The Tides Are Turning For Mobile VoIP

The good folks at fring, a mobile internet service and community that allows users to access and interact with a variety of communication services such as Skype®, MSN® Messenger, Google Talk™, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo!™, AIM® and any SIP provider, contacted me yesterday to announce that they had inked a deal with Austria’s leading mobile network operator, mobikom, to provide a custom version of the fring application for mobikom. According to fring, and my own accounts, this is the first ever deal between a Mobile VoIP operator and a Mobile Operator.

This is HUGE news for the Mobile VoIP sector as it was thought that Mobile operators would fight Mobile VoIP operators to the death – rather than partner. As many of you mobile users out there know, mobile operators aren’t exactly the cheery bunch – they fight tooth and nail for every penny they can suck out of you, so the fact even one mobile operator has “seen the light” is an extremely positive sign and signals big things for the Mobile VoIP industry. As Mobile VoIP becomes more ubiquitous and mobile users become more and more exposed to Mobile VoIP offerings (and therefore more price sensitive), one can expect that mobile network operators will face increased pressure from consumers and prosumers alike to offer Mobile VoIP services.