Survey: Comcast tops in hosted VoIP; Verizon best at IP connectivity

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) continues to make a name for itself in the voice business. The top cable operator garnered top honors for its hosted VoIP service in an Infonetics Research survey. Verizon Business (NYSE: VZ), meanwhile, turned in the top score among IP connectivity providers.

Comcast followed a well-worn cable path to the honor: it bought its way in.

"Comcast's acquisition of New Global Telecom, the former perennial leader in our business VoIP scorecards, propelled Comcast to the number 1 position," said Diane Myers, Infonetics' principal analyst for VoIP and IMS in a news release.

The cable company topped more traditional wireline providers like West and 8x8 Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT). Verizon Business, meanwhile, garnered top honors for the fourth straight year, AT&T (NYSE: T), Comcast and XO, among others.

In announcing the top players, Myers also pointed out noted that the playing field is constricting.

"After a banner 2010, 2011 was another year of consolidation in North America among business VoIP service providers," she said in the news release. "Though there are still a large number of VoIP service providers in North America, consolidation is starting to separate the large providers from the rest of the pack."

Infonetics VoIP connectivity scorecard

For more:
- see this release

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