According to In-Stat, the VoIP IC market is not only growing, but is shifting as consumer offerings expand. Wireless and video will play stronger roles in the next several years and present new challenges for chip-level players, the high-tech market research firm said.

“Tomorrow's IP phones and the semiconductors used to produce them will clearly be very different from today's business-oriented sets,” said Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst. “New forms of interconnection at both the edge and the core ultimately mean VoIP chips will disappear at the network level, as VoIP fulfills the prophecy that someday it will be ‘simply another application on an IP network.’”

Research by In-Stat found the following:

• While today less than 16% of total VoIP chip revenues are attributed to IP phones, this segment will represent close to 60% of total sales by 2010.

• Revenues associated with VoIP ICs will grow from $613.7 million in 2006 to $2.63 billion by 2010.

• Infrastructure revenues associated with VoIP chips will make up only 13.6% of the total revenues in 2010.

The research, “VoIP Chips: Preparing for a Wireless Multimedia Future” (#IN0602864NT), covers the market for voice-over Internet protocol semiconductors. This research addresses the often complex interplay between end-users, carriers, equipment manufacturers, and VoIP chip producers, an understanding of which is crucial to anyone needing a full appreciation of the ripple effect throughout the value chain associated with enabling a wireless, multimedia future. It provides forecasts through 2010 for VoIP IC market revenues by market segment, IP phone IC shipments and revenues, VoIP CPE IC port shipments and revenues, and VoIP infrastructure ports shipped and revenues.

For more information on this research or to purchase the research online, visit http://email.in-stat.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/e3YM0KWr810K560EJzN0AA.