On 4/18/12 11:59 AM,
bitange@jambo.co.ke wrote:
Wambua, The statistics reveal that Kenyans are increasingly using
Internet (Data) more for communication than voice or the other
variants of Data- SMS. It means there will be less revenue from
traditional cash cow -voice. Other European reports reflect a market
erosion in terms of revenue by as much as 20%. Economists and social
scientist on this list should explain a phenomenon where mobile
subscription is up but less traffic when pricing is at its lowest.
Am no Economist or social scientist but here's my take.
With applications like Whatapp, Viber, Skype, meebo, facebook, tweeter ,
etc (some of which are free on some networks);
1. The cost per message is lower on data than sending a ordinary SMS
2. The cost per minute on voice is lower on data than on traditional voice.
3. The current voice products do not promote more talking. for instance,
at a recent meeting a suggestion was made that the 1st minute should be
free in Africa because, and i quote, "we spend the 1st minute on getting
to know how one is doing, the family, the cows, etc before getting to
the point". Food for thought as it is evident some networks have
realized that lower costs do not translate to more voice minutes.
For these reasons the operators are more likely to realise less revenues
from me on the traditional voice and sms and more on data.