Why embracing mobile VoIP is vital for carriers

Written on 31st October 2008                                                                                                              8 COMMENTS
Joop Dorresteijn, East Asia correspondent

How and why mobile carriers focus on their current revenue model too much and why this will lead to missing out on the emerging global VoIP market.

As you might remember, VoIP technology was initially used on desktop computers only. When these PC-to-phone applications like Skype came out, there were devastating problems for established telecom businesses. The uprising of Wi-Fi and 3G bundled mobile phones are creating a market that did not exist before. Actually, mobile VoIP created a need of which the late majority of customers are not aware of yet today. (Philosophical, I know)

Mobile carriers should embrace VoIP solutions to avoid competition on this emerging market. In practice, they have to alter their income streams from operating calls to data plans. Embracing mobile VOIP would avoid entrepreneurs to take over the market in the future. Instead, mobile carriers are suppressing the use of VOIP on mobile phones. However, mobile VoIP users are emerging quickly, “analyst firm Disruptive Analysis suggested ‘VoIP-over-3G’ would grow from zero to 250 million users worldwide within five years.” The reason why mobile operators are still neglecting this market are general for many cases of disruptive innovation. (more…)

disruptive technology, emerging market, landline, POTS, skype, South Korea

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