According to Infonetics Research, the number of cable VOIP subscribers in
North America soared nine-fold in 2004 to about 500,000, while cable
broadband customers climbed 26% to 22.4 million from 17.7 million. The
research firm estimates North American cablecos boosted investment in VOIP
equipment to US$123-million from US$63-million.
"We forecast ample growth for the cable VoIP equipment market, especially as
PacketCable Multimedia matures, because it promises to further unite the
communication and entertainment realms and blur the line between PC and TV,"
said Infonetics analyst Kevin Mitchell.