VoIP and IM 'of interest to consumers'

VoIP solutions and instant messaging (IM) services are of apparent interest to mobile operators, with a growing number introducing application-aware charging models.

Key findings from Allot's 2011 Mobile Trends Report of the first half of the year indicate that Skype is still top of all VoIP providers, with 82 per cent of all mobile VoIP bandwidth, although its market share has taken a slight knock thanks to new companies like Viber.

Twitter and Facebook, meanwhile, grew by 297 per cent and 166 per cent respectively, while YouTube emerged as the most popular mobile web destination, responsible for 52 per cent of video streaming and 22 per cent of mobile data bandwidth.

Furthermore, 32 per cent of worldwide mobile operators have already introduced application-aware charging models.

According to Business2community.com, the benefits of VoIP include ease of conference and video calling and easy of deployment, as the majority of enterprises already have access to high speed internet.