Small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the U.S. who have deployed VoIP systems are saying their new converged voice and data infrastructure has met or exceeded expectations, but not for the reasons VoIP providers have been touting. While providers continue to promote features, SMBs ranked system management capabilities at the top of their list when asked how well their system performed.

For those SMBs considering VoIP, their perceptions of the technology are clear: they want lower total cost of ownership and better system management. But providers trying to sell to these SMBs are still delivering confusing messages about feature sets that the SMBs don't understand.

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c34070) has announced the addition of IP PBX Market Opportunities, Strategies, and Forecasts, 2006 To 2012 to their offering.

IP PBX systems support efficient voice communication that improve the circuit switch end to end connection, by sending conversations as packets over the Internet. Voice over IP is implemented as a system that attaches to a router and supports the transfer of voice signals as data in an IP network.

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c33740) has announced the addition of The Market For Wireless VoIP to their offering.

The 1st Edition of "The Market For Wireless VoIP" is a comprehensive 100-page overview of the Wireless VoIP business. The report provides a concise look at the forces driving wireless VoIP, its market potential, and the major players in the industry.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of Western European Fixed Telecoms: Market Sizings and Forecasts 2001-11 to their offering.

"There's a renewed confidence in much of the fixed-line services market as broadband penetration increases at impressively fast rates and promises the long-heralded convergence of telecoms and broadcasting. This success has come at a cost, however. The popularity of broadband has been fuelled by dramatic price erosion in basic access and, in turn, it encourages, through VoIP, accelerated contraction of voice revenues."

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is driving one of the most far-reaching technological and commercial transformations of the decade. End-users worldwide are increasingly switching from traditional telephony to the versatile capabilities of VoIP. The financial, organizational and technological opportunities are huge - and so are the challenges.

Most industry experts agree that a general confusion and lack of strategic direction concerning VoIP has hindered the technology's adoption at many organizations that would benefit from it. That's why the industry's most visionary minds will gather to participate in VoIP: Transforming Business Horizons, an executive roundtable produced by Larstan Business Reports and scheduled for May 24-25, 2006 at the Omni Chicago Hotel. To reserve a chair at the table, contact: managing director, Jennifer O'Grady, 240-396-0007 x 902 or jogrady@larstan.net.

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c32357) has announced the addition of Canadian Consumer Telecom & Cable TV Market Forecasts 2006 to their offering.

This report is a "must have" for telcos, cablecos, ISPs, broadcasters, mobile service providers, investors, equipment suppliers as well as regulators and policy makers.

This report will provide you with insight to assess the following issues, among many others:

After sauntering out of the gate, cable companies are finally ready to hit stride as they race toward VoIP and associated next-generation services, unencumbered by the back-breaking weight of legacy-based TDM networks. This 'run for the roses' presents tremendous opportunity for softswitch suppliers that recognize the cable market as one of the most important segments for VoIP-based softswitch sales.

The global market for consumer VoIP services has arrived, with total VoIP subscribers worldwide at 16 million in 2005, and projected to grow to more than 55 million in 2009, reports In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com). But despite an impressive 62% year-over-year subscriber growth rate in 2005, few consumers have ever heard of the term "VoIP," the high-tech market research firm says. This indicates providers have to continue to educate the public, and that there is considerable room for market growth.

"Competition in broadband access services is the key driving force behind VoIP market development," said Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst. "In addition, multiple waves of new entrants, ranging from broadband ISPs and cable MSOs, to Google and eBay will play significant roles."

Sandvine Incorporated, world leader in intelligent broadband network management solutions released new VoIP figures based on data aggregated from its North American and European broadband service provider deployments.

Broadband service provider-branded VoIP rollouts were extremely successful in 2005 and have taken the lead in terms of share of VoIP minutes.

For this study conducted in November and December 2005, aggregate data was collected and analyzed from Sandvine's North American and European broadband customer networks where Sandvine is deployed. The data highlighted the VoIP traffic trends of more than 700,000 broadband households from a group of service providers with over 6 million subscribers.

Empirix Inc., which helps organizations adopt complex communication solutions with confidence, announced the results of a survey conducted during Dec. 2005 on the topic of "Service Provider VoIP Deployment and Service Delivery Challenges." Highlights of the survey, which garnered 148 responses, include:

• Only one-fifth (20 percent) of respondents report using VoIP application monitoring systems to ensure service quality; and
• When asked how their network engineers most often initially find out about problems in the VoIP network, the dominant response (36 percent) was, "Subscriber complaints."

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c29265) has announced the addition of Telecommunications Services Market: Outlook 2006 - 2012, China to their offering.

Telecommunications is a large and dynamic business that continues to enjoy significant growth worldwide in past few quarters. Trillion dollars flowed into the telecom industry during the tech bubble of the late 1990s, but after several brutal years watching telecom industry fortunes being driven downward--with the attendant layoffs, bankruptcies, and even a few accounting scandals--in late 2004 and 2005 the telecommunications industry has turned the corner.

Covad Communications Group, Inc., a leading national provider of integrated voice and data communications, was named the market leader among hosted VoIP providers for business by In-Stat, an independent research group, in a just-released report entitled, "Steady Growth Ahead for Hosted VoIP Solutions." Covad's 28 percent market share led all providers targeting business customers, including MCI, SBC, PingTone, M5 and others.

In the latest report from Wainhouse Research's quarterly WebMetrics research program, 70% of panelists who used Skype in the last six months found the VoIP service acceptable for business calls. This includes a mix of 17% who use it often, 27% who use it for business occasionally, and 27% who find it acceptable for business use but do not use it for business purposes. Only 5% believe it is not acceptable for business or personal use. While only 1/4 of the entire survey group has used Skype in the past six months, the acceptance level among those who have used Skype is believed to be a harbinger of things to come for web conferencing vendors seeking to bolster their Voice over IP (VoIP) offerings.

Yankee Group today announced additional results of its 2005 Technologically Advanced Family (TAF) Survey, which reveals crucial consumer voice data and analysis for industry players wishing to capture the buying power of early adopter consumers, as well as mass market, late mass market and laggard market segments.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of Wireless Living in the United States to their offering.

A growing number of personal computing and consumer electronic devices traditionally require wires to connect with other devices in order to exchange data. An assortment of devices such as digital camcorders, DVD players, mobile communications products and high-definition TVs (HDTV) have all depended on this wire-bound technology. However, wireless technology is poised to help consumers eliminate the wires, allowing them a higher degree of flexibility and convenience in their homes and lives.