VoIP technology has come a long way since it was introduced, but as technology continues to quickly evolve, it’s bound to take VoIP even farther, making the technology of today seem laughable. No one knows for certain how fast things will continue to evolve, but a smart person will keep his eyes open to any benefits or opportunities the future of VoIP may bring. With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the technical, personal and economic ways VoIP will change in the years and decades ahead. All these things might not actually come to pass, but they give you a good idea of where things are headed. Next Year Wireless VoIP is already here in the 3G (third generation) wireless devices. Expect this space to continue to evolve quickly, with new smart handsets offering even more possibilities. As prices of these new handsets drop, as they always do when the new latest greatest thing comes out, more and more people will begin to take advantage of the 3G network. And the more people on the network, the more people are going to work on the back-end to come up with new, cool things. Next Five Years As more and more people move to VoIP, expect to see legislation (wherever on the planet you might live) start to adapt to keep up with the technology. While some laws already in place would generally affect communication that happens over VoIP, we’re bound to see the issue of VoIP brought up in various ways in courts everywhere. When that begins to happen, laws will begin to include VoIP and similar technologies even more. Next Ten Years Over the next ten years, expect a lot of radical changes as more and more of the world’s population begins to utilize the Internet and VoIP technologies. With even more people becoming involved, prices are bound to go down and features will go up as companies compete for business from a very tech savvy crowd of people. Next 100 Years Where will VoIP be in 100 years? That’s hard to tell. With technology advancing as quickly as it does, there’s no telling where it might take humanity in the 22nd century. There’s one thing that’s certain, though. Humans will still have a need and desire to communicate with others verbally in real time. VoIP Future Whether these things come true or not, VoIP is sure to be a very volatile field with a lot of growth in a lot of different areas. The smart person will keep their eye on the game and adapt along with technology to come out ahead in the end. VoIP is already responsible for a lot of change in the world, but the way it looks, this is only the beginning.