WITH THE ACCEPTANCE OF Voice over IP (VoIP) as a mainstay in business communications systems, the benefits of IP-based communications are now being extended to mobile devices through mobile VoIP, according to a new report from In-Stat.
Mobile VoIP is an extension of VoIP that allows for IP-based calls to be made from a mobile handset. Voice traffic travels over the available broadband connection, whether that connection is 3G, EDGE, Wi-Fi, or GPRS. Growth rates are strong as it begins to take hold in the business environment, and the market research firm predicts that users will grow to nearly 83 million lines/seats by the end of the forecast period in 2015.
“There are several reasons that adoption of mobile VoIP makes sense,” said senior analyst Amy Cravens, in a news release. “Some of these include the ability to take the desktop phone experience with you, 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.”
Addition research findings from The Business of Mobile VoIP: IP Voice Communications in the Enterprise 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; and
– Hotspots open the potential for using VoIP over Wi-Fi as more of a mobile service rather than a residential or business service.
