VoIP Port Shipments Exceed Digital Switches For The First Time: Report

For the first time ever, Next Generation Networking (NGN) VoIP port shipments worldwide exceeded those of digital switches in 2005, according to a new report from Dittberner. Digital port shipments dropped 30% in 2005, while VoIP shipments jumped 151 percent.

China and Russia have dramatically cut investments in digital switching, and have instead put money into next generation networking technologies and VoIP, which in part accounts for the shift, the report concludes.

The report adds that operators worldwide are replacing their PSTN infrastructure with a softswitch solution for providing a single platform to deliver IP-based multimedia services as well as circuit-switched telephony services. Operators are pushing to build a customer base for IP-based multimedia services, and so are investing in softswitches, the report concludes.