VoIP to invade international arena?

VoIP phones and other alternatives to traditional landline and mobile networks are increasingly being used to make international telephone calls, Ovum has said.

International calls have traditionally been highly profitable for telecoms companies, but this revenue is now under threat from cheaper options like VoIP solutions, according to the IT industry analyst firm.

Over 30 million international calls are made from the UK to areas outside the European Economic Area (EEA) every year. The international call market was worth £2.16 billion in 2009.

Mobile operators take 58 per cent of international call revenue, but account for only 26 per cent of the traffic. Landlines take 27 per cent and provide 27 per cent.

IP telephony solutions provide 18 per cent, yet take just one per cent. Ovum believe mobile VoIP could "wipe out" expensive international mobile calls as higher quality services become available.

Emeka Obiodu, senior analyst at Ovum, said: "As they do, the appeal of making direct calls from the mobile phone will lessen, threatening revenues for the mobile operators."

The speed, reliability and multimedia functionality that 4G would bring to mobile applications like VoIP means that mobile customers want it now, BroadbandIgnite said recently.