Mobile VoIP is 'imminent' experts say
In the space of a few short years voice over internet protocol (VoIP) communications systems have gone from being very much a niche product to becoming mainstream, with businesses and public sector bodies of all sizes turning to the technology to stay one step ahead and cut back on telephony expenditure.
For all the progress, however, the sector is not even close to reaching its full potential.
Looking ahead, it is apparent to most observers that future progress will revolve around mobile VoIP systems which will allow users to enjoy the benefits of mobile phones with the economic advantages of online communications systems.
Indeed, recent research has highlighted the true extent of this potential market.
Of those small business decision makers questioned last month by T-Mobile, 60 per cent said that they spend a minimum of five hours a week out of the office, the equivalent of 32.5 working days every year.
Significantly, 42 per cent of smaller firms feel that they are currently paying over-the-odds for their existing mobile communications plan, while 65 per cent of those polled explained that the lack the means of controlling the cost of international calls from mobile handsets.
Clearly, therefore, the market potential for mobile VoIP is huge, and, according to the Internet Telephony Service Providers' Association (ITSPA) "as long a mobile phone companies are ripping people off with the cost of a mobile phone, there will always be the opportunity for new technologies to have a go"
Colin Duffy, a council member for ITSPA, explained that, after the difficulties of rolling out a mobile VoIP phone which is completely dedicated to Wi-Fi, the technology is here to ensure the sector's success within the immediate, or short-term, future.
He said: "What I think will be the proper solution to proper mobile VoIP is a dual phone - an old-fashioned cell phone that is also a VoIP phone simultaneously, so that when it picks up a Wi-Fi signal it uses that instead of the mobile [network]."
"It's still a very juvenile technology, partly because the networks and phones aren't all there yet, partly because the [mobile] network operators try to stop you using it, and partly because the technologies are still a bit wacky. But it is there and available, and coming now," he added.
Alongside the financial advantages of mobile VoIP, experts are confident that businesses will be able to attract customers while simultaneously enjoying flexibility with regards to location.
Up until now, some business advisors have pointed out that some prospective customers could be "quite suspicious" of companies with just a mobile number rather than that of a fixed landline.
Not only will VoIP systems allow firms to advertise with a fixed-line number while still having employees on the go, but it is expected that more customers will be attracted by the cheaper call rates, thereby more than justifying any expenditure in the medium-to-long-term.
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