Despite forecasts that users of mobile video calling services such as Skype will increase to over 130 million users by 2018, question marks remain over the potential for mobile video calling to generate revenues in its own right, a new report from Juniper Research has found.
The report observed that as with many OTT services, only a small proportion of mobile video calling users pay for the service directly. OTT mobile video calling players are therefore widening their service offering and opening their client bases to third games parties or developing their own apps in a bid to increase monetisation options.
"The role of mobile video calling is becoming clearer," said the report's author Anthony Cox. "With a number of OTT players having gained a critical mass of users through the provision of free video services, those players are now introducing an array of premium products or creating revenue-share partnerships to create a viable revenue stream."
The report also found that new standards such as WebRTC (Real Time Communication) will improve integration of mVoIP functionality into websites and mobile Apps, paving the way for the development of new services such as direct access to sales call centres from websites.