Mobile video calling continues to grow but is 'not yet a mass market service'

VoIP services will be used by more than 130 million people by 2016, but free options are restricting its success in the mass market, research suggests.

The greater number of cameras on the fronts front of smartphones and the availability of free basic services have contributed to a rise in the popularity of mobile video calling over the last 18 months and provided a boost to its future potential, Juniper Research has claimed.

According to the mobile market forecaster, revenues from the circuit-switched voice segment are expected to drop in the next five years, but will not accelerate, while mobile VoIP services will speed up in their development.

The report said: "The absence of a clear route to monetise new IP-based mobile video calling services may hold back mobile video calling from becoming a truly mass-market service for the foreseeable future."

VoIP services will play a critical role in the monetisation of 4G, wireless broadband market research firm Wireless 20/20 recently stated.