The Mobile VoIP Reality

Industry buzz around mobile VoIP has been heating up lately, as users seek to reduce calling rates and expand their communication options. Recent research from In-Stat (News - Alert) predicts that by 2013, mobile VoIP applications will generate annual revenues of $32.2 billion, driven by more than 278 million registered users worldwide.

 

As this uptick in mobile VoIP, largely dependent on the launch of new 4G wireless networking technologies such as LTE and WiMAX, increases, so does the need for a definition of “true” mobile VoIP.

 

In a recent TMC (News - Alert) podcast, Chris Whiteley, director of business development for xG Technology, said that the first systems to be billed as “mobile VoIP” relied on VoIP over WiFi (News - Alert) – where a handset sent VoIP packets through WiFi to reach the Internet.

 

“There are a couple problems with that approach.” Whiteley said.

 

One problem is that WiFi is not very mobile. “It’s a short-range technology and does not have the ability to handle a large number of simultaneous calls. Even though it’s a fairly high bandwidth capable device or protocol, it can only handle about 12 simultaneous voice calls before they all come crashing down,” Whiteley said.

 

Another method that is often billed as “mobile VoIP” is VoIP over 3G. With this approach, Whiteley said, companies such as Skype (News - Alert) or Vonage load a soft client onto a phone and send packets over the 3G network.

 

While this is certainly a mobile technology, Whiteley said that one of the limitations is actually the 3G platform itself, as it is not designed with the quality of service capable of supporting large simultaneous calls.

 

While this form of mobile calling is gaining traction, engineers at xG conducting tests on mobile VoIP over 3G in the company’s labs have found that depending on the time of day, or day of the week, a call session can go from excellent to non-functioning.

 

As this method picks up in popularity, Whiteley says what may be seen is that it “will be a victim of its own success.”

 

Because xG Technology (News - Alert) recognized early on that mobile VoIP was going to be the technology of the future, they developed xMax, an all-IP wireless infrastructure that represents the first fully mobile VoIP network.

 

“We’ve designed our network with VoIP in mind from the beginning.” According to Whiteley, “xGs approach is to handle mobile VoIP from the ground up as opposed to an over the top add-on application.”

 

How far away then is mobile VoIP really? “Quite a ways off if you ask Gartner,” Whiteley said.

 

Gartner Research predicts that about 50 percent of mobile VoIP traffic will be end-to-end VoIP by 2019, which is quite a ways off given what some in the industry are saying.

 

“In our opinion, we don’t really see a 4G or wireless platform that’s out there where any meaningful work is being done today to support that transition,” Whitely said.

 

What Gartner is saying, Whitely also noted, is that the long pole and the tent for mass adoption of mobile VoIP is the availability of a 4G network that’s capable of supporting that transition.