VoIP License Shipments Dip in First Quarter

In the first quarter 2008, vendors shipped a total of about 7.9 million VoIP subscriber feature server licenses for deployment in service provider networks, say analysts at iLocus.

The number of lines is down by 19 percent quarter over quarter, though the analysts note that the third and fourth quarters of 2007 were marked by unusually high growth, so the sequential comparisons would be more difficult than is typical.

In the first quarter, Nokia Siemens Networks led the VoIP subscriber lines equipment market on a worldwide basis with a market share of 19.8 percent. That lead is followed by Italtel at number two and Cisco at number three worldwide.

Business Centrex lines account for over 1.03 million of the licenses. The remaining 6.87 million were mainly deployed for residential voice over broadband apps or switch replacement.

Analysts at iLocus caution that they do not track IP upgrades to TDM ports. They do track VoIP hosted telephony implementations (such as hosted PBX and VoBB), new greenfield VoIP deployments, complete replacement of legacy switches with VoIP, and extension of existing legacy networks with VoIP equipment in new geographies.