Softswitch/Media Gateway Market Anything But Soft: Worldwide Revenues to Reach $9.3 Billion in 2009, According to IDC.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Despite a somewhat volatile evolution, worldwide softswitch and media gateway revenues will reach $9.3 billion in 2009, a robust 47% CAGR from 2004 to 2009. According to new research from IDC, softswitch and media gateways will combine to surpass total revenues for legacy switches for the first time in 2009.

Softswitches and media gateways remain the focal point for next-generation switching - that set of next-generation network elements that will replace legacy central office (CO) switches in the public telephone network. "Although the softswitch and media gateway market is a moving target, and will be hampered by some significant disruptions, growth will remain strong as the market continues to gain momentum," noted Tom Valovic, program director of IDC's VOIP Infrastructure service. "The growth of VOIP services, such as voice-over-broadband (VOBB) residential service, will add another interesting wrinkle going forward."

As in other technology segments, wireless is hot. Wireless softswitch revenues will account for 27% of total worldwide revenues by 2009. "There will be vigorous market competition for the foreseeable future," added Valovic. "In addition, emerging IP multimedia system (IMS) architectures will create disruptions between wireless and wireline equipment providers."

Other key findings from the report include the following:

--There is less emphasis on the softswitch as the single controlling element in next-generation architectures.

--Market timing for Class 5 replacement will be affected by the deployment of VOBB services by large carriers.

--The Asia/Pacific region will be an especially promising market for greenfield deployments in the next few years.

--Opportunities for start-up vendors will exist, but IDC believes that VOIP could potentially be vulnerable to the same kind of hype levels that characterized the optical market several years ago.

--Continued development of commercial-off-the-shelf technology, including the trends toward ATCA and blade servers, will have significant effects on product development.

This study, Worldwide Softswitch and Media Gateway 2005-2009 Forecast: What's Next for the VOIP Equipment Market? (IDC #32730), examines the emerging market for core products, discusses recent market trends, identifies future growth opportunities and constraints, and provides revenue forecasts with specific breakouts for geographic distribution, legacy vs. next-generation switching sales, and wireless vs. wireline revenues.

To purchase this study, contact IDC Sales at 508-988-7988 or email [e-mail].

About IDC

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