Small Business VoIP

Point Topic officials are saying that bundled DSL services were offered during the second quarter of 2008 at lower prices than standalone broadband all over the world.

 

Point Topic, a research firm that concentrates on providing focused information on broadband communications services, describes broadband pricing as “becoming extremely competitive.”

 

The fact that standalone was more expensive in the second quarter of 2008 has been especially prominent in Western Europe, officials from the firm say, where the average standalone tariff for a broadband service alone was found to be $56.45, while the average price of a double-play package with VoIP was $47.83 per month (30 percent less than the previous quarter).

 

Triple play services have been the cheapest in Eastern Europe, dropping by 13 percent as of last quarter. The price has dropped from $65.63 to $57.03. The average price of a double-play service with IPTV (News - Alert) however, was found to be $32.04, as compared to $42.32 for a standalone broadband service.

 

Fiona Vanier, a senior analyst at Point Topic, says, “Ultimately ISPs want customers, and they want customers who generate revenue, in particular they want growth in revenue. To achieve this they are going to have to hook into all aspects of communication and data transfer, whether it’s voice, video or plain bits.”

 

And the average cost of a double-play service with IPTV reached $72.73 (20 percent higher than the previous quarter), Point Topic says. The trend seems to be mounting, and every service provider seems to be offering broadband with similar rises and dips. Bharti Telecom, an India-based ISP, shows a similar pattern, with bundled DSL services being 43 percent cheaper than standalone in South and East Asia.

 

In the Middle East and Africa, the cost of double-play services is a whopping $71.25, ranking second highest, just after Latin America, according to the research firm. But this price still less than the cost of standalone. Similarly, in Asia Pacific, the average cost of a double-play service with VoIP was $28.73 in the second quarter of this year, while the average cost of double-play services with fixed-line telephony was $41.08.