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Hello? Can you hear me now? VoIP continues to grow
SAN FRANCISCO July 21, 2006 7:59am 
• Tops 4 percent of phone users • Network quality cited for switching Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service continues to gain subscribers in the home telephone market, according to Telephia Inc., a San Francisco-based communications research company.
Households subscribing to pure-play subscription VoIP services, which are either replacing or complementing existing traditional landline services, increased from 2.2 million in Q1 2006 to 2.9 million in Q2 2006, Telephia says.
Vonage continues to own the largest market share of pure-play subscription VoIP consumers with a 53.9 percent share.
Verizon VoiceWing and AT&T CallVantage were tied for second place, each securing a 5.5 percent share.
SunRocket followed with a 4 percent share, while Lingo claimed a 2.6 percent share. NetZero Voice rounded out the top five with a 2.5 percent share.
Rankings for the top pure-play VoIP providers are based on subscription services, and excludes market share for free or pay-per-call VoIP services.
"With a large share of U.S. households now connecting via broadband networks, VoIP has become a popular and cost-effective alternative for replacement, as well as a complement to the traditional home landline," says Kanishka Agarwal, a vice president at Telephia.
More than 27 percent of VoIP subscribers who are likely to change providers cite network quality as their primary reason for wanting to switch, according to Telephia.
Improved customer service and better plan prices are also critical factors in why subscribers want to switch service providers.
In addition, more than 12 percent of all VoIP subscribers are likely to leave their current VoIP service provider for another supplier within a year, according to Telephia.
"The VoIP market is highly competitive with many different players trying to get a bigger slice of the market share. Service providers who offer the best customer experience through superior product quality and excellent customer service will beat out their competition," says Mr. Agarwal.
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