Infonetics Research: Voice Over LTE Gaining Momentum; 300k VoLTE Subscribers by Year’s End

CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Market research firm Infonetics Research today released excerpts from its latest Mobile VoIP Services and Subscribers report, which tracks native mobile voice over IP (a.k.a. voice over Long Term Evolution, or VoLTE) and over-the-top (OTT) mVoIP service revenue, subscribers, and deployments by world region.

“The US and Asia, especially South Korea, are leading the voice over LTE charge, with Verizon Wireless, Metro PCS, SK Telecom and LG U+ all planning to launch VoLTE services this year”

“The US and Asia, especially South Korea, are leading the voice over LTE charge, with Verizon Wireless, Metro PCS, SK Telecom and LG U+ all planning to launch VoLTE services this year,” reports Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at Infonetics Research. “In fact, South Korea and Hong Kong have already successfully launched LTE data roaming and by August, SK Telecom expects to have the Samsung Galaxy S3, the first handset to support VoLTE on their network. This is all good news for VoLTE, of course, but to put it in perspective, even with the VoLTE market ramping quickly here on out, by 2016 VoLTE will make up only about 14% of global mobile VoIP revenue, while over-the-top mobile VoIP continues to make up the lion's share by far.”

Co-author of the report Diane Myers, Infonetics Research’s principal analyst for VoIP and IMS, adds: “In the crowded OTT mobile VoIP market, Microsoft/Skype still dominates; however, while the tight integration of Skype with Windows Mobile 8 is important, the Windows Mobile operating system remains a distant player in the smartphone race. Meanwhile, independent OTT mVoIP providers like Google Voice, Fring, Line2, Nimbuzz, Talkonaut, ThruTu, and Truphone are working to differentiate from Skype and operator-driven OTT services such as T-Mobile’s Bobsled and Telefónica’s TU Me by making their service easier to use, lowering prices, integrating social networking, and adding video features. Still, with OTT mVoIP subscribers paying an average of only $14 per year, sustaining an OTT mobile VoIP service is extremely challenging, and most providers face daunting possibilities: go out of business or sell to a larger organization; or find a way to drive revenue beyond cheap calling.”

MOBILE VOIP MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• The number of global OTT mobile VoIP subscribers more than doubled from 2010 to 2011, to 98 million, with about 40% of the subscribers based in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa)
• With the first VoLTE services launching in late 2012, Infonetics expects the number of global VoLTE subscribers to reach about 300,000 this year
• AT&T plans to have VoLTE in place by 2013, and Clearwire announced that it will offer VoLTE when it launches its TD-LTE network by mid-2013

MVOIP REPORT SYNOPSIS

Infonetics' Mobile VoIP report features a Mobile VoIP Deployment Tracker highlighting over-the-top mVoIP deployments by platform availability and VoLTE deployments by start date. The report provides worldwide and regional market size, forecasts, and analysis of OTT and native mobile VoIP (VoLTE) services and subscribers. OTT mVoIP providers currently tracked include Altphone, Barablu, Bobsled, Fring, Google Voice, JahJah, Jaxtr, Line2, Maaii, Mo Call, Nimbuzz, Nymgo, OctroTalk, Rebtel, Skype, Talkonaut, Telfree, ThruTu, Tivi, Toolani, Truphone, TU Me, Viber, Vopium, WingBee, and others. To buy the report, contact Infonetics sales: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp.

SIP TRUNKING WEBINAR

Join Infonetics analyst Diane Myers and BroadSoft for a live webinar July 12 at 1:00 p.m. ET, Beat Commoditization: Enhance Your SIP Trunking Offer. Learn more at http://bit.ly/M5Nw5t.

RELATED RESEARCH

• Latest Infonetics Mobile, VoIP, and IMS research newsletter: http://bit.ly/MXdeDP
• LTE is top driver for IMS deployments, IMS operator survey shows
• Telecom capex spike expected in 2012; Asia is world’s largest spender
• Mobile broadband subscribers up 50%
• Telcos on track to spend $75B per year on outsourced services by 2016; Huawei edges up
• LTE equipment to hit $17.5 billion in 2016; mobile infrastructure takes a beating in 1Q12
• First VoLTE equipment spending buoys carrier VoIP in 1Q12; Alcatel-Lucent doubles share
• Comcast, Verizon top Infonetics Business VoIP Services Scorecard for North America
• VoIP services market growing strong as businesses seek flexibility, easier management
• Mobile broadband, smartphones, LTE drive Diameter signaling controllers to 106% CAGR
• Operators plan to run 12% of network capacity on small cells by 2012

RECENT AND UPCOMING RESEARCH

Download prospectuses, tables of contents, highlights, etc. at http://www.infonetics.com/login (see SERVICE PROVIDER VOIP AND IMS or MOBILE AND WIRELESS).

• 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE) Services & Subscribers: Voice, SMS/MMS & Broadband (June 13)
• WEBINAR: Beat Commoditization: Enhance Your SIP Trunking Offer (July 12, 1:00 p.m. ET)
• LTE Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey
• EMEA Business VoIP Service Leadership Scorecard
• 2Q12 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE & WiMAX) Infrastructure & Subscribers Market Forecast
• 2Q12 Service Provider VoIP & IMS Equipment & Subscribers Market Forecast
• 2Q12 3G & 4G (LTE, WiMAX) Broadband Devices & Subscribers Market Forecast
• VoIP & UC Services & Subscribers Market Forecast
• UC Deployment Strategies: North American Enterprise Survey
• SON & Optimization Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey

TO BUY REPORTS, CONTACT SALES:

N. America (West), Asia, Latin America: Larry Howard, [e-mail], [phone]

N. America (East), Texas, Midwest: Scott Coyne, [e-mail], [phone]

Europe, Middle East, Africa: George Stojsavljevic, [e-mail], [phone]

Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan: http://www.infonetics.com/contact.asp

INFONETICS IS HIRING

Infonetics is expanding rapidly and is looking to hire more analysts, including a senior Industry Analyst: Mobile and Home Networking Devices; Market Analyst: Enterprise VoIP; Market Research Manager; and more. See http://bit.ly/jmXOYO for job descriptions.

Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) is an international market research and consulting firm serving the communications industry since 1990. A leader in defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all world regions, Infonetics helps clients plan, strategize, and compete effectively.

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