AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - March 20, 2015) - VoLTE, or Voice over LTE, is very important to mobile operators because this technology enables them to eventually terminate their legacy, circuit-switched voice 2G/3G network infrastructure in favor of consolidating voice traffic on the LTE network platform. Gradually, VoLTE will allow many operators to refarm spectrum away from 2G/3G to LTE, which will significantly lower voice infrastructure costs.

In the last 12 months, many operators, principally in the U.S., Japan and Asia Pacific, have deployed VoLTE and started offering a range of services, including HD voice. The Apple iPhone 6 models and the Samsung Galaxy S4, 5, and 6, among others, all support VoLTE, and this strong support for VoLTE among the most popular smartphone models will only serve to increase the penetration of VoLTE users as more networks are launched. iGR expects the deployments to continue and has forecasted the number of active VoLTE subscribers to grow at a CAGR of 165 percent between 2014 and 2019.

"With the many new VoLTE deployments of the last year, VoLTE has started to impact not only mobile operators, but also consumers," said Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, a market research consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile industry. "Consumers are seeing the benefit of many new multimedia products and services that mobile operators can offer as they move from legacy voice solutions to the new platform."

iGR's new market study, Global VoLTE Market Forecast, 2014-2019: A Growing Global Service, provides an overview of VoLTE, a discussion of its benefits, an updated status on the market, and profiles of the major vendors.

The new study also includes a five-year forecast of VoLTE's potential impact on the global mobile markets, including the number of VoLTE-capable connections, as well as the number of active VoLTE connections. The forecasts are given at the global level, as well as for six global regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and Japan.

The following key questions are addressed in iGR's market study:

• What is VoLTE?
• How did VoLTE originate?
• Why are mobile operators interested in VoLTE?
• What are the benefits of VoLTE?
• What are some of the challenges surrounding the implementation of VoLTE?
• What are the deployment plans of the major mobile operators? Which mobile operators have already deployed around the world?
• How will VoLTE be implemented?
• Who are the major VoLTE vendors?
• What is the forecast for VoLTE adoption in each region of the world? How many VoLTE-capable devices will be in the market? How many people will actually use VoLTE?

In addition, a number of VoLTE vendors are profiled in the study, including:

• Alcatel-Lucent
• Cisco
• D2 Technologies
• Ericsson
• Huawei
• Imagination Technologies Group
• Mavenir
• Nokia Solutions Networks
• OpenCloud
• Qualcomm
• Samsung Electronics
• Taqua

The information in this new market study will be valuable for:

• Mobile operators
• Device OEMs
• VoLTE solution vendors
• Content providers and distributors
• Financial analysts and investors.

The reports can be purchased and downloaded directly from iGR's website at www.iGR-inc.com. Alternatively, contact Iain Gillott at (512) 263-5682 or at Iain@iGR-inc.com for additional details.

About iGR
iGR is a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry. Founded by Iain Gillott, one of the wireless industry's leading analysts, in late 2000 as iGillottResearch, iGR is now entering its fifteenth year of operation. iGR continuously researches emerging and existent technologies, technology industries, and consumer markets. We use our detailed research to offer a range of services to help companies improve their position in the marketplace, clearly define their future direction, and ultimately improve their bottom line.

iGR researches a range of wireless and mobile products and technologies, including: smartphones; tablets; mobile wearable devices; connected cars; mobile applications; bandwidth demand and use; small cell and het-net architectures; mobile EPC and RAN virtualization; DAS; LTE; VoLTE; IMS; NFC; GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSPA; CDMA 1x/EV-DO; iDEN; SIP; macro-, pico- and femtocells; mobile backhaul; WiFi and WiFi offload; and SIM and UICC.

A more complete profile of the company can be found at www.igr-inc.com.