Mobile VoIP and Fear of the Wild Things

Mobile operators are wringing their hands over the use of VoIP in mobile phones. What are they afraid of?

* Eroding minutes. Long the dream of the Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) crowd, VoIP-equipped mobile phones could avoid burning minutes by using enterprise Wi-Fi connections.

* More Skypes. Microsoft, Skype, and others are demonstrating free SIP-based VoIP clients for smart phones running Mobile Windows. With Google in the mix, the sky is surely falling.

I don’t get it. Traffic is traffic. And carriers get paid for transit.

1. Carriers will get paid for data. VoIP calls are just voice calls in data clothing. And last time I checked, mobile broadband and mobile data was very expensive stuff. Verizon charges $80 per month for its EVDO-based mobile broadband service, and it certainly doesn’t care if you choose to use EVDO to carry Skype or Microsoft’s Office Communicator Mobile traffic.

2. FMC will be under carrier control. I do not — for one second — believe that corporate IT will install FMC gateways on premise to handle mobile traffic over Wi-Fi. Instead, carriers will install gateways in their networks to originate and terminate FMC calls. Faced with the proposition of using carrier based FMC gateways or wrestling with their own gear on-site, the choice will be easy. XO is already stepping up the pace for VoIP wholesale offerings.

3. VoIP/data traffic should improve the bottom line. Mobile VoIP will be more cost efficient than today’s circuit-based networks. No one will argue otherwise.

I can’t think of any realistic mobile VoIP scenario in which mobile operators do not get paid. Bring on SIP. Bring on FMC. Bring on the Skype wannabees.