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. Regards, Michuki.