The market for consumer VoIP services boomed in 2006, with Europe leading the way, reports In-Stat. Total VoIP subscribers worldwide increased by 34 million subscribers in 2006, the high-tech market research firm says.

“Europe showed the largest gain in consumer VoIP subscribers,” says Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst. “The European consumer VoIP market increased by over 14 million subscribers last year. The European VoIP market is being aided by local loop unbundling, the introduction of cable telephony and triple-play service bundles, as well as operator consolidation. In contrast, US wireline operators added only 4 million VoIP subscribers in 2006. No one seems interested in selling anything other than plain-old-telephone-service”.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• The countries with the largest VoIP subscriber gains in 2006 include France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
• In 2011, the US will represent only 18% of the global consumer VoIP market.
• By 2011, In-Stat predicts the consumer VoIP market will total nearly $44 billion worldwide.

The research, “Europe Leads the Booming Consumer VoIP Market”, covers the worldwide market for Voice over Internet Protocol. It provides forecasts for global VoIP subscribers, segmented by region, through 2011. It also includes analysis of major VoIP markets around the world. Analysis of market drivers and challenges is provided.