephony also benefits end users with enhanced capabilities. Advanced and cost-effective IP-based solutions enable service providers to more successfully gain and retain business customers.

"Managed IP telephony, VoIP for VPNs, VoIP access, and hosted IP telephony create opportunities for service providers to expand the penetration of network-based services," explains the analyst of this research. "This move also generates revenues from customers owning premise systems and increases average revenue per user (ARPU) by assimilating a number of services, applications, and capabilities."

Pockets of VoIP and IP Telephony Adoption Form Basis for End-to-end, Converged IP Communications Infrastructure

Organizations are rapidly deploying islands of VoIP and IP telephony within predominantly legacy environments. Within five to six years, IP telephony is expected to account for over 30 percent of all premise- and network-based business lines, but will continue to be deployed alongside existing, time division multiplexing (TDM)-based solutions. Hybrid time division multiplexing (TDM)/IP environments create opportunities for service providers to generate new revenue streams but pose integration and interoperability challenges. Eventually, businesses will migrate to an end-to-end converged infrastructure and it will be crucial for service providers to be able to offer competitive next-generation services and solutions.