Mumbai: International Data Corporation (IDC) has forecast that total VoIP services revenue in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) will increase from $1.02 billion in 2001 to almost $14.33 billion in 2006, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 70 per cent.

According to a recent IDC press release, “Asia/Pacific VoIP Services Market Forecast and Analysis, 2001-2006”, consumers and enterprises across Asia/Pacific are now realising cost savings with VoIP services, and enterprises are also starting to look at enhanced voice applications with IP adoption.

“VoIP services in Asia/Pacific have come of age and are no longer just considered as being of poor quality,” said Renee Gamble, Program Manager — IP and Broadband Research. “It is now more widely accepted that VoIP can provide high-standard, budget call services and an even higher-quality in-house telephony for the enterprise.”

Improvements in VoIP technology and service offerings launched by major carriers have resulted in more advanced VoIP services than the earlier budget VoIP service offerings available.

Demand from enterprises is really picking up — particularly amongst IP VPN customers. Increasingly VoIP is seen as a logical and desirable complimentary service to IP VPNs. When deployed over private IP networks, these VoIP applications are providing users with high quality calls and a range of voice-enhanced applications including audio and video-conferencing.

“China continues to dwarf the rest of region in terms of VoIP usage and revenue — currently accounting for 75 per cent (in 2002) of total regional revenues,” said Ms. Gamble. “Meanwhile, VoIP will see a much slower take-up in India than previously expected because of the regulatory curbs on local/national VoIP services.”

Although cost savings will continue as a major driver for VoIP services, particularly in the consumer market, demand for value-added services will help drive the development of VoIP down the track. Increasing numbers of service providers will be bundling together with a range of IP services including VoIP with IP VPN and other services, packaged as a total IP communications service offering.

Singapore is an early leader in the Asia/Pacific region for VoIP service adoption - already accounting for 25 per cent of the total region''s revenues in 2001. This is largely because of the push from SingTel in deploying IP services, and it has been driven by a desire to counter increasing customer turnover.