Twilio, the over the top voice and messsaging application, now is offered in 12 countries, including 10 in Europe as well as the United States and Canada. WhatsApp, the voice and messaging app that seems to be rapidly eroding mobile service provider revenues in Europe, operates in even more markets.
Up to this point, Twilio has focused on iOS apps, but now has launched an Android client. A Windows Phone may be next in line, TechCrunch reports.
Telefonica’s first quarter 2012 report might indicate the impact such over the top apps are starting to have on voice and messaging revenues, according to a report in Forbes. Of course, it is hard to separate the effects of the Spanish recession from other trends in consumer use of communications services.
Spain’s economy is contracting sharply, with consumer spending falling by double digits. That seems to be putting pressure on uptake of mobile broadband services and could be leading consumers to abandon carrier-provided text messaging services as well.
But most observers also believe that over the top voice and messaging apps are benefitting from that economic distress.
WhatsApp Messenger, for example, is the number-one paid app downloaded by consumers in scores of countries. In fact, some might speculate that 2012 will be a watershed year, an inflection point for consumer use of carrier-provided messaging in many countries.
Spanish mobile revenue declined by -10.7 percent year over year. That might be a signal as well. To be sure, the severe and apparently growing economic and financial crisis in Spain arguably is a huge driver of consumer behavior, but the shift in text messaging behavior might be something more.
Twilio is kicking off its Android service with features to integrate voice features into Android apps. The Android VoIP application programming interface lets developers incorporate VoIP features directly into apps, to create features like in-app calling.
Other features include real-time presence, buddy lists and the ability to receive voice calls even if the relevant app is not being used.
