Daily Times

ISLAMABAD – TheShort Messaging Service (SMS) andVoice Usage that eclipsed traditional greetings through cards on eveof Eid now seems facing decline owing to an increased utility ofsocial media.

Courtesy to Internet coupled with improved and expanded 3G and4G services, people prefer to greet their near and dear ones throughdifferent Applications. The mobile phone companies which generaterevenues on Eids mainly through SMS, local and international voicecalls, also see an increased usage of social media and messengersrather than normal way of expressing best wishes.

It has been reported the traffic of SMS, local andinternational calls through mobile phones have seen a slightdecrease as compared with previous year due to services such asFacebook, Whatsapp, Snapchat, LINE, Viber and talkray etc.In the past, an average subscriber used to increase their SMSand voice activity by more than double on Eid as compared withnormal days but social media and messenger Apps have eaten intotraditional revenue streams for telcos in Pakistan.

One cannot figure out the exact revenue drop, but can say thata majority of around 15 million users of 3G and 4G technologies inaddition to 4 million broadband Internet users with Wi-Fi servicesare using social media applications not only for on special occasionsuch as Eid but in routine communication as well.However, we cannot say that operators are at a loss totallybecause subscribers usage of mobile Internet through 3G and 4Gtechnologies, EDGE or GPRS translates into revenue streams on theother side.

According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), thetotal number of SMS exchanged over cellular mobile networks droppedto 301.7 billion during 2014-15 as compared to 315.7 billion of2013-14 showing a decline of 4 %.Similarly, the average SMS per cellular subscriber in a monthalso reduced to 180 as compared to 214 last year.

The rising usage of smartphones coupled with use of mobileInternet, Over the Top (OTT) and social media applications such aswhich allow free messaging and calls, has reduced the dependence ofa subscriber on traditional mode of SMS resulting into reducednumber of SMS exchanges over cellular mobile networks.

Experts on Friday said the traffic of international calls hasrouted mainly to Skype and Whatsapp from conventional calls whereasdomestic calls witnessed very little shift from customers side fromconventional to new channels of social media Apps.They said the shift of using telecom operators conventionalservices to social media Apps is an emerging trend worldwide and isnot unique in Pakistan but the subscribers base using mobileInternet is considerably thin in our country as compared with thesimilar and developed telecom economies.

In the highly competitive environment, telecom operators, ina move to generate money, may introduce bundles of social media Appsassociated with their conventional services.At present, instant messaging Apps are free on all mobilenetwork, however, one mobile phone operator started chargingWhatsapp calls whereas another operator introduced an offer of SMSbundles with Whatsapp service quite recently.