As consumers look to curb costs, mobile VoIP is looking better and better.

 

In fact, mobile VoIP – which consumers know as voice service over data -- could even pose a direct threat to standard mobile operator voice revenue, according to new data from market research firm In-Stat (News - Alert).

 

According to In-Stat, though a mobile VoIP plan, one could talk for roughly 22,222 minutes before exceeding a $30, 5-gigabyte mobile data cap.

 

Meanwhile, mobile operators charge as much as 45 cents per minute for mobile voice – a rate which goes down only when subscribers opt for voice-usage plans. While using more than 20,000 minutes per month isn’t realistic, In-Stat analysts say the example points to the fact that mobile VoIP offers the potential for unlimited voice calls for far less than traditional mobile voice plans.

 

In-Stat projects that by 2013, mobile VoIP applications will generate annual revenues of $32.2 billion, driven by more than 278 million registered users worldwide. In-Stat offers the examples of Skype (News - Alert) and Vonage, which have influenced users to think of voice as data applications.

 

In-Stat’s report, “Mobile VoIP-Transforming the Future of Wireless Voice,” comes as mobile unified communications providers like D2 Technologies (News - Alert) are rolling out the next generation of technology to address a growing interest in mobile VoIP.  

 

D2’s “mCUE” mobile convergence software combines a patent-pending communications user interface with a VoIP software platform to address the needs of OEMs and service providers delivering integrated Fixed Mobile Convergence (News - Alert) and Unified Communications functionality.