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VoIP Too Complicated? Tell That To The Cable Companies

According to a new survey from Forrester Research, most VoIP services -- including free peer-to-peer (P2P) client applications like Skype, Google Talk, and Yahoo -- are too complicated for the average user. Then why are the cable companies so successful with their VoIP offerings?

The Forrester survey claims that most free P2P offerings are confusing. If these services are going to take off with mainstream consumers, then the services need to be improved. The services also lack sufficient security and they do not label their security levels accurately, the study warns.

OK, so the average consumer doesn't trust a free VoIP system. In short, these apps are still too techy. Then why do they love VoIP when it comes from the cable company? This answer is simple. Cable voice services (the cable guys rarely say VoIP -- it's too technical and intimidating) are easy to use and work just like a regular old phone system. In fact, most are easier to set up than Vonage, the company that built the model most of the cable providers have copied.

Another study released this week confirms cable's dominance in the VoIP market. According to researcher In-Stat, the number of U.S. homes with VoIP now stands at more than 10 million, up from roughly 9 million in the third quarter of 2006. Most of this growth has been from cable companies. And as cable VoIP has grown, client-based VoIP services like Google Talk and Yahoo have stalled. In fact, the only P2P VoIP service that has shown significant growth since last year is Skype.

And don't think VoIP is limited to just consumers. Business use of VoIP is also up. According to the In-Stat survey, 51 percent of VoIP subscribers claim they use IP telephony for a mix of personal and business calls but only 4 percent say that they use it exclusively for business.

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