The bundled digital telephone offerings of cable operators are becoming cheap enough to rival independent VoIP services such as Vonage, according to financial analysis by Pike & Fisher.

Triple-play bundling of voice, video, and broadband allows customers to save up to $10/month on the whole package, the research firm says, bringing the real cost of cable VoIP services within a few dollars of the independently-owned competition.

“Cable VoIP pricing is likely to make it increasingly difficult for independent providers to win market share, especially as VoIP adoption expands from early adopters to mass market users, said analyst, Mitchell Shapiro who authored the Pike & Fisher report.

Shapiro predicts that “the non-techie users will demand greater reliability, minimal learning curves and the convenience of receiving their voice, video and data services from one company and on one bill.”