Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) Market

Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) Market Outlook: 2022

Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) market is expected to garner $34.8 billion by 2022, registering CAGR of 50.1% during the forecast period 2016 - 2022. The decline in the revenue of voice calls and SMS has necessitated the adoption of a standardized and viable scheme for provision of the same. As the mobile network operators continue with the full-fledged implementation of 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, the development of VoLTE (Voice over LTE) is providing a platform of choice for voice call delivery by network operators. The scheme of VoLTE was devised due to the need for a standardized system for traffic transfer over LTE. The 4G LTE network is the mainstream foundation for the emergence of VoLTE. 4G LTE is around 20 times faster than any 3G broadband technology.

The technologies of world VoLTE market include Voice Over IP Multimedia Subsystem (VoIMS), Circuit Switched Fall Back (CFSB), Dual Radio/Simultaneous Voice and LTE (SVLTE), Voice Over LTE Via Generic Access Network (VOLGA), and Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC). VoIMs is the transmission of voice data over an architectural framework that delivers IP multimedia services. Likewise, CSFB is a technology used for delivering SMS and voice services to LTE devices through GSM or other circuit-switched networks. SVLTE is a technical standard and protocol to enable the usage of both data and voice networks simultaneously on the device using LTE data network and CDMA voice network. VOLGA is a technological approach to deliver SMS and voice services across LTE networks. Whereas, SRVCC is a standard required in VoLTE systems to allow packet domain calls over LTE to seamlessly transmit through legacy circuit switched voice such as in GSM, CDMA 1x, and UMTS. 

The VoLTE market is emerging with trends such as VoLTE and VoWi-Fi integration. The growing popularity of VoLTE services of video conferencing and file sharing have increased the rate of adoption of VoLTE in enterprises. The data and voice capacity of VoLTE is six times more than 2G GSM and up to three times more than 3G UMTS. Moreover, the bandwidth utilization rate in VoLTE is less owing to the smaller packet headers. The telecommunication sector currently demands for efficient voice call services with faster call setup time and improved spectral efficiency. The deployment of VoLTE services suffices these demands of the sector efficiently. The success of the industry largely depends on innovated service offerings and cost efficiency in services.

The value chain of the VoLTE market includes various stakeholders such as vertical application developers, network operators, service brokers/aggregators, and end users (businesses and individuals). These stakeholders perform various roles in specific areas and gradually add more value to the services. Advancements in the technologies and services offered would create a competitive edge owing to the initiatives of each stakeholder in the value chain.

Segment Overview:

The world VoLTE market is segmented on the basis of technology into VoIMS, CSFB, SVLTE, VOLGA, and SRVCC. The VoIMS technology contributes the highest revenue in the VoLTE market globally. However, the VOLGA is anticipated to exhibit the fastest growth during the forecast period. VoLGA supports femtocells and offers faster call setup times as compared to CSFB. In addition, it supports existing circuit services along with IMS RCS and others that provide a roadmap towards the new revenue generating services to mobile operators. 

North America region witnessed widespread adoption of these technologies in the recent years. The U.S. market has witnessed rapid growth and continues to be a trendsetter of the industry. U.S. is expected to account for the maximum share in the North American VoLTE market.  Asia-Pacific and LAMEA regions offer potential opportunities to the players in the VoLTE technology market.

Improved spectral efficiency

Spectral efficiency is the rate of transmitted information over a prescribed bandwidth in a given system. As compared to the conventional circuit switched voice, VoLTE renders improved spectral efficiency, which is augmenting the deployment of VoLTE services globally. VoLTE enhances the spectral efficiency of the transmitted voice in 4G LTE networks. Spectral efficiency is optimized in VoLTE through advances such as reducing the consumed bandwidth, reducing the usage control channels, and boosting the uplink coverage. Thus, the impact of improved spectral efficiency is prominent at present and is expected to grow at a minimal rate by 2022.

Faster call setup time

The time required for VoLTE call setup is about twice the call setup time for existing 3G CFSB (circuit switched fallback). Moreover, the call quality of VoLTE voice service exceeds both Skype’s HD voice service and 3G circuit switched voice. In addition, in P3 Communication’s “VoLTE benchmarking results”, the VoLTE call setup reduced the time by 2 to 4 seconds on the carrier networks. Therefore, the impact of faster call setup time is significant and is expected to witness a greater impact by 2022.

Growing demand for mobile UC

There is an increasing demand from mobile enterprises for mobile and cloud UC (Unified Communications) solutions owing to their faster network speeds. The mobile network operators must fulfil this demand by delivering UC applications through LTE and offering the end users a better user experience by investing in the enhancements of LTE network. Considering the end users’ demand for unified communications, enterprises opt for mobile operators to deliver enhanced network capabilities. Hence, the impact of growing demand for mobile UC is significant and is expected to grow at a reasonable rate by 2022.

Key benefits

• This study comprises analytical depiction of the world VoLTE market with the trends of current and future scenario to depict the investment pockets in the market
• Determination of the overall market attractiveness and understanding of the profitable trends for gaining a stronger coverage in the market.
• The report throws light on information regarding key drivers, restraints, and opportunities with impact analysis
• The current market is quantitatively analyzed and projected for the years 2015–2022, which have been provided to highlight the financial appetency of the market
• Porter’s Five Forces model analysis of the industry illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers participating in the market
• Value chain analysis in the report provides a clear understanding of the roles of stakeholders involved in the value chain

 Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) Market Report Highlights