WhatsApp has finally made good on its promise to add voice over IP (VoIP) calling to its wildly-popular messaging application, prompting fresh warnings over the threat it poses to operator revenues.
Rather than making a high-profile announcement, the company has quietly launched the new feature as an update to the Android version of WhatsApp. Once upgraded, the user simply selects the ‘calls’ tab, chooses a contact, and a VoIP call is initiated. WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said at Facebook’s recent F8 developer conference that an update for the iOS version is due to roll out in a few weeks.
While there are plenty of competing VoIP providers, including Skype and Viber, to name just two, none can match WhatsApp in terms of monthly active users (MAUs) – it had 700 million at the end of February.
"Given [that] the popularity of WhatsApp for messaging has caused a decline in SMS traffic and revenues for a number of operators, it would be fair to assume a similar outcome for operator voice services," said Pamela Clark-Dickson, principal analyst, consumer services, at Ovum, in a research note on Tuesday.
"Mobile operator fears regarding VoIP-led cannibalization of voice revenue might be about to be realised," she said.
WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum first revealed plans to offer VoIP at Mobile World Congress 2014, not long after his company agreed to be taken over by Facebook for $19 billion. It was originally understood that it would launch in a matter of months after that announcement, but instead what followed was more than a year of testing and fine tuning.
"WhatsApp’s expansion into voice calls is a significant event in the communications market," said Analysys Mason researchers Stephen Sale and Aris Xylouris, in a statement. While the likes of Skype address specific use cases, such as low-cost international calls or video calling, "WhatsApp’s high levels of service penetration in many countries…mean that the service will be viable as a primary voice service for many."
Sale and Xylouris said that operator service substitution is more prevalent in messaging than in voice; "however, the sheer size of WhatsApp’s network could disrupt the market."
