Metric: VoIP to steal $100B in PSTN revenues

Over the next five years, VoIP usage should drain $100 billion from carriers' PSTN revenues, according to U.K. research house Informa Telecoms & Media. In fact, by 2010 PSTN revenues should no longer be carriers' primary source of revenue, researchers said. Informa predicts that in the developed world, carrier PSTN revenue will drop 16.7 percent by 2011. Because carriers have invested heavily in broadband, VoIP revenues should help to offset PSTN losses. However, because VoIP services tend to be priced lower than PSTN-based services, carriers may still face a net revenue loss as VoIP. Also, carriers will face fierce competition from dedicated VoIP services such as Skype and Vonage, notes report author Malik Saadi.

For more information on VoIP/PSTN usage trends:
- read this InformationWeek article