The number of people making phone calls via the Internet more than doubled in Sweden in 2004, the country's telecoms regulator said on Wednesday.
Its report on the telecommunications market for last year said 80,800 people had Internet Protocol phone call subscriptions, compared with
38,400 in 2003.
"Not all telephone clients are linked to networks which offer IP-based calling, but the potential client base is rising as more operators are starting to offer IP-based phoning," the PTS regulator said.
It said broadband operator Bredbandsbolaget, recently bought by Norway's Telenor (TEL.OL), had most IP telephony clients.
At the end of 2004, there were 25 operators offering IP calls, versus
10 to 15 at the end of the previous year.
Nordic giant TeliaSonera (TLSN.ST) has said that IP telephony is one of the challenges it has to deal with in its home markets.
Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.
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