Mobile video telephony comes of age

The global market for mobile video telephony services, including video mail, video calling and video sharing, will rocket from US$1bn in 2007 to over US$17bn by 2012, new research predicts.

However, the study by ABI Research warned that the conditions that will drive or inhibit growth of these services by region are complex.

"The web 2.0 phenomenon and sites that allow posting of mobile video will increase demand for mobile video services," said ABI principal analyst Dan Shey.

"But global demand inhibitors include income levels, messaging and video viewing alternatives, and handset capabilities.

"And then there is the uncertainty factor for operators of video services on network utilisation which will affect their promotion and pricing strategies."

ABI Research's Mobile Video Communication Services study predicted that only 10 percent of the service revenues will come from the developing regions of the world.

However, it added that the opportunity for video services serving customers from developed regions should not be discounted.

"The biggest opportunity for carriers in developing world countries is with video messaging services," explained Shey.

"The mobile phone is the most common device in these regions and 2.5G networks are sufficient for this service.

"With more people migrating and immigrating to find work, video messaging can be the service that provides a rich form of communication for social and familial connectivity."