Revenue from VoLTE services will reach $2 billion by 2016, according to a report from research company ARCchart.
According to the report’s lead analyst, Asad Khan, “Demand for VoLTE is being fuelled by carriers wanting to establish a native mobile VoIP solution, both for the long term economic benefits and to defend against the threat posed by OTT (Over the Top) VoIP providers such as Skype, FaceTime and Viber.”
ARCchart said that before the commercial launch of VoLTE services, several hurdles must be overcome. The availability of VoLTE enabled handsets will be a critical success factor in its widespread adoption. ARCchart forecasts that the number of devices supporting VoLTE will ramp significantly over the coming years, spurred by aggressive competition against OTT providers.
However, ARCchart does not expect VoLTE will substantially stem the flow of voice traffic from carrier networks to OTT voice services, mainly because these OTT services are free of charge. Khan points out that “even if carriers impose restrictions on their subscribers’ OTT usage, migration of voice traffic will continue because as much as 70% of OTT traffic is over Wi-Fi.”