Market for instant messaging apps has exploded into life

Before the popularity of the smartphone, the humble text message was the best and easiest way to communicate.

But all that has changed – and much to the chagrin of mobile network operators.

The advent of the smartphone has meant increased data usage – good news for operators – but also the arrival of disruptive newcomers. Suppliers of “over the top” (OTT, or “value added”) services have been pinching the network operators’ customers by offering messaging and voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) calls via smartphone apps.

The market for instant messaging apps has exploded in recent times. Where Skype led, others have willingly followed, with WhatsApp, Kik and Viber all jostling for a share of the market.

Japanese-based messenger Line is targeting the Indian market, a strategy is began in July and has already racked up 10 million users. It is aiming to have 20 million in the region by the end of year, rivalling the more established services such as WhatsApp.

Last year, a study by Informa Telecoms said SMS would still dominate mobile messaging traffic and revenues for the next couple of years, generating 42 per cent of the traffic and 65 per cent of the total incomes in 2016. That compared with estimates of 35 per cent traffic and 8 per cent revenues for the messaging apps, which are referred to as “over the top” messaging.

But while SMS isn’t going anywhere any time soon, a new report from Informa this year showed OTT messaging has overtaken personal SMS traffic on a daily basis in terms of the volume of messages being sent.

About 19.1 billion OTT messages were sent every day in 2012, compared with 17.6 billion in SMS, and by the end of the year that gap is expected to have widened considerably to 41 billion OTT messages and 19.5 billion texts.

That is mainly because those using WhatsApp and other messaging services are sending more messages per day than the SMS users; more than 32 OTT messages per user compared with five texts.

Its growing popularity has had a knock on effect for mobile networks, who are seeing their revenues fall.

For consumers, there are some advantages to opting for the instant messaging apps.

Text messages sent through these apps typically use low amounts of data, which makes them the more economical choice when compared to individual charges for SMS. It’s particularly useful when messaging friends and family who are overseas; you can skip the international text rates in favour of a few bytes of data.

If you are connected through wifi, which typically has a larger usage limit, it eliminates the risk of going over your mobile data allowance and incurring more cost than you intended.

There are a few options for most of the major mobile platforms; which one you opt for will usually be dictated by how many contacts you know that use the app.

Viber
Viber offers you the option to send text messages, photos, video or make voice calls through a single app. Like WhatsApp, it uses your phone number as your log in, so there is no need to remember users names or PINs.

Messages and calls to other Viber users are free of charge if you are on wifi, but be aware that if your data plan is particularly restrictive, you might end up getting charged for data use on 3G; this can be avoided if you stick with a wifi connection with a higher monthly data allowance.

A viber text message typically takes about 838 bytes out of your data allowance, which is quite small. If you choose to send photos, this will rise; likewise if you send videos. For a call, the bandwidth rate is about 240 KB per minute or 14MB per hour, in line with other services of this type.

The call quality can be better than your regular voice call over a mobile network, but you’ll need to have a good data network at both ends to avoid the call dropping, quality deteriorating and general lag.

Skype
The old reliable, Skype allows you to make calls and send messages not only to users signed up to the service, but also to regular landline and mobile numbers, once you buy credit. While the Skype to Skype contact is free, the Skype Out services – to a mobile, for example – incur a fee, but are typically lower than the average traditional telecoms charge.

WhatsApp
Costing the princely sum of nothing to download for the first year, WhatsApp allows you to send messages, including video, photo and voice notes, to others using the service.

It’s linked to your mobile number, so you don’t need to remember a username of login; likewise, it also prevents people from changing user names on accounts to create false accounts.

After the first 12 months, you’ll have to stump up to keep using it – less than €1 for the year. That brings the iPhone into line with the other phone platforms, which always charged this way; originally, iPhone users paid a small fee to download the app and had it for free thereafter. Those who already paid to download WhatsApp from the iTunes store won’t be charged the subscription fee.

Snapchat
One of the newer kids on the block Snapchat is mainly aimed at sending video and pictures with captions to your contacts. It allows you to set an expiry for your messages, so users can only see it for a few seconds.

Of course, there is nothing to stop someone from taking a screenshot of your message. And a quick look in the app stores reveal a number of apps that claim to allow you to save your received photos and videos. So beware what you send . . .

Kik Messenger
Kik is another service that relies on logins rather than mobile phone numbers, requiring you to sign up with an email address. It's free to download but it makes money by trying to sell you sticker packs. Not only can you send text messages, but you can also share videos, make and send sketches, share photos that delete themselves after a few minutes or play games with friends.

Facebook Messenger
In 2011, Facebook stole a march on Apple and launched its own instant messaging application that allowed people to chat to other Facebook users. It's a standalone application that will give you instant access to your Facebook friends, send photos and record voice notes.

Some of the Irish mobile networks offer Facebook messenger for free to customers, meaning it won’t eat into your data allowance.