The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson reviews a report from IBISWorld stating that little ‘ole Voice over IP leads a list of the ten most dynamic industries and will be the fastest growing U.S. industry in the next five years. 

Good news for us, obviously, but encouraging for all VoIP users.  Cost savings and greater efficiencies from IP convergence are great but can still come at the expense of call quality and reliability. 

This continued and fast growth in the VoIP industry means greater and faster innovations to benefit us all in user experience and ROI.  And the exciting part is what’s up around the corner — The emergence of a real and usable mobile VoIP:

“The popularity of Android gives Google a platform to launch a big cheap mobile VoIP campaign.

Vonage World already offers customers unlimited calling to more than 60 countries for $25, according to a report from IBIS.

As the quality of online calls increases, walking and talking over the Internet will seem less like a cheapskate’s effort to sacrifice quality calls for slim phone bills, and more like the new normal.”

With the ubiquitous nature of smart phones and the fact that, as Thompson notes, 69% of Americans have broadband access at home, most of us are already poised for the next round of VoIP technology.

The exponential growth rate we’re accustomed to powering the ongoing surge of technology and human knowledge shed a little direct focus on Voice over IP today.  VoIP’s been all over the news:

Ooma Provides Real-Time Emergency Alerts With New 911 Notifications Feature

• Ooma Premier subscribers can enter up to three email addresses or mobile phone numbers for notifications.
• Ooma 911 Notifications will then send alert messages to specified recipients the very moment 911 is called from the subscriber’s Ooma phone number.
• Great for when kids are home alone or with a babysitter, or you’re concerned about aging parents.

LogMeIn Debuts iPad and iPhone VoIP Options for Free Screen Sharing Service –  join.me

• LogMeIn’s free screen-sharing service, join.me, adds new iPad and iPhone capabilities to simplify collaboration with mobile colleagues and customers.
• A new VoIP option that lets users listen in and converse during an online meeting or screen-sharing session.
• The iPad and iPhone viewer app is completely free and does not require registration. Available at the Apple App Store.

Bababoo Lets You Make Calls Over Mobile, WiFi, 3G, AND Keep Your Number

• Pioneering the next frontier that has become WiFi and VoIP calling on mobile, Bamboo’s service recognizes when WiFi is available and automatically allows  low-cost or free calling using the available WiFi network.
• Bababoo’s iPhone app gives the users the ability to make calling through WiFi, 3G, and the iPhone’s carrier networks, AT&T and Verizon, but you don’t have to change your network, your number, or caller ID.
• If WiFi is available for both parties, then you get to connect with the person you’re calling over WiFi for free. If both callers aren’t on WiFi, Bababoo still connects the call, and it finds the cheapest and most seamless way to do that.

And Microsoft bought something called Skype?

Now that Microsoft owns Skype, can the industry finally settle on a video conferencing standard?

• $8.5 billion may be a lot of money for a VOIP/Telepresence service but, it will become a unit of Microsoft to be integrated into their other offerings.
• Skype has a number of advantages which could make interoperability problems go away, particularly with Microsoft’s backing as a major industry player in the desktop operating system space.
• Integrating Skype/Qik into the next major version of Microsoft Windows Live Messenger will ensure that every copy of Windows with that client installed will be able to communicate with Skype installed on Macs, Linux desktops, Windows Phone 7, Android, iOS and QNX.