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Global mobile VoIP traffic, “could be set to rise after new research shows that the international smartphone market has grown rapidly over the past 12 months.”

Accordingto Telappliant, market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC (News - Alert)) has found that “a total of 200.6 million handsets have been shipped so far this year, an increase of 67.6 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2009.” The third quarter of 2010 was “particularly profitable” for vendors, in fact, with 81.1 million units shipped, “compared to just 42.8 million in the same period last year.”

Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's mobile devices technology and trends team, says firms are now developing new operating systems to cope with consumer demand. "Increasingly, users look to smartphones as their next devices while carriers have broadened selection and offered generous subsidies.”

In fact, IDC says, the rising popularity of smartphones “could see more consumers accessing IP telephony solutions as many of the handsets are Wi-Fi-enabled.”

It’s not a recent trend. Early this year TMC’s (News - Alert) Patrick Barnard reported that a recent report from Point Topic shows that the total number of VoIP subscribers worldwide reached 100 million by the end of September 2009.

According to the report, subscriptions to VoIP solutions grew 15 percent in the first three quarters of 2009.

'The number is close to 110 million today,” said John Bosnell, senior analyst at Point Topic, in a release. “This represents steady growth, particularly in the face of the financial turmoil of the recent past. For VoIP though there is an argument that these conditions are an uptake driver since you should be saving money if you're making your calls over IP.'