Consumology

One of the biggest developments in the VoIP industry in recent times has been the development of mobile VoIP technology. Although its early days for the mobile Voice over IP companies such as Truphone, it certainly seems they have the capacity to mix things up in the telecoms industry. Some of the recent older mobile operators’ actions seem proof of this with T-Mobile recently being forced to allow the use of Truphone over its network, having previously barred calls to Truphone alloted numbers.

Whilst some people suggest that as VoIP prices tend towards zero, this is making it a very difficult industry to make any sizable profit in; the wider availability of cut cost high speed broadband and has resulted in a huge surge in the availability of free Wi-Fi. Consequently this is making mobile VoIP operators an increasingly attractive proposition for consumers. The trend in the availability of new ’smart phones’ with the ability to run mobile VoIP client software, at ever reducing prices is also, it could be argued, creating a tipping point in the industry.

We have recently seen T-Mobile announce their Voice over IP service called @home giving customers the option of paying one low monthly flat rate. However whilst the industry is finding home owners reluctant to abandon their fixed phone line all together, mobile VoIP companies have no such obstacle to contend with. The seamless integration of mobile VoIP clients into the functionality of mobile phones, as well as the reduced cost of data-inclusive price schemes has resulted in a predictably fast growth in the mobile VoIP industry.

At present it has been reported that there are 4 million VoIP users in the United Kingdom, and the growth looks set to continue. How established mobile phone operators will harness this is still unclear but the decision to force T Mobile to unblock calls to Truphone customers surely gives a crystal clear signal that rather than try and resist the mobile VoIP operators, the incumbent industry monoliths must find a way of embracing them.

One problem which may have an effect on the take-up of mobile Voice over IP is security, with many highly visible stories highlighting the vulnerabilities in making calls using VoIP. Another issue to to confront is ‘VoIP phishing’ where people are duped into giving up their personal data voluntarily after taking the ‘bait’ from a thief. This is also symptomatic of other VoIP security issues where unscrupulous would be thieves can tamper with the caller ID making it seem as though they are ringing from reputable financial institutions. Once such issues have been dealt with and fears allayed it is likely that mobile VoIP will become much more prevalent in everyday life as people take the opportunity to turn their mobiles into VoIP phones.