Awareness of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) on the Rise in Great Britain and in the United States

LONDON – 11 April 2006 - Over the course of nine months, the percentage of British adults who say they have heard of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or already make telephone calls via an Internet connection increased from just a little over one-third (37%) to nearly half (46%). A similar shift in awareness and use in the United States has been displayed (36% vs. 51%).

These are some of the findings from a Harris Interactive^® survey measuring VoIP awareness and usage conducted online from October 12 to 16, 2005 among 1,089 U.S. adults aged 18 and over and 1,117 British adults aged 18 and over.

Although the change in VoIP awareness is undeniable, there are still a substantial proportion of adults who are unaware of the technology (41% of British adults and 36% of U.S. adults). Additionally, women are far less likely than men to have heard about VoIP in both Great Britain (28% of women vs. 57% of men) and the United States (34% of women vs. 62% of men).

Derek Eccleston, Research Director at Harris Interactive, comments, "These data suggest that whilst broader marketing efforts may be having success in building awareness of VoIP generally in the marketplace, more targeted communications strategies may be needed to fill the gaps in awareness among various demographic segments."

Although VoIP competition in the market is increasing and there is plenty of choice for consumers, the survey found clear leaders in awareness among those adult consumers who are aware of Internet telephony: Vonage in the United States and Skype and BT in Great Britain. The danger for Vonage and Skype though, in a broadening market, is that they have higher awareness levels amongst men than women (for Vonage, 54% of men vs. 34% of women, and for Skype, 58% of men vs. 30% of women), but the more ‘mass market’ players such as Yahoo, BT, AOL and Verizon find awareness levels equally as strong among both genders, both in Great Britain and in the United States.

Eccleston comments, "The entrance of more mainstream brands moves the VoIP market onto the next stage, raising the questions: Will the big players use their scale and presence to quickly establish dominance? Or will their arrival lend credibility to the market and benefit the specialists?"

Among those adults who do not use Internet telephony, more than half (56%) in Britain and about half (49%) in the United States say they are at least somewhat interested in it. Despite this interest, it’s worth noting that only small percentages (11% in Britain and 9% in the United States) say they are ‘very’ interested in the possibility of making telephone calls via an Internet connection, and one in four adults who do not currently use VoIP but are interested in it (26% in both Great Britain and the United States) say they will be likely to consider or buy VoIP in the next 12 months or sooner..

Among adults in both Great Britain and the United States who do not use Internet telephony, but are interested in it, substantial numbers say free calls between users of the same provider (53% of British adults and 43% of U.S. adults) and cheap local/national telephone calls (44% of British adults and 49% of U.S. adults) would appeal to them if they were to consider making calls via an Internet connection. Those in Great Britain are more likely than those in the United States to find cheaper rates for calling mobile/cell phones (56% vs. 19%) and for international calls (30% vs. 21%) appealing. Those in the United States are more likely than their British counterparts to find a caller ID feature appealing (51% vs. 32%).

There will always be a number of people who have no interest at all in new services and that is no different for VoIP. Amongst those adults who say they are not at all interested in Internet telephony, the lack of perceived need or usage and entrenched behaviour, as indicated by those who say: ‘I don’t make many calls’ (40% in Great Britain, 40% in the United States), ‘I use my mobile for my calls’ (19% in Great Britain, 29% in the United States) or ’I will always prefer to use my landline’ (42% in Great Britain, 28% in the United States), are key barriers to VoIP. Also the association between VoIP and the PC is deterring some from using this service, with 28 percent of those in Britain and 35 percent of those in the United States saying ‘I don’t want to talk to my computer.’

Derek Eccleston goes on to say, "Overall, the market is much more open to VoIP than it was at the beginning of 2005. For now, it is still a service used by a niche audience, mainly male. To tempt a broader range of consumers to try the service, players in the market need to generate greater awareness of the service, explaining what it does and how it works, clearly communicating the key benefits delivered by the service, and find ways to lower the perceived barriers to usage. The most successful companies going forward will be those which deliver the right messages and the right mix of benefits to targeted segments of consumers with the most potential for take-up. Watch out for the winners and losers over the coming months."

TABLE 1

"Have you heard of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) which allows you to make calls via an Internet connection?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

U.S. question was only yes/no response in January 2005 – 36% said yes, and 64% said no

* Less than 0.5%.

"Which of the following companies, if any, are you aware of as offering a service for making telephone/voice calls via the Internet?"

(list provided)

Base: All adults who are aware of Internet telephony

Note: Only those achieving over a 10% prompted recall overall were included in this table.

TABLE 3

"How interested are you in the possibility of making telephone calls via an Internet connection?"

Base : All adults not using Internet telephony

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

Table 4

"When are you likely to consider or buy VoIP?"

Base; All adults not using Internet telephony but who are interested in it

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

"If you were to consider making telephone calls via an Internet connection, which of the following features, if any, would appeal to you?"

Base: All adults not using internet telephony but who are interested in it

Note: Multiple-response question.

"Which of the following factors are deterring you from using this potential service?"

Base: All adults not at all interested in internet telephony

Note: Multiple-response question.

Harris Interactive^® conducted the online survey from 12 October to 16 October 2005 among 1,089 adults aged 18 and over in the United States and 1,117 adults aged 18 and over in Great Britain. Data were weighted to be representative of the general adult population in each country with respect to age, sex, income, education, geographic location and propensity to be online.

All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.

With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.

With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With pure probability samples of 1,117 adults in Great Britain and 1,089 adults in the United States, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the results for each country have a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Harris Interactive^®
Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13^th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll^® and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value.

Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe (www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France (www.novatris.com), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V

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Caroline North
+44 (0) 208 263 5246
cnorth@harrisinteractive.com

Jennifer Cummings
+1-585-214-7720