Technology evolution of mobile peer-to-peer communications

Abstract

We built a technology evolution analysis framework for a single case study of mobile peer-to-peer (MP2P) communications. We identified three different evolution paths for MP2P communications: Internet-driven, telecom-driven and proprietary. We used P2PSIP, IMS and Skype respectively to represent the evolution paths. According to our analysis, P2PSIP is an alternative to existing networks in situations where lower costs are desired, IMS is a foundation for operator-controlled services, and proprietary services are the first wave of MP2P communications services. We proposed the evolution of mobile client-server voice over IP services as a significant determinant for the evolution of MP2P communications services.