Europe VoIP to reach 88 million

Aggressive pricing for triple plays is expected to see 88 million VoIP subscribers in Western Europe by 2012 according to research group InfoCom. This represents 240 percent growth over the 25.8 million VoIP subscriptions estimated for June 2007. The Europe VoIP market is about double the size of the U.S. market. The difference is attributed to strong competition by multiple providers, especially in markets where the local loop has been effectively unbundled.

InfoCom is predicting broadband penetration of 68 percent, which will translate to 121 million homes by 2012. Three quarters of these are expected to be VoIP capable, resulting in VoIP penetration equal to 50 percent or 87.8 million homes.

Strongest growth will come from those countries with immature broadband markets, such as Greece and, to a lesser extent, Spain. InfoCom predicts Netherlands could take over France as the leading VoIP market (by penetration) because of the fierce competition between the cable operators, KDN and the DSL providers.

For more:
- InfoCom release [1]

Related articles:
IPTV has been a key driver for VoIP in Europe Special Feature [2]
Local loop key to Euro competition Article [3]