Consumers indicate 'overwhelming preference' for a single provider

US broadband consumers have an "overwhelming preference" for converged voice services which integrate mobile and fixed communications, market watchers reported today.

A recent In-Stat survey of US broadband households found that consumers strongly favour buying all household comms services from a single provider.

Public service telephone network voice services are the least valued of all household communication services, but a significant proportion of service bundle consumers would migrate to another supplier to obtain converged voice services.

"Operators need not wait for full fixed/mobile network convergence, because all the necessary technology is available today," said In-Stat analyst Keith Nissen.

"All it will take is for one major service provider to embrace converged voice services, and the voice communications market will be forever changed."

In-Stat estimates that converged voice services could be generating over $8.6bn annually in the US by 2011, and claimed that the idea appeals to consumers of all ages, even those currently using mobile-only voice services.