Taiwanese VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) equipment turned in an impressive shipment value performance in the second half of 2004, benefiting from the rise of the corporate VoIP market and breakneck growth in the home VoIP segment. Second half shipment value reached US$403 million, a gain of 122% from the first half of 2004. The enterprise segment climbed by 53% during the same period, while the home market grew by 199%, causing a dramatic shift in the Taiwanese shipment structure. From a 5:5 ratio in the first quarter of 2004, enterprise to home shipments reached a 3:7 ratio by the fourth quarter. Taiwanese VoIP shipment value totaled US$585 million for all of 2004.

Of the US$108 million generated by the enterprise market in the second half of 2004, 6.1% was comprised of VoIP gateway and 93.9% by IP (Internet Protocol) phone. Shipment volume received a boost from production outsourced by Cisco and Nortel; IP phone volume jumped by 53%, while VoIP gateway shipments shot up by 88%. VoIP gateway ASP (Average Selling Price) fell 3.9% in the second half; IP phone ASP slipped by 7% due to higher chip integration.

VoIP router, VoIP IAD (Integrated Access Device), and VoIP E-MTA (Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adaptor) respectively accounted for 12.8%, 36.8%, and 42.7% of the US$295 million produced in the home segment during the second half. In terms of shipment volume, VoIP router grew 918%, TA (Terminal Adaptor) 318%, IAD 60%, and E-MTA 392%. There were two chief factors driving such dramatic gains. The first were new VoIP routers and TA rolled out by retail brands and telecoms. The second factor was the intense state of competition between cable and DSL broadband providers in North American and Japanese home VoIP markets, which drove the growth of IAD and E-MTA.

ASP for home VoIP equipment fell by 5% to 7% in 2004. TA prices saw 20% declines owing to software technology upgrades and the flood of shipments. In contrast, E-MTA prices rose by around 10% with MSO (Multi-System Operators) requiring the addition of batteries.

In the first quarter of 2005, the corporate VoIP market will drive Avaya, Nortel, and Cisco's shipments, fueling a rise in Taiwanese enterprise VoIP equipment volume. Taiwanese VoIP gateway and IP phone volume is expected to climb by 78,500 ports and 919,000 ports respectively. In the home segment, retail brands Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear will be gaining a heavy volume of orders from DSL service providers promoting VoIP service providers. Taiwanese VoIP CPE (Consumer Premises Equipment) value is thus forecast to grow 25% sequentially to hit just over US$3.6 million units in the first quarter of 2005.

Market Intelligence Center, based in Taipei, Taiwan, was founded in 1987. MIC is Taiwan's premier IT industry research and consulting firm providing intelligence, in-depth analysis, and strategic consulting services on global IT product and technology trends, focusing on markets and industries in Asia-Pacific. MIC is part of the Institute for Information Industry. https://mic.iii.org.tw/english