Subscribe

VOIP apps slash carrier revenue

Alex Kayle
By Alex Kayle
Johannesburg, 22 Nov 2011

VOIP apps slash carrier revenue

A new breed of messaging services and mobile voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) clients are eating into carrier revenues, according to a study commissioned by mobile solutions provider, Mavenir Systems, BGR reports.

One-third of carriers around the world are experiencing declines in voice traffic and SMS revenue, as a result of the increased popularity of third-party solutions.

The Next Web says, according to operators, messaging, voice and video apps will cause usage of their own services to drop between 11% and 20% over the next five to 10 years. Some operators see that number being closer to 31% and 40%.

Mavenir says this is one of the primary reasons the industry is currently moving towards an all-IP converged core network accelerated by the deployment of LTE technology.

“By allowing users to place high-definition voice and video calls, chat, share content and discover new services as part of a globally connected framework, operators can retain and even grow their share of customer communication spend,” states the report.

PR Newswire reveals that Gavin Patterson, Mobile Squared chief markets analyst, says: "The mobile landscape is changing as users embrace all kinds of messaging that enable them to seamlessly message a multitude of devices.”

He adds: “This study confirms that lucrative messaging revenues are already impacted and operators are assessing ways to deliver core-network services in the all-IP environment. Rich communication ecosystem applications are one example of how mobile operators can overcome the hurdles they face."

Around 42% of operators say they will roll out IP multimedia subsystem-based services to offer RCSe and VoLTE, while 45% of operators think that other similar technologies would enable a quicker route to market.