Video calling is a communication service that has become fairly common in the PC market but has recently expanded to other screens, including mobile devices and TVs. While many of the players cross over between screen-types, the dynamics in each market are quite unique. Still, all are expected to experience significant growth. New NPD In-Stat (News - Alert) research forecasts the total number of active video calling users will surpass 380 million in 2015, up from 63 million in 2010.

The forecast illustrates both an opportunity and challenge for service providers as they attempt to recast voice services in ways that add more value and relevance for end users.

PC video calling will continue to account for the majority of video calling minutes between now and 2015, with Skype (News - Alert) remaining the market leader in video calling solutions across screen types including PCs, mobile devices and televisions. That’s the challenge.

Video calling is growing, but growing most for over-the-top sessions using PCs and broadband connections, rather than video services sold by mobile or fixed network service providers. The opportunity is to change the voice value proposition in some way, using high-definition voice, integrated applications or video calling. Video plays a role in adding voice value

In the business markets, that’s essentially the positioning of unified communications. In the consumer market, video calling and integration of calling with caller ID information on TV screens are examples of what service providers are trying in the consumer space.

Video calling is a communication service that has become fairly common in the PC market but has recently expanded to other screens, including mobile devices and TVs. Video calling forecast

The challenge, as always, is creating enough unique value that business advantage can be gained, either indirectly by increasing the attractiveness of one service provider’s service compared to another, or by adding enough value to increase customer stickiness and reduce the danger of churn. HD voice

In some cases, there might be enough value to create opportunities for new subscription services. The larger point might be that video calling is, almost by definition, an “enhanced” form of voice. As with other innovations, such as high-definition voice and integrated applications, the voice product itself is changing.

That does not automatically ensure that traditional service providers will profit directly from the changes, though the possibility exists. Whether the application is “traditional voice” or some newer variant, users will have the choice of using an over-the-top application or a carrier service, in many cases.

That challenge is not specific only to voice services, though. Text messaging now is starting to see meaningful competition from over-the-top messaging, while video services also face that same issue, over the longer term.

In some ways, the greatest opportunities arguably lie with the over-the-top application providers, simply because, having no legacy business to protect, virtually all revenue is incremental.

Service providers obviously have existing revenue streams to lose, as well as potential revenue upside. The important larger point is that the voice product itself is changing.