The launch of new services by major industry players, increased availability of front-facing cameras on smartphones and underlying technology improvements have improved the prospects of mobile video calling over the last one and half years, according to a study by Juniper Research.
The Juniper Research report finds that the increasing dominance of the smartphone in developed markets and the simplicity of the app download model have improved the market for mVoIP delivered through mobile clients downloaded to the handset, although there are still few alliances between MNOs and mVoIP service providers.
The Mobile Voice & Video Calling report says that the role that voice plays within the broader mobile communications market will change as it becomes available within other applications such as gaming and social networking.
Alliances between Facebook and several mVoIP service providers, and the high profile acquisition of Skype by Microsoft are expected to accelerate this trend.
Mobile VoIP and mobile video calling services will develop significantly faster in developed markets due to the direct correlation between 3G and 4G roll outs and the take up of mobile VoIP and mobile video calling.
Revenues from the circuit switched voice market will continue to diminish over the next five years, although this is not expected to accelerate.
Many basic mobile video calling services are offered for free by players wishing to kick-start the market.
Juniper Research associate analyst Anthony Cox services such as Apple’s FaceTime have brought mobile video calling to the public consciousness.
However, the report also finds that lack of a standardized approach and the absence of a clear route to monetize new IP-based mobile video calling services may hold back mobile video calling from becoming a truly mass-market service for the foreseeable future.
