It is official. Facebook will professionally threat telecom operators. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wants to spread mobile Internet for the purpose of connecting more.
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014, Zuckerberg argued that the outstanding barrier in connecting people to the Internet in emerging markets is no longer the cost of phones, but expensive data plans. The only way this will change is if more operators introduce unlimited bundles with free access to basic Internet services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, along the lines of the bundle Globe Telecom offers in the Philippines.
This indicates that Facebook will be less successful if telecoms are not offering cost effective data plans to their mobile users across the globe.
Messaging services, social networking, and search will in turn be the key platforms for offering access to a wider range of Internet services. Zuckerberg says Facebook wants to enable direct access to basic Internet services the way that 911 does for emergency services.
Facebook wants telecoms to follows Globe Telecom model
Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, said: “Facebook wants other operators to adopt a model like Globe Telecom’s – which offers all the major global OTT messaging services for free as part of its core call and text bundle – and is looking to work with three to five operator partners over the next year. But whether operators will buy into Facebook’s vision remains to be seen.
Zuckerberg’s proposal is Facebook-centric, with the social network and OTT players reaping the immediate benefits.
The direct monetization prospects for telecoms are thin, a point Zuckerberg admitted by conceding the model needs fine tuning to strengthen the business case for operators. There are of course indirect benefits to carriers, such as the increased mobile Internet usage and subscriber gains experienced by Globe Telecom, but the question remains as to whether this will be enough to counter the negative impact OTT services are having on operators.
Whatsapp add voice calls in Q2 2014
The success of voice service Whatsapp depend on whether the company will have a solution that makes efficient use of bandwidth user and optimize the use of the platform to handle the exponential traffic voice of its 450 million users. And also be able to partner with Telcos and ISPs to provide better quality of service at points of Wi-Fi and 3G/4G networks. Skype is currently ahead of its competitors in both respects.
Frost & Sullivan on Facebook’s WhatsApp
Renato Pasquini, Telecommunications Manager for Latin America and José Roberto Mavignier, ICT Director for Latin America, said: “Despite the new voice feature of WhatsApp pose a threat to the revenues of Telcos in Latin America, since most of them are still revenues from voice services in Brazil and Mexico, the implementation and expansion of voice service is much more challenging than text messages and multimedia.”
The quality and performance of mobile networks in Latin America is still not comparable to more developed markets such as Japan, Europe, Australia and the United States. Access to and availability of 4G plans also do not have the same mass scale, so the impact short-term voice calls will be lower here in Latin American countries in these more developed markets.
“However, the newly announced voice calls Whatsapp has the same potential for medium-term revenues that cannibalize traditional analogue text messaging service had since it was released a few years ago. Currently, the volume of messages Whatsapp is more than double the number of SMS sent per day worldwide,” said José Roberto Mavignier.
Why Facebook wants telecom support
Billionaire 29-year-old Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is betting big on mobile Internet and smartphones.
By the end of 2013, mobile devices accounted for 53 percent of Facebook’s advertising revenue, bringing in $1.2 billion in the last quarter and more than $3 billion over the whole year.
Facebook is clearly building a base for further revenue growth.
Facebook has captured 18.4 percent of the mobile publicity market, making it the number two force after Google, according to digital media analyst eMarketer.
It has proven an efficient strategy. Of Facebook’s 1.23 billion users who are active at least once a month, three-quarters access the site from their smartphones.
Smartphone vendors are already supporting Facebook’s initiatives for a better broadband world by launching mobile Internet ready phones.
Frost & Sullivan on Nokia mobile Internet phones
Georgia Jordan, Telecommunications Analyst for Latin America, Frost & Sullivan, said: “The Nokia X is geared toward emerging markets, countries where Nokia is still leading in sales due to its strength in segments of feature phones (basic phones) and webphones, devices that access the internet but do not get to be a smartphone. Yet with the launch of Lumia models at more affordable prices, Nokia has also conquered the smartphone segment in these markets, helping to drive the growth of the Windows Phone platform, which recently surpassed iOS, Apple in number of sales, though still is far from achieving Android manufacturers like Samsung.”
In this context, the Nokia X emerges as a more affordable alternative to a smartphone user first trip with the attraction of a wide range of applications that Windows Phone does not have. On the other hand, Nokia is also using the devices as a series of X-port of entry to the top of its platform smartphones line, since the Google platform is adapted to interface more similar to Windows Phone. Nokia also replaced Google services on your own services or appliances by Microsoft. The similar price, however, may contribute to the cannibalization of the line webphones Nokia Asha and Lumia smartphones Input.
Baburajan K
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