Residential VOIP on the Rise

VOIP is making a rise in the residential market. By the year 2010, just four short years from today, it is projected that it will have a compound annual growth rate of 24.7 percent. That will give VOIP a sizeable chunk of the residential telecommunications market.

VOIP has already shown a steady increase in the business market, and its share in this sector will also continue to rise. In the past, business subscribers were the focus for VOIP providers.

With this new shift towards a focus on the residential market, providers must realize the two end users have vastly different demands. Residential subscribers are primarily concerned about costs. This concern will most likely be met by special packages or introductory pricing rates.

There is an interesting cross-over market that providers are just beginning to tap into. Home business owners have the shared interests of business subscribers and residential subscribers since the VOIP is used for both purposes. These end-users are interested in the combined technical components, like service level agreements and technical support. At the same time, cost is a very important factor as well.

There is not much equipment involved with the set up of VOIP service. There key components are residential gateways and IP phones (although video is likely to begin showing up soon). This means the cost to subscribers can be low and still yield a high profit to providers.