VoIP technology is making quick advancement from the fixed-line world to the mobile world, according to new figures from research firm In-Stat.

Specifically, the increasing use of mobile VoIP among enterprises is creating significant opportunity” for gateway equipment suppliers and their channel partners. In fact, the amount of money spent in this space should soar beyond the $6 billion mark in 2015, In-Stat said.

Mobile VoIP has only recently begun being implemented in the business environment,” Amy Cravens, In-Stat market analyst, said in a statement. One of the key benefits of mobile VoIP for enterprises is extending desk-phone functionality to mobile devices.”

In other words, users essentially will be able to turn their cell phones into extensions of their desk phones, Cravens explained. That will allow wireless devices to deliver services beyond voice, such as unified communications think e-mail, IM and collaboration.

On the whole, In-Stat found that business mobile VoIP users will increase tenfold over the next five years, driven by enterprises and mid-sized businesses. Mobile operators do pose an adoption barrier, but they also could become key promoters of mobile VoIP over the next few years, In-Stat said, although it didnt expound on that point.

Some of the companies that are part of the mobile VoIP sector include Clearwire, CounterPath, ShoreTel, Skype, Verizon Wireless, Vonage and Vopium, In-Stat said.