Warily, Carriers Eye Mobile VoIP

While wireless carriers to date have successfully banned subscribers from using mobile VoIP services on their networks, that strategy “is not sustainable,” according to a new report from Unstrung Insider.

Consumer demand for less-expensive mobile services, enterprise demand for fixed/mobile convergence (FMC), and the migration of networks to all-IP architectures make mobile VoIP “an unstoppable train,” according to Unstrung Insider analyst John Blau. “Operators will eventually jump on the mobile VoIP bandwagon – if just to gain some experience ahead of all-IP 4G.”

The issue of mobile VoIP over carrier networks has received new scrutiny thanks to the outcry over the unavailability of Google Voice on the popular iPhone, from Apple. Both AT&T and Apple have responded to FCC inquiries about the Google Voice ban.

Such prohibitionist tactics are likely to be short-lived, Blau argued. "Sooner or later, mobile operators will be forced to deploy their own VoIP services, since next-generation networks such as Long Term Evolution and WiMAX are all-IP and don’t support circuit voice."

In late July, Apple caused an uproar when it blocked the Google Voice application for the iPhone from the App Store. The FCC sent letters to the three companies in question, asking for details on the decision to block Google Voice.