Voice over IP research shows that up till 2004, Vonage was the primary provider of VoIP for residences all over the US. But statistics show that 2005 was the year cable television companies grabbed that lead. That's how VoIP hit the mainstream. By 2006, Skype had already garnered the lion's share of VoIP subscribers anywhere in the world with a whopping 100 million clients – and online auction giant eBay snapped up Skype that same year. 2006 was also the year that Apple and Microsoft expanded their product offerings to include the VoIP market. Internet's big three, Yahoo!, Google, AOL, joined the fray as well. Voice over IP research clearly shows that it has turned into one of the most hotly contested pieces of the telco pie. This battle has moved into the mobile phone market. Speech and audio sent via Internet protocol can now be transmitted and received through Internet-enabled mobile phones. The still very powerful landline telcos are not taking things sitting down. Trying to stifle the voices of change, so to speak, telcos like AT&T are stepping up investments and engaging in mergers. Part of their aim is to stifle, if not control, the rapid growth of VoIP. Though VoIP companies are thriving now, they should look to the future and diversify their offerings to take advantage of e-commerce opportunities as they arise.