Applications of Mobile Voice over IP are an extension of VoIP technology that allows for IP-based phone calls to be made from a mobile handset. Voice traffic travels over the available wireless broadband connection -- whether that connection is 3G, EDGE, Wi-Fi, or GPRS.
Similar to landline VoIP, mobile VoIP service is being adopted in both the consumer and business segments, but has only recently begun to be implemented within the typical business communication environment.
Even though it's an emerging application, mobile VoIP growth rates are strong and by the end of the forecast period in 2015, users will have grown to nearly 83 million lines, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
"There are several reasons that adoption of mobile VoIP makes sense," says Amy Cravens, Senior Analyst at In-Stat.
Some of these reasons include the ability to take the desktop telephone experience with you while mobile, the ability to utilize the benefits of IP-based communication features, a cheaper international long-distance cost, an easy implementation path, and better indoor coverage where cellphone reception has historically been poor.
In-Stat's latest market study findings include:
- Business mobile VoIP users will increase tenfold over the next five years.
- IP PBX users will account for the majority of business mobile VoIP usage.
- Mobile operators are increasingly embracing mobile VoIP as they realize that demand for these offerings is not subsiding.
- Hotspots open the potential for using VoIP over Wi-Fi as more of a mobile service rather than a residential or business service.
