Whatsapp, Skype cut international voice calls by 29pc
CCK says a rise in the use of the free applications such as Whatsapp and Skype has cut cross-border voice traffic.
What you need to know:
- Calls headed abroad also dropped to 118.9 million minutes from 153.7 million in the period under review.
- The communication regulator says a rise in the use of the free applications has cut cross-border voice traffic.
- Local mobile subscribers are increasingly turning to free applications to send pictures and short videos in what has seen a drop in multimedia SMS services.
Kenyans in the diaspora are calling home less often as they turn to free Internet apps such as Whatsapp and Skype to communicate with their friends and relatives, new data shows.
Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) shows that international incoming voice traffic grossed 146 million minutes in the three months to December compared to 204.9 million, representing a drop 28.7 per cent.
Calls headed abroad also dropped to 118.9 million minutes from 153.7 million in the period under review. The communication regulator says a rise in the use of the free applications has cut cross-border voice traffic.
“This decline could have been attributed to availability of alternative OTT (over the top) voice and/or video services such Whatsapp, Skype, Viber, Ovoo among others,” said CAK in its latest report on industry trends. This captured in the rise in international SMS traffic.
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Incoming SMS increased 156 per cent to 32.6 million texts while outgoing messages increased to Sh14.6 million from nine million in the period under review.
“Traffic volume for SMS continued to grow amid increased popularity in the use of OTT messaging services such as Whatsapp,” added CAK.
“The growth in international incoming SMS could partially be as a result of the decline in international incoming voice traffic.”
The data shows that 6.28 billion texts were sent in the quarter to December compared to 3.68 billion in the same period in 2012.
Local mobile subscribers are increasingly turning to free applications to send pictures and short videos in what has seen a drop in multimedia SMS services.
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