Voice-over WiFi (VoWiFi) Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Global Voice-over WiFi (VoWiFi) Market Trends and Insights

Rapid Expansion of Carrier-Grade Wi-Fi Roaming Agreements

Mobile network operators embed VoWiFi roaming in wholesale agreements to cut international termination fees and avoid PSTN interconnect charges. The GSMA 2025 IR.92 amendment standardized ePDG discovery, allowing seamless voice sessions across visited networks.^{[1]GSMA, “IR.92 VoLTE and VoWiFi Interoperability Specifications Amendment,” GSMA, gsma.com} Vodafone’s pan-European trial cut voice delivery costs by 40% and spurred similar deals among tier-1 carriers. Operators in spectrum-constrained Southeast Asia now view carrier-grade roaming as a coverage extension tool rather than a premium service. Passpoint R3 further simplified credential provisioning, reducing friction for end-users. These shifts collectively lift traffic off licensed spectrum and improve operator economics.

Rising Indoor Coverage Gaps in 5G NR Deployments

Mid-band and millimeter-wave signals lose up to 20 dB within concrete structures, forcing operators to keep LTE overlays for voice continuity. VoWiFi fills those gaps without new small cells, letting carriers retire legacy layers in urban cores. Verizon’s 2025 Manhattan C-band rollout redirected 60% of indoor calls to VoWiFi within 90 days, reducing planned small-cell density by 30%. The quick ROI encourages similar approaches across North America and Europe.

Growing Penetration of VoWiFi-Capable Handsets

Chipset vendors embed ePDG clients in low-cost devices, making VoWiFi a baseline feature even in entry-level smartphones. Apple automated VoWiFi activation in iOS 18, and Samsung ships default-enabled VoWiFi across 80 carrier partners. The GSM Association estimates 78% of 2025 smartphone shipments included VoWiFi support, narrowing historic capability gaps in emerging markets. Wider handset availability directly lifts user adoption and traffic volumes.

Government Emergency-Service Mandates for Wi-Fi E911 Indoors

The FCC ruled that 80% of wireless indoor E911 calls must deliver ≤50-meter accuracy by 2026, a target unattainable with cellular triangulation alone. VoWiFi uses registered access-point databases to provide sub-10-meter precision, prompting U.S. operators to accelerate ePDG deployment. Australia and several EU members adopted similar guidelines, reinforcing the regulatory push. Public-safety networks such as FirstNet now require VoWiFi support on certified devices, cementing the technology in emergency response workflows.

Persistent VoWiFi-to-VoLTE Handoff Quality Issues

Real-time IPsec tunnel renegotiation introduces 200-400 milliseconds of jitter, resulting in audible gaps that users perceive as dropped calls. Ericsson’s 2025 field data showed 18% mid-call drop rates during Wi-Fi-to-cellular transitions, far exceeding VoLTE benchmarks. Smaller operators with legacy cores struggle to fund the predictive authentication upgrades required to close the gap. Until quality stabilizes, some consumers disable VoWiFi, slowing overall traffic growth.

Limited Monetization Models for MNOs

Open-Internet rules bar differential pricing for VoWiFi, preventing carriers from charging premiums despite cost savings. Attempts to bundle VoWiFi into higher-tier plans faced swift regulatory pushback in the United States, and over-the-top voice apps deliver comparable quality at zero incremental cost. Operators therefore treat VoWiFi primarily as a cost-reduction lever, delaying revenue payback on ePDG and IMS investments.

Segment Analysis

By Voice Client: Integrated Clients Anchor Adoption, Browsers Gain Ground

Integrated clients contributed 56.48% of 2025 revenue, powered by OS-level authentication that removes user friction. Browser-based options, though smaller, are growing at a 17.32% CAGR. The voice-over WiFi (VoWiFi) market size attached to browser clients benefits from WebRTC maturity that makes installation-free voice attractive for bring-your-own-device environments. Enterprises value policy control and zero-trust separation that browsers deliver. Integrated clients still excel at predictive handoffs, reducing latency during coverage changes, yet browser innovations continue to narrow the performance gap.

A second driver is Passpoint R3, which automates credential provisioning for browser sessions. Cisco’s Webex Calling realized 30% lower development costs by avoiding native client builds, and this spending efficiency appeals to mid-market enterprises. Over the forecast, integrated clients will retain the largest share, but browser solutions will account for an expanding slice of the voice-over WiFi (VoWiFi) market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Device Type: Smartphones Dominate as IoT Devices Accelerate

Smartphones held 80.36% revenue share in 2025, underlining their central role in voice communication. Other connected devices, although smaller, are expected to rise at a 15.49% CAGR. Industrial gateways, telematics units, and medical wearables all gain from chipset-level ePDG integration, which removes the need for separate cellular modules. The voice-over WiFi (VoWiFi) market share for smartphones will gradually erode as these emerging endpoints adopt Wi-Fi calling due to cost and energy considerations.

Qualcomm’s sub-USD 5 VoWiFi-ready IoT chipset opened the door for voice-enabled sensors across manufacturing floors. Automotive makers embed VoWiFi in telematics control units to satisfy eCall regulations when cellular service is weak. Hospitals prefer VoWiFi for patient monitors because in-building cellular restrictions do not apply to Wi-Fi. Laptops and tablets play a secondary role, but larger batteries help them maintain continuous ePDG tunnels during long meetings.

By Deployment Model: IMS Core Still Reigns, Cloud Grows Quickly

Network-based IMS cores represented 62.27% of 2025 revenue. Operators safeguard lawful intercept compliance and leverage sunk investment in hardware. Cloud-hosted VoWiFi, however, is expected to grow at a rate of 16.14% annually as hyperscalers make pay-as-you-grow pricing more attractive for smaller carriers. The VoWiFi market size realized through cloud models is expanding because launch timelines shrink from more than a year to a few months.

Oracle’s Communications Cloud reduced deployment cycles to 90 days, enabling greenfield mobile virtual network operators to roll out VoWiFi without owning data centers. Hybrid edge-cloud approaches emerge, where ePDG authentication remains on-premises for latency, while analytics and billing shift to the public cloud. Release 18 APIs lower vendor lock-in, allowing operators to mix components from multiple suppliers.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End-User: Residential Remains Core, Public Safety Surges Ahead

Residential consumers supplied 47.84% of 2025 revenue as operators bundled VoWiFi with home broadband to offload traffic. Public-safety agencies will advance 15.77% a year, benefiting from FirstNet and similar national mandates. This upswing enlarges the voice-over WiFi (VoWiFi) market because government procurement budgets fund rapid device refresh cycles.

Small and medium enterprises select VoWiFi to extend PBX features to mobiles, cutting voice bills by 40%. Large enterprises integrate Wi-Fi calling into unified communications suites for global employees. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s directive to enable VoWiFi on federal-issue handsets added 2.1 million devices in 2025, illustrating how policy moves can swing demand quickly.

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific generated 45.16% of VoWiFi revenue in 2025. China Mobile’s Wi-Fi 6E fabric and Reliance Jio’s fixed-wireless bundles underline the region’s spectrum scarcity workaround. KT covered subway tunnels with Wi-Fi calling, easing customer churn. Japan’s carriers completed interoperability testing, and India mandated VoWiFi support on new smartphones, enlarging handset readiness across rural zones.

Middle East and Africa will post the fastest 15.33% CAGR. Saudi Arabia’s regulator ordered nationwide VoWiFi by mid-2025.^{[2]Communications, Space and Technology Commission, “VoWiFi Deployment Mandate under Vision 2030,” CST, cst.gov.sa} South Africa streamlined licensing to 90 days, letting smaller carriers deploy quickly. Nigeria saw adoption rise to 15% of mobile users in 2025 as enterprise Wi-Fi offset poor cellular penetration in Lagos. UAE operators now offer cross-emirate roaming, minimizing call drops during inter-city travel.

North America leans on VoWiFi to meet E911 mandates and shrink indoor densification budgets. T-Mobile integrated VoWiFi with its 5G standalone core, cutting urban call-drop rates by 35%. Verizon’s C-band plan saved USD 200 million in small-cell costs by steering indoor calls to Wi-Fi. Canada cleared 6 GHz VoWiFi with no individual licenses, accelerating regional uptake. Europe shows mixed progress because cross-border roaming rests on voluntary agreements, yet Germany already records 22% of voice minutes over Wi-Fi. South America remains city-centric, with Brazil mandating VoWiFi in new licenses while Argentina and Chile face infrastructure constraints.