Experts: Nigeria'll longer pay for calls, SMS - md Spectranet

-David Venn, managing director, Spectranet
Ltd predicts Nigeria will no longer pay for
calls or SMS in 2019
-The expert predicts this development will be
influenced by the fast growing usage of
social media applications
The managing director, Spectranet Ltd., David
Venn, on Wednesday said Nigerians would no
longer pay for calls and Short Message
Services (SMS), on mobile networks before
the end of 2019.
Venn made this prediction at an interactive
session with newsmen in Lagos.
He noted that with the , such as Skype, Imo,
Whatsapp, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook
Messenger, telecommunications had allowed
subscribers to use their data service to make
calls and sms.
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Venn said subscribers spend a lot of money
buying credit to make voice calls, send SMS
and also subscribe to data services at the
same time on a particular network.
He explained that even though subscribers
still patronised voice and SMS services from
the mobile operators, data service was cost-
effective, faster to send SMS and make voice
calls.
Venn noted that presently, data service
providers had been improving on the
broadband network provided to customers
due to increased patronage in the data
services.
He noted that in other advanced countries,
mobile subscribers no longer pay for the use
of voice and SMS on their mobile networks.
Venn said that in the United Kingdom, mobile
subscribers make use of Skype application to
make calls as long as the caller and the
recipient were connected to data service on
their phones.
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He also said telecoms operators were losing
huge revenue, especially from their SMS
service, with the wide use of these social
media.
Venn added that mobile operators would be
forced to expand their data network to
accommodate the growing number of
subscribers that use their networks to surf
the internet.
Spectranet boss however, urged mobile
operators to improve on their broadband
service to the undeserved and unserved areas
in the country.
According to him, the company also planned
to build more base stations across its
coverage to improve broadband connectivity
in undeserved areas before the end of the
year.
Venn urged the federal government to make
the business environment convenient for the
data providers to operate.