Half a decade on from its introduction to mobile platforms, IP telephony is poised to become an integrated feature of worldwide social media networking, according to a new study.
Marketing firm In-Stat has revealed that their team considers the next few years will usher in a transformation as many big names in the mobile phone market tackle the problem of how to react to a projected 139 million mobile IP telephony users by the year 2014.
The last several years have already seen voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phones make huge inroads into the traditional landline market, particularly with businesses. Many industry commentators agree that this surge in usage is due to the flexibility of VoIP business phone systems, and the significantly lower operating costs when compared to traditional landlines.
Amy Cravens, an analyst at In-Stat, commented on the findings:
“Mobile VoIP is gaining real market presence with usage rates climbing rapidly.
“As it becomes further incorporated into other mobile apps, specifically social networking apps, the realm of potential use is expected to broaden. This has created a great deal of jockeying among mobile VoIP players trying to develop market share and mobile operators trying to determine the best response.”
The research also concluded that:
Mobile phone operators will eventually remove their existing barriers to using IP telephony, but are tight-lipped as to how they plan to do this.
39 per cent of revenues for mobile VoIP in 2014 are projected to come in from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with Asia Pacific bringing in 32 per cent, North America 21 per cent and 8 per cent from various countries.
Operators will be scrutinising their pricing structure, as mobile VoIP has the potential to do away completely with the current expensive fees that are charged for roaming.
