With more and more people using VoIP and social networking services from their mobile phones, In-Stat forecasts there will be nearly 139 million mobile VoIP users by 2014. Social networking services and a growing number of smartphone users will especially drive people to use such services, plus there’s the obvious benefit of saving money on phone calls.
Mobile operators are thinking what to do about it with some of them (Verizon, Three) even partnering with companies like Skype to at least remain in some control. However, In-Stat says that carriers generally remain guarded in how mobile VoIP services are introduced.
Some of the research findings include:
- T-Mobile subscribers had the greatest incidence of mobile VoIP usage – nearly twice that of total respondents.
- Total 2014 revenues will be split between the EMEA (39%), Asia/Pacific (32%), North America (21%), and the rest of the world (8%).
- Because mobile VoIP is portable, users can bring the benefits of VoIP with them when traveling abroad and avoid the expensive roaming fees that mobile operators charge.
As usual, you can get more information about In-Stat’s report from their website.