It may seem like an oxymoron, or one of those annoying headlines that doesn't explain itself clearly, but it is, in fact as true as it reads, according to the latest in-depth market analysis carried out by Juniper Research.
And just to give you some figures to back up the facts, here they are. With regard to mobile Voip minutes, in 2010 the total minutes stood at 15 Billion minutes, but that figure is expected to skyrocket to over 460 Billion minutes by 2015 - just three years from now - of which the US are expected to account for over 135 Billion of those minutes.
But contrary to the obvious, these prediction spell trouble for mobile service providers, where although many forecasters predicted significant Voip revenues, almost all forecasts have fallen short in recent years.
And the main factor is the wide range of applications that now offer free mobile Voip connection time and voice and message services as opposed to the standard paid carrier services. The increase number of app's offering similar services has resulted in many more free alternatives coming onto the market, meaning many more free options for the consumer than ever before.
Which basically means that, despite appearances to the contrary, Mobile Voip usage is actually having a significantly damaging effect on mobile Voice revenue, and one which the mobile operators are desperate to do something about.
To add further credence to this train of thought, it is now predicted that mobile Voip revenue for 2012 will reach just $2.5 billion globally. Still a significant of money, but when compared with previous forecasts made by researchers at Analysis - where it was estimated that mobile Voip services would generate revenues of $18.6 billion in the USA & $7.3 billion in Western Europe - the disparity is clear to see.
Over-estimations are nothing new in the world of revenue forecasting, but such gross mis-representations are rare, and only serve to highlight the fact that mobile Voip is simply not turning out to be the money making monster that it was initially assumed it would become.
But regardless of all that, one things looks clear - the future seems bright for the consumer. So with many more applications set to be released offering opportunities to take advantage of free mobile Voip time, take advantage as much as possible and take back some of the power - because its hi-time we did.
And just to give you some figures to back up the facts, here they are. With regard to mobile Voip minutes, in 2010 the total minutes stood at 15 Billion minutes, but that figure is expected to skyrocket to over 460 Billion minutes by 2015 - just three years from now - of which the US are expected to account for over 135 Billion of those minutes.
But contrary to the obvious, these prediction spell trouble for mobile service providers, where although many forecasters predicted significant Voip revenues, almost all forecasts have fallen short in recent years.
And the main factor is the wide range of applications that now offer free mobile Voip connection time and voice and message services as opposed to the standard paid carrier services. The increase number of app's offering similar services has resulted in many more free alternatives coming onto the market, meaning many more free options for the consumer than ever before.
Which basically means that, despite appearances to the contrary, Mobile Voip usage is actually having a significantly damaging effect on mobile Voice revenue, and one which the mobile operators are desperate to do something about.
To add further credence to this train of thought, it is now predicted that mobile Voip revenue for 2012 will reach just $2.5 billion globally. Still a significant of money, but when compared with previous forecasts made by researchers at Analysis - where it was estimated that mobile Voip services would generate revenues of $18.6 billion in the USA & $7.3 billion in Western Europe - the disparity is clear to see.
Over-estimations are nothing new in the world of revenue forecasting, but such gross mis-representations are rare, and only serve to highlight the fact that mobile Voip is simply not turning out to be the money making monster that it was initially assumed it would become.
But regardless of all that, one things looks clear - the future seems bright for the consumer. So with many more applications set to be released offering opportunities to take advantage of free mobile Voip time, take advantage as much as possible and take back some of the power - because its hi-time we did.
About the Author:
Saul Saresi is an expert and regular writer specialising in all things Voip for his site Voipdito business voip Further examples of his writing can be found here voip for business