IP networks deployed by both wired and wireless carriers will lead to mainstream Voice over IP (VoIP) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) services, driven by the increasing popularity of such devices as PDAs and smartphones.
Says ABI Research principal analyst Ian Cox, «New, affordable price points and ease of use will allow consumers to benefit from such SIP services as instant messaging, video sharing and conferencing, which will join VoIP as it takes over from circuit-switched voice.»
He adds, «We have seen the start of a revolution as mobile handsets become the product of choice not just for voice and simple text messaging, but also for any task that one can perform on a personal computer. And as networks are replaced by ‘flat architecture’ all-IP with SIP application servers in the core, all forms of communications become possible.»
The research house says SIP services will develop into the norm after 2010 and rapidly will begin to dominate the world’s telecom markets. By 2012, it adds, almost half of all telecom users will be using at least one SIP service, but they likely will have many services from multiple devices able to communicate with other users and services across the Web, and between enterprise and public networks. This will generate more than $150 billion in service revenue annually, with cumulative infrastructure capital expenditure of more than $10 billion by that date.
«Using SIP, telephony becomes another Web application, which can be integrated into other Internet services,» says Cox. «It enables service providers to build converged voice and multimedia services.»
ABI Research expects that, by 2012, almost 1.2 billion VoIP users will be active, with most users also subscribing to several forms of messaging and video-sharing driven by interest in user-generated content. Additional services supported by SIP will include presence, click to dial, buddy lists, e-mail and Web access, which are assumed to be «core» services and included as standard in any service offering and bundled with broadband access. A portion of the VoIP users will also be connected to a fixed/mobile convergence (FMC) service.
Fuente: TelecomWeb
