Communications Briefs

Santa Clara, Calif. — VoIP provider 8x8 announced that had reached the 5,000 subscriber mark for its Packet8 Virtual Office hosted PBX phone service. The service, which was launched in March 2004, is in use by small and medium businesses of varying sizes, with as few as three to as many as 250 employees, the company said. 8x8 added 1,000 new businesses in the last quarter.

Cambridge, U.K. — While residential VoIP services are projected to devour a greater slice of the landline revenue pie, mobile VoIP may be an even more profitable avenue, according to new report by the research firm Analysys. Cellular VoIP is forecast to generate $18.6 billion in revenue in the U.S. by 2012, the firm noted. In contrast, fixed line VoIP revenue will reach $11.9 billion by 2012. Mobile VoIP will be driven in large measure by carrier-side cost saving, the firm said, and it will be marketed as a premium service, offering better voice quality and advanced features such as presence, instant messaging and multimedia file sharing. The report also noted that cellular VoIP will carry 28 percent of all fixed and mobile voice minutes in the United States by 2015.

New York — VoIP provider DeltaThree announced a new calling plan for its iConnectHere residential VoIP service. The new World Plan is a pay as you go service for $6.99 a month. It offers voice mail, caller ID, the option to choose phone numbers outside the U.S. and the ability to use the account as a VoIP softphone and virtual calling card. Consumers get a free adapter upon signing up at iConnectHere's Web site.