VoIP minutes ‘to reach 470bn a year’ by 2015
The number of mobile VoIP minutes carried annually on 3G and 4G networks is set to double each year, rising from the current 15bn to 470bn by 2015, according to a new report from Juniper Research.
The rise in mobile VoIP will be particularly marked in developed markets, where 3G networks are increasingly ubiquitous, says Mobile voice strategies: mVoIP opportunities and business models 2010-2015. The report also predicts that operator revenues from circuit-switched voice will continue to fall over the next five years, though the rate of decline will not accelerate, and that market opportunities for high-definition voice and advertising-based mobile voice services will be limited for the foreseeable future.
Competitive and regulatory pressures will also mean that traditional operators in developed markets will increasingly forge partnerships with VoIP providers, states the report. Other options for mobile VoIP carriage are via carrier alliances with mobile VoIP providers, or though apps downloaded to handsets or smartphones, says Juniper.
Operators feared losing traffic to WiFi networks most, said Senior Analyst at Juniper Research, Anthony Cox. “There are several flavours of mobile VoIP. WiFi mobile VoIP is potentially the most damaging of all VoIP traffic as it bypasses the mobile networks altogether. We forecast that mobile VoIP over WiFi will cost operators $5bn globally by 2015.”
Report available at www.juniperresearch.com
