By Sharla Sikes

VoIP may have started with the little guys—even Vonage is little compared to telecommunications behemoths like Comcast—but once it became an established communications product, all the big boys jumped on the bandwagon.

Nothing like tailgating on someone else’s risk, eh?

Whatever your view of current VoIP industry developments, it’s plain that cable internet providers, particularly Comcast, are eclipsing the many smaller VoIP providers in terms of market share. Package deals like bundled phone, broadband Internet and cable TV are attractive to customers who want simplicity in billing.

Cable VoIP customer counts jumped 167 percent in 2006 to 6.3 million subscribers, according to a Yankee Group report. The consulting and research firm estimates cable phone subscribers to hit 26.2 million by 2011.

Out of that cable Internet phone segment, Comcast tops the list with 2.4 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2007. Time Warner also reported adding 760,000 new subscribers, and Cablevision ended 2006 with 1.2 million VoIP customers.

Interestingly, a 2006 survey found only 9.5 percent of cable telephone subscribers were aware that their phone services were VoIP rather than traditional land line service.

Is that a death knell for market leader Vonage and its brethren? It’s hard to say. Some customers prefer package deals—others, low, low calling rates like most standalone VoIP providers offer.

Despite recent Vonage struggles with Verizon,  Vonage still reported a 75 percent increase in 2006 with 1.2 million lines added and another 166,000 added the first quarter of this year.

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