Market Opportunity: Free VoIP over Wireless vs. VoLTE

No cost and low cost VoIP is something that is not on the radar screen for many incumbent mobile networks operators, but it should be. There is downward price pressure on voice services and even basic data service. there is an increasing awareness of Internet Protocol (IP) being cheap source of transport, and hence more people becoming aware of VoIP, and therefore Over the Top (OTT) VoIP alternatives.

This report evaluates the current OTT Wireless VoIP service providers, providing a comparative analysis, and analyzing their prospects relative to the incumbent wireless carriers. This report also evaluates the transition strategy for mobile network operators to partner/acquire certain OTT providers as a means of positioning the former towards “dialable” VoIP via VoLTE, and also an offering for support of outbound roaming in non-LTE areas.

The report also analyzes key Value-added Service (VAS) capabilities such as presence, and one of the key presence-enabled VAS applications, Dynamic Address Book. The DAB is discussed in this report and it is our belief that it (along with other presence and location based applications) is key to incumbent carriers success in differentiating themselves from OTT competitors.

Key Findings:

• No cost and low cost wireless VoIP is a catalyst for growth incumbent operators to take action
• The incumbent carriers must offer their own “dialable” 4G/LTE VoIP via VoLTE
• Incumbent operators are in the best position to leverage presence and other core network capabilities
• There is an opportunity for certain OTT VoIP providers to be acquired by incumbent wireless carriers

Audience:

• Over-the-Top VoIP providers
• Incumbent wireless network operators
• VoIP infrastructure and application companies
• Value-added Service (VAS) application developers