NEW DELHI:
While mobile operators get cautious about messaging applications eating their profits, voice calls like Hike messenger says such services, in fact, open a new "fat source of income" for companies throughout telecommunications. By the way, Hike is led by Kavin Mittal, son of czar Sunil Mittal telecommunications, and is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Japanese Softbank Corp.
Bharti group also runs with increased mobile operators like Bharti and Airtel, which incidentally has been highly critical of offering voice calls through free Internet and other similar services. They are known in the jargon of telecommunications as players Over The Top (OTT).
"We think its a big threat as the market is not making it out to be," founder and CEO messenger Hike Kavin Bharti Mittal said in an interview.
"Say voice minutes are cannibalized. Even if that happens, you are getting people to buy data packages, so we are opening a new source of very fat income and for me that's a win- win in the long term, "he said.
Hike announced the launch of free voice calling feature on their platform at a time when mobile operators are demanding that OTT players like Hike, Whats App, Line and Skype like others should be under the regulation.
OTT players use VoIP or Voice over IP, to enable its users to make free calls. The telecom regulator TRAI has initiated a consultation process regarding the OTT players and is likely to come out with a draft document soon.
Bharti group and Airtel has recently proposed a fee for voice calls made over the Internet using applications like Skype, Viber and Hike, but later withdrew the plans following a protest on social networks.
Kavin said that globally too, where there are 4G networks and 3G networks at the high end, people are still buying voice minutes.
"Talks cannibalization happened during messaging also and now it has come a great way and the same will happen with the voice," he added.
"We believe that for services like Hike, YouTube and others, people actually buy data plans. If we did not exist, people would not buy data. Thus, on one hand, we are promoting a new source of revenue for telcos," he said.
The data growth for telecom operators is close to 100% a year and now contributes to duplicate the digit percentage in top line revenue.
Kavin said "with the launch of voice calls is on the rise, in the first 12 hours, more than half a million calls were made."
The company has optimized technology for the Hike and people can call 4-5 minutes per MB on 2G.
"The voice quality 2G is comparable to what you get in the telecommunications network and 3G and quality wi-fi is much better than what you normally get in a telecommunications network. Therefore, it can be said that 3G and wi-fi is like HD calling and 2G as normal call, "he said.
The introduction of voice calls came within a month hike made its first acquisition - a free application called Zip Phone.
While mobile operators get cautious about messaging applications eating their profits, voice calls like Hike messenger says such services, in fact, open a new "fat source of income" for companies throughout telecommunications. By the way, Hike is led by Kavin Mittal, son of czar Sunil Mittal telecommunications, and is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Japanese Softbank Corp.
Bharti group also runs with increased mobile operators like Bharti and Airtel, which incidentally has been highly critical of offering voice calls through free Internet and other similar services. They are known in the jargon of telecommunications as players Over The Top (OTT).
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| OTT players use VoIP or Voice over IP, to allow its users to make free calls |
"Say voice minutes are cannibalized. Even if that happens, you are getting people to buy data packages, so we are opening a new source of very fat income and for me that's a win- win in the long term, "he said.
Hike announced the launch of free voice calling feature on their platform at a time when mobile operators are demanding that OTT players like Hike, Whats App, Line and Skype like others should be under the regulation.
OTT players use VoIP or Voice over IP, to enable its users to make free calls. The telecom regulator TRAI has initiated a consultation process regarding the OTT players and is likely to come out with a draft document soon.
Bharti group and Airtel has recently proposed a fee for voice calls made over the Internet using applications like Skype, Viber and Hike, but later withdrew the plans following a protest on social networks.
Kavin said that globally too, where there are 4G networks and 3G networks at the high end, people are still buying voice minutes.
"Talks cannibalization happened during messaging also and now it has come a great way and the same will happen with the voice," he added.
"We believe that for services like Hike, YouTube and others, people actually buy data plans. If we did not exist, people would not buy data. Thus, on one hand, we are promoting a new source of revenue for telcos," he said.
The data growth for telecom operators is close to 100% a year and now contributes to duplicate the digit percentage in top line revenue.
Kavin said "with the launch of voice calls is on the rise, in the first 12 hours, more than half a million calls were made."
The company has optimized technology for the Hike and people can call 4-5 minutes per MB on 2G.
"The voice quality 2G is comparable to what you get in the telecommunications network and 3G and quality wi-fi is much better than what you normally get in a telecommunications network. Therefore, it can be said that 3G and wi-fi is like HD calling and 2G as normal call, "he said.
The introduction of voice calls came within a month hike made its first acquisition - a free application called Zip Phone.
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