Free WhatsApp Poses Threat to 3G Industry, Claim Network Engineers

WhatsApp recently revealed its decision to join the plethora of apps that support Internet calling.

This decision comes after the app was recently brought by Facebook for a massive fee of $ 19 billion. The move is proposed to take advantage of the 500 million strong user base of the app. Right now, it offers the users the ability to send voice messages, but the ability to support voice calls through the Internet will be a major boost to the app’s strong points.

Network engineers have stated that the app will be able to support video calling over the 3G network in the near future. This will be a major boost to the app itself, but one that will probably spell an end to the network carrier’s plans to increase revenue via 3G calling. This is because WhatsApp will be able to provide a much better quality of video on a significantly lower bandwidth. This means that the user will prefer the WhatsApp video calling over the normal 3G calling as it means significant savings in data.

WhatsApp is expected to use the VoLTE or voice over LTE technology. It is widely known to consume lower bandwidth. As a result, the app can support even HD video calling – provided the smartphone has a high resolution camera in front – for several users. Software provider OpenCloud has been looking at this change very keenly and its head of marketing, Mark Windle, says that this could lead to telecom companies being threatened by the increase in pressure from the network.

This is largely about to come with the prospect of video streaming along with 3G video calling by users across the country.

Windle has suggested that telecom companies have two options. One is to leave out the prospect of improving on 3G video calling and focus on providing better bandwidth for the likes of WhatsApp. The increased data usage will then compensate for the lower drop in recent years from normal voice calling using the network. Another option is to improve the person-to-person services so that it will help improve the image of the company – thereby leading to more customers.

Windle reckons that the whole idea of 3G video calling over the telecom carrier may be extinct within the next 10 years, as he predicts the smartphone app industry to totally dominate in this regard.

Companies like Viber are also expected to improve their services significantly over the next few years after being acquired for almost $ 1 billion by an e-commerce giant in Japan. WhatsApp is one of first companies to make a move towards VoLTE. However, the first video calling option from the company may not come with this technology. It may be rolled out at the start of 2016.

The company has managed to overcome worries about privacy after it was taken over by Facebook. The fee paid by Facebook has been seen as excessive, but the social networking giant is confident of this deal becoming a positive one for the company as a whole. Shares of Facebook rose after the deal was announced.

Related ItemsWhatsApp

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Post

Start Your Instagram Account Today with These Easy Steps

Next Post

3 Best Photo Apps For iPhone That You Will Love

Related Posts