As reported by PC World, the recent study looked at global  mobile data volumes and usage breakdown  from operators in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, with a collective subscriber base of 250 million. Given this rather large swath of data to pull from these numbers are extremely impressive; especially since other operators such as Rebtel have reported impressive growth numbers of their own.

(It also leads one to believe that the Microsoft acquisition isn’t as one sided as some thought.)

Now studies like this are never 100% completely accurate, but regardless it says a lot about the global Mobile VoIP market.

1. It seems to be a race between less than a handful of providers. Like we are seeing in the fixed line VoIP market space, watch a number of smaller providers get gobbled up.
2. It’s tough to beat out free services with huge network usage. One of the reasons Skype is so dominate is the fact that everyone has it; thus most using it are doing so for free (as they are calling other Skype users).

Well not quite.

Zipring, the latest offering from telephony pioneer Erik Lagerway, made it’s public debut today after several months in private beta.

On the surface Zipring looks like just another mobile VoIP offering for the iPhone, but in fact it’s not. Zipring is actually built from the ground up to be compatible with any IP phone or internet enabled device.

That’s right - you can use Zipring with your existing Cisco phone, softphone or  VoIP app. The iPhone app is just icing on the cake.

All of this is made possible because Zipring is based open standards, unlike Skype or Google Voice which use proprietary methods to send and receive calls. And like Skype and Google Voice, Zipring has zero roaming charges and does not require a contract.

Standard Zipring features include visual voicemail, call recording, voicemail to email, web-based calling and account management. Zipring currently has over 17,ooo users with over 25,ooo downloads of their iPhone app, making Zipring a service to watch in the new year.

For more information about Zipring, checkout their website or their press announcement here.

If (or when) that is the case, the next logical step for you is to begin considering virtual PBX services. A Virtual PBX service gives you additional call routing and phone system functionality without the need for additional hardware or any physical connections.

For instance, say that you currently have three phone numbers - your office line, your mobile VoIP line and your cell phone number. All three numbers will allow others to get in touch with you. But why not make it easier on other to get a hold of you by simply giving them one number (your virtual PBX number) and then set-up the call routing such that you can be reached at any of your other numbers based on the parameters you set.

One such Virtual PBX service that is getting rave reviews from customers and competing neck and neck with Google Voice, is Nextiva Connect.

Founded in 2005, Nextiva has won most of the VoIP industry´s top awards, including the prestigious Internet Technology Magazine 2008 Product of the Year Award, the #1 Best Business Provider by MyVoipProvider, The 2008 Product of the year Award, and the 2008 Editor´s Choice Award from VoIP Review.Org.

It’s not just awards that Nextiva has won, it is also winning lifelong customers like Christopher Gonzalez, “As an attorney in the Internet space, I was a bit hesitant about VoIP and its reliability but Nextiva changed my mind. Nextiva was easy to set up and its clarity is great. I’m recommending Nextiva to all my clients and colleagues.”

You only have to look to some of the benefits that Nextiva Connect provides to see why folks like Christopher are so excited:

• Low cost
• Professional Voice Attendant
• Easy Call Routing
• Go Green go green And Save Thousands in Travel Costs
• New or Keep Your Existing Number
• Voicemails, Faxes & Phonecalls

Nextiva Connect starts at just $8.95 and even comes with a free trial. With the benefits described above, the low monthly cost and free trial, Nextiva Connect is a logical next step for a mobile VoIP user looking to expand the functionality of their current service and simplify the management of multiple voice lines.

For more information about Nextiva Connect or to sign-up, visit http://www.nextivaconnect.com.

Since then the site has continued to grow despite the limited time I’ve had to devote to the site. To be honest, it has been on auto-pilot for much of this year.

It is a shame, really, because the site has a ton of potential for the right person. I, however, am not that person (right now).

Soo…

After long consideration, I have decided to sell the site so that someone with the time to devote to it can proactively grow it.

Some site highlights highlights:

- Over 5,000 unique visitors per month
- Over 200 unique user reviews
- #1 search engine rankings for terms like “Mobile VoIP, Mobile VoIP service” and most of the Mobile VoIP service provider review related queries
- Limited monetization, but the site has pulled in revenues through advertising and affiliate offers

All of this was done organically, of course, was done with no monthly advertising. Hosting and operational fees are minimum.

What you’d be buying is an authoritative site with great unique content that has the potential to be a great profit center or marketing vehicle for someone in the space.

So with that I am open to offers on the site for anyone that might be interested in purchasing it. Feel free to email smith@smithonvoip.com to discuss or for more information.

Thanks!

Garrett

P.S. I’m willing to part with the site at a “Buy It Now” price of $7,500 USD.

They have the power to make dreams a reality or kick you squarely in the set. There’s really no in-between, either.

It has always baffled me why the media, be them bloggers,  journalists or analysts never seem to take the opportunity when a company is going through a tough time to help build them up.

They always seem to want to tear a company down.

It is a tough time for everyone, especially those in the IP communications space. I have spoken with dozens of C level executives over the last few weeks and most simply say that around 20 - 30% of their business has evaporated these last few months.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that decline sales will result in declining head count…but, so what?

Just because you’re down, doesn’t mean you’re out.

If anything, getting smaller, especially as a start-up, will allow you to refocus your efforts in a more creative (and cost effective manner). It’s times like these that the best and brightest always pull through.

This period will be no exception.

So, just because a few providers have had to scale back, doesn’t mean the industry or they themselves are dead. Fring, EQO and JAXTR, you might be down, but you’re not out of the race…not matter what the media says.

It might also be the way that cellular providers survive this economic downturn. Sprint has already started its economic marketing with their commercial featuring their CEO and new one price unlimited plan, and as Stacy Higgenbotham notes, cellular handset forecasts are also down for next, a further sign of waning consumer interest.

But could Mobile VoIP, the ringmaster of cheap minutes and pioneer of the next generation of telecommunications be an outlet for cellular carriers to survive or even possibly grow during a recession?

Certainly on paper it seems that Mobile VoIP services will fair well in a recession as they are a low cost alternative for those making international phone calls. Wi-Fi availability continues to explode and the number of cellular customers using smartphones with data plans and Wi-Fi capability is at an all time high.

What might seem like a slam dunk, though, is unfortunately in the frying pan hands of the cellular carriers. Some braver souls have begun experimenting with the integration of third party Mobile VoIP and social communications services to provide greater value to their existing customer base (and draw more customers in), but none have really stood up and taken a proactive lead in bring these sorts of services to the masses.

Possibly the bleak outlook will inspire them to change. But given their track record, I don’t see that happening. Then again, they may have no other choice. After all, who needs video clips on demand or the latest ring tone, when you can’t even pay the bill?

This week, Nimbuzz announced that they have signed 17 new SIP partners to its global Operator Affiliate Program. According to the release, these partnership’s “allow carriers to offer IM and social networks as value added services without incurring costs to set the service up, and at the same time allowing them to stay in control of their own customer relationships.”

In becoming a feature in a larger service offering, Nimbuzz now becomes a way that others can affordably offer their customers cutting edge “value added” services, rather then a direct competitor, vying for the same audience.

Nimbuzz CEO Evert Jaap Lugt hit the nail on the head when he said, “We see these partnerships providing real value to operators looking to increase ARPU and offer their customers full access to IM and social networks without the risk and costs associated with setting this up themselves. This is also an open call to other operators looking to join. We will be announcing new partners soon.”

While many Mobile VoIP service providers are looking to go at it alone, the best strategy might just be to partner up with the big guys.

Nokia has always been known as an innovator, a company with their pulse on the heart of what’s next, so while many a MVNO has fallen by the waist side, Nokia should prove to be a venerable market entrant, especially since, as pal Andy Abramson  points out, Japan is known as a hot-bed for mobile technology. This, of course, if Nokia sticks true to their innovator name tag and provide something other then minutes to the Japanese market.

If you are not familiar with RF.com, you can read the review, it is a Mobile VoIP application for the iPhone that leverages your regular cellular connection to make Skype, GoogleTalk and regular SIP based calls. It is one of my go-to Mobile VoIP services when I need to make international calls. Naturally, I was delighted to see that there are now 35 more countries I can call to for FREE.

Right now the service is just for you iPhone users out there, but hopefully as the service continues to growth within the iPhone user space, they will release a version for other handsets.

While it is noted that it is merely a trial, one has to suspect that this move by fring is in direct response to the current economic conditions and the need for venture backed start-up’s with free services to start making money. The ad supported calling model has been around for a long time, but with mixed results. Some companies have found a way to make it work. Others haven’t been so lucky.

Certainly one hopes fring the best, but the ad supported route seems like a tough go. Users generally detest ads (that’s why there are none on this site) or grow blind of them and don’t forget that ad budgets are getting cut everywhere, especially for “experimental” vehicles such as mobile advertising. This isn’t insurmountable (nothing is), but the odds certainly are stacked against them.

As someone who uses fring frequently, i’m indifferent.  I don’t mind the ads, but then again, I probably won’t be clicking on them either.