Mobile data a boon for VoIP phones

VoIP traffic is likely to have been boosted by the boom in mobile data use over the last 12 months.

Smartphone traffic skyrocketed between February 2009 and February 2010, increasing by 193 per cent, mobile advertising network AdMob has said.

According to the AdMob Mobile Metrics Report February 2010, this growth was driven by the use of applications, such as VoIP solutions, on iPhones and Android-powered handsets.

Use of feature phones - those that cannot utilise third-party apps - has dropped as mobile users switch to smartphones, meaning that the use of handsets that can be used as VoIP phones is on the up.

Data use via mobile internet devices increased by 403 per cent year-on-year, more than that via smartphones and feature phones, accounting for 17 per cent of AdMob's traffic in February.

Android was the fastest growing operating system in AdMob's network over the last 12 months, with the iPhone OS and Symbian joining it as the leading OS in the network.

Mobile applications such as VoIP solutions will be generating more income than CDs by 2012, apps store GetJar said recently.