Survey Shows VOIP Interest

BEDMINSTER, N.J. -- According to an Ipsos-Insight Express study, commissioned and released by AT&T today, three out of four adults have heard of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. The surprising results of the recent consumer interest and awareness study suggests that consumers are excited about the technology, so much so, that they believe it is much more pervasive than current estimates from industry watchers. This was most evident in results that found 74 percent of the sampled population of 1,000 adults has heard of some form of VoIP. That percentage is approximately 4x the consumer awareness of Wi-Fi (19 percent), a popular wireless high-speed connection technology, and exceeds that of DSL (66 percent), a high-speed method to move data over phone lines. Other related data also reveals that 24 percent of consumers believe their calls have at some point traveled over the Internet. "This research unquestionably validates consumer interest and excitement around VoIP," said Cathy Martine, senior vice president of Internet Telephony and Consumer Product Management. "It's clear that many consumers understand the 'wow' factor of VoIP services. We're on the verge of a new era of communications services when any 'thing' -- phone, PDA, wristwatch or computer -- will connect any 'where.' AT&T has been involved in the VoIP market since 1997 and we believe this research confirms that VoIP is now ready for prime time."