This report analyses how mobile operators may be impacted by the development of VoIP over cellular networks, in the medium and long term. It focuses on the issue of cannibalisation of mobile operators’ voice revenues and the defensive measures that mobile operators could implement.
In our view, cellular VoIP is the flavour of mobile VoIP that has the highest potential impact for mobile operators, although the first significant impacts are not expected until the long term, typically after 2009. VoIP that bypasses cellular using WiFi access and dual-mode devices has more short-term implications for the mobile industry, but it represents in our view less of a threat for the mobile operators. We cover the issues of voice over WiFi as part of our research on fixed–mobile convergence.
