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Mobile VoIP is 'a sign that the market is maturing'
The successful penetration of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) into the mobile market is a sign that the technology is maturing, according to one industry expert.
Diane Myers, directing analyst for VoIP and internet protocol multimedia subsystems at Infonetics Research, said: "The mobile side of VoIP is really just beginning to blossom and, while it is far from mainstream, it is definitely growing in options and innovative offerings."
She added that the technology has proved itself to be "highly reliable" and so has been able to diversify into traditional areas of fixed-line communications.
Ms Myers went on to state that a prime example of the maturity of the medium is the fact that overseas operators such as France Telecom have successfully managed to offer VoIP as part of their triple-play bundles - this means that residential customers can now enjoy the benefits of low-cost calling that the technology can offer.
Similarly, Danie Crowther, partner at consulting firm Deloitte, recently stated that the VoIP market is evolving from a niche sector to a mainstream operation.
"As a result, mobile VoIP services are expected to reach tens of millions of users by the end of 2010, including our technologically-savvy youth," he said.
He agreed with Ms Myers in that mobile VoIP will flourish during 2010, thanks to the ever-increasing number of WiFi-enabled phones and WiFi hotspots.
"Within three years, mobile VoIP could be worth over $30 billion (£18.5 billion) globally," he commented.
Mr Crowther anticipates that social networking sites such as Facebook may look favourably towards the medium and use the "allure" of free calls as an advertising technique.
However, he added that tech-savvy teenagers may eventually migrate away from communicating via sites such as Facebook in favour of adopting the cheap alternative of VoIP conference calls with their friends on mobile phones.
Research company Garner is also of the opinion that mobile VoIP will dispel the need for other, more traditional forms of communication.
In May 2009 it noted that VoIP "poses a huge and direct challenge to the $692.6 billion global mobile voice market".
The company predicted that over time traditional mobile communications carriers will face the significant prospect of losing out to VoIP, as a large portion of their voice traffic and revenue will be lost to the low-cost option.
Akshay Sharma, research director at the group, stated that in ten years time, more than 50 per cent of mobile voice traffic will be provided by VoIP carriers.
Ms Myers, concluding her thoughts on the mobile market, stated that she expects VoIP companies to further capitalise on their technical experience to offer novel innovations in the telecommunications sector in the future.
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