A new study by Juniper Research has found the total number of Voice-over-5G users will reach 2.5 billion globally by 2026; rising from only 290 million in 2022. This remarkable growth of 780% will be driven by the acceleration of 5G roll-outs. Voice-over-5G leverages the software-based nature of 5G networks to offer APIs for business voice services over operator networks.
The new research, Mobile Voice Strategies: Future Monetisation Opportunities & Market Forecasts, urged operators to capitalise on the growth of Voice-over-5G users to create a new portfolio of voice services.
The report recommends that operators prioritise interactive calling, intelligent call routing, and the integration of AI-based IVR (Interactive Voice Services) as these provide the most immediate return on investment of Voice-over-5G.
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Voice-Over-5G to Enable Operators to Compete with OTT Apps
In particular, the report identified interactive calling as a key opportunity for operators who have launched 5G to provide more valuable voice services and compete with OTT voice apps.
Current 4G voice technology, VoLTE (Voice-over-LTE), is not sufficient to support interactive calling.
Whilst there are currently over 4.4 billion VoLTE users, representing over 50% of subscribers, the lower speed of 4G networks in comparison to 5G networks has thus far restricted the use of interactive features or AI in operators’ voice services.
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Voice Revenue Forecast to Decline Despite Voice-Over-5G
Despite the growth of Voice-over-5G, the report forecasts that operator-billed voice revenue will decline by 16% over the next four years, as P2P voice traffic migrates to third-party voice apps.
It urges operators to capitalise on the growth of 5G to develop new business‑oriented voice services, such as interactive calling. 5G-based voice services must emulate operators’ current business messaging solutions by levying the cost on enterprises, rather than monetising mobile subscriber usage.
