VoIP apps gaining traction, but market fragmented

Mobile analytics firm Mobidia Technology said that following a study of the penetration of mobile messaging and VoIP apps, “rates of 60 per cent to 95 per cent are common”.

However, it was noted that this market is highly fragmented, with hundreds of titles available and often 10 to 20 apps showing significant usage for a given geography or country.

The company said that over the past year, there has been a “substantial increase” in activity, with “upstarts such as WhatsApp making significant market share increases and disrupting the European texting business, and Facebook launcing dedicated mobile messaging apps”.

In addition, established apps and services such as China’s Tencent and Microsoft’s Skype continued to add new functionality and push into new markets, while operators including T-Mobile, Vodafone and Telefonica “announced, launched, or grew proprietary or Joyn-based solutions in this space”.

“The mobile messaging and VOIP app market is going to see a lot of activity in the next 12 to 24 months as upstarts, traditional app vendors, and operators battle to drive their growth and work to establish or maintain their leadership in the space,” said Chris Hill , VP of marketing at Mobidia.