This year 26% of smartphone users in developed countries will use traditional mobile phones at least once a week, according to “Vedomosti” with reference to the Deloitte study. They go on exchanging messages (including in messenger) and Internet applications for voice and video. In 2011, these users was 11%, and in 2015 – already 22%.
The duration of calls in mobile networks is growing: in 2012-2015, it has grown by 20% voice traffic became cheaper, there was a batch rates with a prepaid limit conversations, people abandon landline telephones in favor of mobile. But the model itself is the use of smart phones is that their owners spend on non-voice services more than for calls: for example, in the UK and the US – three times more. The smartphone provides many ways of communication: SMS in addition to it’s online services messaging, email, social networks, etc.
The loss of the Russian mobile operators and from Internet services in 2014 was, according to analysts J’son & Partners Consulting, about 15-20 billion rubles., or about 2% of annual revenue. And worldwide, according to Juniper Research, operators are underpaid for these services of $14 billion.
In developed markets the revenue of the operators has stagnated and even declined as they begin to offer subscribers unlimited voice and sms traffic, told the newspaper “Vedomosti” managing partner AC&M-Consulting Michael Alekseev. It is the result of competition, including from the messengers, he said: for example, in Spain in 2013 more than half of the subscribers did not use SMS.
In Russia to be an overflow mobile voice traffic in the Internet it is not necessary, Alexeyev says: Russia is not yet so widely-covered LTE network and to use communication services on 3G networks is not always comfortable. Active online services is not more than 1% of subscribers, said Alekseev. However, under the pressure of traditional mobile calls will become free in the developed countries operators are already working on this model.
