Scottsdale, Ariz. — A new study from In-Stat found cable providers nearly doubled their number of telephone subscribers in 2006 thanks to VoIP technology.
“In a growing number of markets around the world, cable TV operators consider telephony service to be an integral part of their telecommunications service bundle,” analyst Mike Paxton said in a statement announcing the findings.
In-Stat, which is owned by TWICE’s parent company Reed Business Information, also noted that worldwide cable telephony subscriptions jumped from 15.8 million in 2005 to more than 22 million last year. Cable telephone service revenues are predicted to reach $10.4 billion this year, up from $7.9 billion in 2006, according to the research firm.
Cable providers are migrating to VoIP over circuit-switched based telephony networks due to lower cost. Of the 9.4 million cable telephone subscribers in North America, 6.6 million are VoIP users, In-Stat said.
The pick-up in cable telephone subscriptions is happening swiftly, In-Stat observed, with 42 percent of surveyed U.S. consumers saying they signed up for service in the last 12 months.
