A new report from market research firm Disruptive Analysis predicts that mobile VoIP will overtake Voice-over-WiFi (News - Alert) and become a mainstream form of mobile communications by 2012.

The analyst firm’s new report, “VoIPo3G Business Models,” finds that the “convergence of mobile and IP is inevitable.”

“Future 3.5G and 4G networks are moving towards all-IP,” the research firm states. “Handsets are being equipped with smarter operating systems and full IP communications capabilities. Mobile applications and core networks are being delivered by IMS, NGNs, Web Services and the Internet. Yet many operators, suppliers and observers are quiet on what this means for full mobile voice and the evolution of person-to-person wireless telephony.”

The report says that while operators have been preoccupied with the convergence of fixed and mobile networks, they will soon be capitalizing on the opportunity to develop all-IP mobile networks that enable true end-to-end connectivity. The report points out that mobile VoIP holds many advantages for carriers, not the least of which is the fact that it enable them to fit more phone calls into their scarce spectrum allocations. Mobile VoIP will also help operators reduce operating expenses by combining fixed and mobile core networks. Plus they will be able to launch new services many times more quickly. Therefore, the operators themselves will play the central role in bringing mobile VoIP to the masses over the next five years.

The report predicts that the number of “VoIPo3G” users could blossom from practically zero in 2007 to more than 250 million by the end of 2012.

Disruptive Analysis says the 210 page report is based on “a massive research effort spanning 100s of briefings, meetings and interviews, among a wide cross-spectrum of operators, network infrastructure suppliers, startup VoIP providers, regulators, industry bodies, handsets vendors and software specialists. It includes detailed discussion of market drivers, technology enablers, business models and the roles of key companies and organizations.”

For more information, visit www.disruptive-analysis.com.

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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine and Assignment Editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.