SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




 
tmc logo
September 2008 | Volume 11 / Number 9
Ask the Mobile VoIP Expert

“Mobile VoIP = Mobile Services”

Last month the European Union (“EU”) funded the MUSE project, which stands for Multi-Service Access Everywhere; George Lucas funded the Media Lab “Content Anywhere, Anydevice, Anytime” at USC; and “BT (News - Alert)” British Telecom acquired Ribbit for $105 million.

To understand how all of these events relate, you must understand the increasing demand for mobility and a ubiquitous method of accessing content. I define this convergence broadly as “Mobile Services” and as a natural extension of early generation Mobile VoIP services.

It is also important to understand how Mobile VoIP came into being. First came the pain of different platforms from different carriers, each creating “Walled Gardens” making the lives of consumers even more complex. This was followed by early Mobile VoIP providers creating products that connected “Islands”, or individual “Walled Gardens”, into a common broadband platform.




I believe 2008 will be recognized as the year of the “birth” of Mobile Services, which have evolved as a direct result of changing technology and consumer behavior. People have a basic need to be connected, and Mobile Services represent the evolution of a Mobile EcoSystem linking political and economic borders of former generations of Mobile Networks.

Evolving networks promise ubiquitous broadband access anywhere. While full realization of those promises is still years in the future, today’s Mobile EcoSystem offers network and application providers a framework to deliver a range of products, from critical business and medical applications to current weather and sporting events, across a broad range of mobile devices. To realize just how important this Mobile Services EcoSystem is to our future success, take a look at the forecasts for increasing penetration of “mobility” in the world. (See Table 1.)

You can see by this forecast of worldwide mobile penetration that the mobile platform becomes the dominate method for accessing information, services, and content. The improvement of battery life, networks, and cross network service platforms all make this possible.

Thus is born the Mobile Services EcoSystem. IT

Mark Hewitt is Chief Strategic Officer of i2Telecom (News - Alert) International, Inc. (www.i2telecom.com).

  1998 2008 (estimated) 2018 (estimated)
Mobile Penetration      
Global 5% 55% 96%
China 2% 48% 99%
India 1% 28% 82%
       
Networks      
3G Penetration 0% 18% 90%
Networks Speeds <50Kbps <2Mbps <1Gbps
       
Device      
Smartphone Penetration 1% 10% 40%
Battery Life 2 hours 2.5 hours 24 hours

Source: ITU, Chetan Sharma Consulting

Table 1. Mobile Penetration 1998-2008

» Internet Telephony Magazine Table of Contents



Today @ TMC
Upcoming Events
ITEXPO West 2012
October 2- 5, 2012
The Austin Convention Center
Austin, Texas
MSPWorld
The World's Premier Managed Services and Cloud Computing Event
Click for Dates and Locations
Mobility Tech Conference & Expo
October 3- 5, 2012
The Austin Convention Center
Austin, Texas
Cloud Communications Summit
October 3- 5, 2012
The Austin Convention Center
Austin, Texas