Big Boys Turn to Triple Play

There’s a “race to the bottom” scouring the pure-play VoIP industry, as prices for voice services plummet and many once high-flying startups, such as Deltathree, look headed for obituaries in the business press. But the carnage of 2008 is not indicative of the opportunity VoIP represents to large carriers, who are gaining subscribers and beginning to stem access-line losses with integrated, triple-play bundles for residential and small-business markets.

In the last six months alone, AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) have replaced their first-gen standalone VoIP offerings with newer services packaged with their TV and high-speed Internet services in triple-play bundles. SureWest Communications (SURW) launched a digital voice offering that, in a marketing twist, it’s casting as a lure for other bundled services.

And earlier this week, Verizon confirmed plans to begin deploying FiOS Digital Voice in a few markets soon and said it will no longer actively market its previous VoiceWing VoIP service — which was powered by technology from Deltathree.

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines