Well, whaddya know, the VoIP industry is not invincible to the Great Recession, which started way back in 2008. For the longest time, VoIP was one of the stellar performers even in this down economy. Back in 2009 I wrote, "An interesting report by IBISWorld, Inc. just named VoIP as the predicted #1 performer In 2009 - it even beat video games. Yet more proof that VoIP isn't dead and indeed VoIP is the one shining bright spot in an otherwise dismal bear economy." But even the mighty VoIP (Chuck Norris?) cannot withstand a bear market going on 3+ years.


Chuck Norris (VoIP) vs. Bear (President Obama's U.S. Bear market)

Watch Chuck wrestle a bear:

According to Infonetics the third quarter of 2011 for the carrier VoIP market is down 12% and the overall VoIP market is down 15%! C'mon Chuck, get it together and whoop that big bad bear economy! From Infonetics:

Infonetics Research: Carrier VoIP market down 12% in 3Q11; Huawei, GENBAND lead

Market research firm Infonetics Research today released excerpts from its third quarter 2011 (3Q11) Service Provider VoIP Equipment and Subscribers market share and forecast report.

ANALYST NOTE

"Seasonally the third quarter tends to be a weak one for the overall carrier VoIP equipment market, and 3Q11 was no exception. No vendor is immune to the challenges of delayed orders and shifts in technology choices, although there were some standout performances by vendors in 3Q11 in specific segments, including Dialogic, GENBAND, Huawei, Metaswitch, and Sonus. Sequentially, all market segments are down in 3Q11, but from the year-ago quarter (3Q10), there is one bright spot: session border controllers (SBCs), with global revenue up 13%. The SBC and voice application controller segments are on track to be up in 2011, reflecting the continued shift to all-IP networks," expects Diane Myers, directing analyst for VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research.

SERVICE PROVIDER VOIP MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

.               The global service provider VoIP equipment market (trunk media gateways, SBCs, media servers, softswitches, voice application servers), lost the 12% it gained in 2Q11 with a 12% decline, to $441 million

.               Year-over-year (from 3Q10 to 3Q11), the overall market is down 15%

.               In 3Q11, Huawei gained on GENBAND to take the lead in the overall service provider VoIP equipment market

.               The growth of VoIP subscribers in fixed and mobile networks, SIP trunking, and IP interconnectivity will continue to be important drivers for VoIP equipment

.               The standout region of the quarter is Central and Latin America, which posted a 14% increase in carrier VoIP equipment revenue in 3Q11 over 2Q11, driven by strong VoIP adoption, particularly in Brazil and Mexico