Mobile VoIP users 'to hit 250 million by 2012'

Rapid growth is expected in the sphere of mobile VoIP due to the potential for consumers to save on their bills, according to a new study.

Research conducted tech advisory firm Disruptive Analysis suggested that mobile internet technologies such as 3G will be regularly used to carry voice calls within the next five years.

In fact, it was predicted that VoIP over 3G will pick up some 250 million users by 2012, despite very few people currently making use of these services.

Author of the report and founder of Disruptive Analysis, Dean Bubley, noted: "3G networks are increasingly capable of supporting VoIP, for both traditional mobile operators and independent internet-based VoIP challengers."

But while mobile operators may be concerned about potentially losing call revenues to VoIP services, Mr Bubley suggested that they will eventually embrace IP telephony themselves.

He claimed that this is because VoIP will allow them to save on the cost of running their network and offer them opportunities to launch new features for their services.