In March/April 2015 when WhatsApp messenger introduced free voice calls to users of its application on Android and iOS devices, many people abandoned the idea of buying credit in their phone to make phone calls and could literarily be on the phone for hours talking to friends and family as long as they had data which was much cheaper than buying credit for voice calls.
At the time, many people though that would be the end telecommunications service providers in Nigeria who were mainly focused on providing voice services rather than data. However, we saw a total shift form voice to data as telcos started to scramble for broadband spectrum in order to provide the necessary data services.
Just last week, WhatsApp announced its latest feature – WhatsApp video calling, where the instant messaging app’s over one billion users will be able to make video calls across iOS, Windows and Android platforms.
According to WhatsApp “We introduced this feature because we know that sometimes voice and text just aren’t enough. There’s no substitute for watching your grandchild take her first steps, or seeing your daughter’s face while she’s studying abroad. And we want to make these features available to everyone, not just those who can afford the most expensive new phones or live in countries with the best cellular networks.”
David Venn, Chief Executive Officer of Spectranet 4G told BusinessDay that in a few more years, Nigerians will no longer have to pay for voice calls if our broadband services are up to standard as the case is in the United Kingdom and other foreign countries.
“The shift of importance from voice call to data needs has started and in about 3 years, everyone would only be paying for data bundles because there are different apps such as skype, facetime, viber and even whatsapp call now that helps you communicate clearly with voice without paying for voice calls,” he said.
This sort of validates the saying that data is life, as almost everything can now be done online. With internet of things (IoT), voice calls, texts, video calls and much more, data is all you really need.
JUMOKE AKIYODE
