The market for VoIP services in Asia continues to show strong growth, as total revenue is expected to rise from nearly $5.5 billion in 2004 to over $10 billion by 2009, reports In-Stat. Currently, long distance calls, initiated from either traditional PSTN terminals or full IP local loops but carried over IP backbones to recipients' local networks, create the bulk of VoIP business in Asia, providing for 85.4 percent of total revenue in 2004.
"By contrast, adoption of local VoIP services is slow due to regulatory barriers in many countries and the dominance of incumbent players," says Victor Liu, In-Stat analyst. "In Japan, however, competitive service providers such as Yahoo! BB have demonstrated how they can creatively leverage technological advantages to introduce new services and woo customers in a loose regulatory framework."
In-Stat found the following:
- In 2004, there were 8.7 million local VoIP lines in Asia.
- Regulators still have to make hard, yet smart decisions to ensure smooth market development, with some vendors placing high stakes on VoIP for their future success.
- In Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, a large portion of long distance calls has already migrated to the IP platform.
"By contrast, adoption of local VoIP services is slow due to regulatory barriers in many countries and the dominance of incumbent players," says Victor Liu, In-Stat analyst. "In Japan, however, competitive service providers such as Yahoo! BB have demonstrated how they can creatively leverage technological advantages to introduce new services and woo customers in a loose regulatory framework."
In-Stat found the following:
- In 2004, there were 8.7 million local VoIP lines in Asia.
- Regulators still have to make hard, yet smart decisions to ensure smooth market development, with some vendors placing high stakes on VoIP for their future success.
- In Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, a large portion of long distance calls has already migrated to the IP platform.