This is probably old news, but telecom companies do consider Voice-over-Internet Protocol as the bane of their existence. And this was affirmed during the last 3GSM conference held in Madrid, Spain recently. Telcos are worried about the increased uptake of VoIP, especially among mobile clients. The popularity of hybrid VoIP and Wireless Internet services—known as VoWiFi—might lead to the demise of their existing business models.

With the dominance and influence of telecom companies, you’d think that mobile phone manufacturers would be in full support of the existing cellular business model, won’t you? Well, you may be wrong. It’s a fact that several mobile phone firms, including top seller Nokia, have come out with mobile phones that support WiFI, and they’re openly considering the inclusion of VoIP clients as a standard feature! There’s even the possibility of using WiFi clients over existing GPRS connections!

So what will this mean to cellular providers? Pretty soon, their existing business model might be obsolete, as phone calls are routed through the Internet instead of the local and international gateways owned by the telcos. So much for the millions and millions invested on such infrastructure. VoIP may be the killer app of the Internet—telecom company killer that is!