Loving your VoIP app? Do you want more people using your favorite service with you so you can talk for free? According to a report from Juniper Research, that may happen over the next few years.
According to the report, over-the-top (OTT) VoIP services will see a significant jump to over one billion users by the year 2017, which averages to about one in seven mobile subscribers worldwide. This is taking all major VoIP services into account, including Truphone, Skype, and the new BBM Voice service.
The data says that usage will surge as networks improve and ramp up competition with each other to join the OTT space. However, most users will remain unwilling to pay for access to the tech and will opt instead to use free VoIP services like Truphone VoIP or Skype.
“Many subscribers sign up to an OTT service without ever planning to pay a cent for it,” says Anthony Cox, author of the report. “And some industry players do not have a short-term revenue model at all.”
The growth of the subscriber base in the VoIP sector will also be accelerated by the spread of faster and better 4G networks into more territories. This in turn could lead to a decline in overall voice revenues for mobile network operators, possibly including the GSM service operated by Truphone or the solution offered by Maxroam.