64% VoIP subscribers in France use VoIP as primary fixed line
Arcep, the French communications regulator, has published its 1Q08 report on French telecoms market. The document reveals that majority of the VoIP subscribers in the country use VoIP as the primary line. In fact a fifth of all French fixed line connections at the end of 1Q08 were VoIP-only.
Some more figures from the report: 30% of the 40 million fixed lines in the country are VoIP lines. These 30% lines account for over 40% of the fixed line minutes. Sound like a few major indicators of confidence that consumers are showing in VoIP. It is safe to conclude that at least in France the migration to VoIP is now irreversible.
Use of VoIP as primary line is one of the biggest drivers for migration as service providers realize that VoIP is no longer an experiment sitting on the side table. France is no doubt far ahead of most other countries, but there is a similar trend in other developed economies. Although I have not yet come across numbers published by the FCC on the use of VoIP as primary line, but I would guess a good proportion of VoIP users in the US use it as their primary fixed line.
Cable MSOs, that are driving the current phase of VoIP in the US, are certainly winding up their circuit switched business real quick.
