Mobile VoIP up for grabs

The biggest development set to come in the world of VoIP will be when mobile VoIP services begin to take off allowing a much cheaper alternative to current mobile phone services available. Who will become the dominant mobile VoIP players is still unknown and it appears very much up for grabs at present.

Skype has had non mobile VoIP pretty much to itself and made the technology popular to the mainstream audience. That is not to say other companies are trying to get in on the act. Mobile VoIP still remains up for grabs and it is on the minds of all companies in the telecommunications industry as well as a number of internet related companies.

Skype, Google, Microsoft and a number of cellular service companies have expressed their interest in the new mobile VoIP industry and are making moves to setting up their foundations in the mobile VoIP market. Google has announced a deal with Research in Motion to bundle Google Talk with its Blackberry mobile devices. Skype has partnered with a number of cell phone manufacturers but refuses to talk with Google (with Google similarly refusing to talk with Skype).

The important fact with the mobile VoIP market is that whoever's VoIP protocol and network becomes standard, they will likely become the dominant company. Unlike with cellular technology for which the cost of switching to alternative technologies is very plausible it is not so simple with mobile VoIP protocol technology.

It is unlikely that we will see a move to an open platform technology for mobile VoIP which would benefit the technology rather than the companies behind them. It has already been seen that there is a strong push for companies to secure their intellectual property and patents over various aspect of mobile VoIP technology. Whoever does end up controlling the mobile VoIP market will be controlling the foundation of the world's verbal communication.