The big, blue, all powerful social networking site has announced that it intends to enter the world of Voip technology in an attempt to de-throne market leaders Skype by offering users a more flexible and improved free platform.
Since Skype entered the Voip marketplace 10 years ago it has ruled without rival, fending off challenges to its throne from competitors such as Google Talk, MSN and Microsoft. But Facebook are without doubt the best equipped - and most threatening - platform to challenge Skype's superiority.
But that was before the almighty Facebook came along - surely the most well placed and resourced company to offer a serious challenge to Skype's market dominance. The book will soon have reached 1 billion users, with approximately half of all users accessing the site via their mobile phones on a regular basis.
A platform which, for most of its users, is already the primary place to interact and connect with others online. It also has a host of other advantages too, such as a phonebook and a host of most user-friendly features, such as pictures and videos.
It is indeed very plausible that Facebook will, in a short space of time, be able to match and surpass Skype's revenues, considering that Skype's premium model has already proven itself to be significantly more profitable per user than Facebook's advertising model.
And when i say far more profitable, i really mean it. Figures show that Facebook presently generates, on average, less than $10 per user per year in revenue. Compare this to Skype's advertising model which results in users paying an average of $100 per annum, and the difference is immense.
But all of this speculation and potential is nothing more than hear-say at the present time, and there is a lot of ground to be made up before any accurate assumptions can be made. Added to that the fact that Skype now have the full power and backing of Microsoft, and the stage is set for what maybe the most hotly fought telecommunications battle in living memory.
But whoever proves themselves to be the king of the OTT platform, it will not happen overnight, and the other will certainly not give up the fight without a damn good reason. And with incredible profits on the table for the winner, this battle could be raging for many years to come.
Since Skype entered the Voip marketplace 10 years ago it has ruled without rival, fending off challenges to its throne from competitors such as Google Talk, MSN and Microsoft. But Facebook are without doubt the best equipped - and most threatening - platform to challenge Skype's superiority.
But that was before the almighty Facebook came along - surely the most well placed and resourced company to offer a serious challenge to Skype's market dominance. The book will soon have reached 1 billion users, with approximately half of all users accessing the site via their mobile phones on a regular basis.
A platform which, for most of its users, is already the primary place to interact and connect with others online. It also has a host of other advantages too, such as a phonebook and a host of most user-friendly features, such as pictures and videos.
It is indeed very plausible that Facebook will, in a short space of time, be able to match and surpass Skype's revenues, considering that Skype's premium model has already proven itself to be significantly more profitable per user than Facebook's advertising model.
And when i say far more profitable, i really mean it. Figures show that Facebook presently generates, on average, less than $10 per user per year in revenue. Compare this to Skype's advertising model which results in users paying an average of $100 per annum, and the difference is immense.
But all of this speculation and potential is nothing more than hear-say at the present time, and there is a lot of ground to be made up before any accurate assumptions can be made. Added to that the fact that Skype now have the full power and backing of Microsoft, and the stage is set for what maybe the most hotly fought telecommunications battle in living memory.
But whoever proves themselves to be the king of the OTT platform, it will not happen overnight, and the other will certainly not give up the fight without a damn good reason. And with incredible profits on the table for the winner, this battle could be raging for many years to come.
About the Author:
Saul Saresi writes regularly about Voip technology and systems for his site VoIPDito business voip uk More information about Voip can be found by visiting here business hosted pbx
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