Wire telephone likely to be replaced completely by VoIP within a decade. The opening of "VoIP /IP Telephony World 2005-Communicate on the Net!" underscores the importance of upgrading VoIP terminal companies, switchboard companies, and service companies. It is an opportunity for Korea's VoIP businesses to grow together and to share information, particularly as it was the Korea Telephony Association that prepared the first VoIP-associated exhibition, "VoIP/IP Telephony World 2005-Communicate on the Net!" The Korea Telephony Association chairman Samuel Yongho Song, told the Korea IT Times that the Association was holding this VoIP exhibition to pave the way for the standardization among domestic VoIP-associated companies. In a telephone communication market, its starting point can be VoIP, the chairman explains, referring to the prospect that established general wire telephone will be replaced completely by VoIP within about 10 years. Thanks to Korean VoIP companies possessing strong VoIP technology, Korea might be able to make this a reality even earlier than 10 years, he predicted. In these times when continuous solution is necessary, the significance of the VoIP special exhibition "VoIP/IP Telephony World" is pivotal for the development of the VoIP industry such as service and equipment solution, Song commented. First of all, Song mentioned the importance of VoIP systematization consolidation such as mutual connection, quality, emergent communication service offering obligation and universal service system's consolidation. Despite such system consolidation, he foresaw trial and error to some extent during the early period of its system introduction since VoIP is a new service which wasn't in the past. Thus, Song advises that associated business circles should induce service activation through continuously improving and complementing their systems based on accumulation of market experience. Moreover he points out that tasks for VoIP remain, such as exposure to crisis situations due to non-offering of emergency communication service, stability problems due to interruptions during an electricity failure, and issues about user protection, such as security problems. Nevertheless, the chairman emphasized that VoIP has the potential to raise the quality of life considerably, adding that it is a future-model service which has the edge over others with integration service voice, data and screen being possible. Moreover its service is possible at a reasonable price in comparison with established telephone service. However, he expected that the general public would have to wait until 2010 for VoIP's availability to reach to the level of current general wire telephone. Huge market (US$ 780 million) likely by 2008 Concerning Korea's VoIP service quality in comparison with the world market, Song said that the latest products are coming from Korean companies. The reason is that since Korea's infrastructure is able to offer such VoIP service it is taking the lead now that Korea is the most developed in terms of high-speed network in the world. Due to high high-speed Internet spread rate in Korea along with the stagnation of the wire voice telephone market, Song noted that the VoIP market is growing, substituting established wire voice market. The chairman forecasted that the VoIP market would comprise 12.5 percent of the entire wire voice market as its market grows with 2.9 percent in 2005 and rising to 808.3 billion won (approx. US$ 780 million) by 2008.