I doubt that the telcos would be happy about the competitiion. I think they will push to have some controls if not an outright ban on this
Look at what these telco losers talking:
For StarHub, it is through investments in 4G and 3G network upgrades that its mobile customers can enjoy a 99.97 per cent call success rate and 99.99 per cent service availability, said Michael Chang, assistant vice-president of mobility at StarHub.
"Our customers have the assurance that their mobile calls can reach anyone with a mobile phone, regardless of app ... and have come to expect unmatched crystal-clear phone conversations in HD with reduced background noise," he said.
But Forrester's Mr Teo said an important question should be if telcos can defend against non-business grade users who are switching to free calls.
"Probably not," he said. "The only way to defend is to be very customer-focused, and offer the best experience to them. Are telcos doing that? Somewhat, but more can be done, for example, with better billing or roaming charges."
SingTel, a major telco here, is well aware of the new competition in the digital space. It has identified new growth engines - mobile advertising, big data and mobile-led video service - for which telco assets such as "trusted customer relationships" and "billing platforms" give it a competitive advantage, said a spokeswoman.
"We're also actively partnering other telcos, vendors and research institutes, as well as investing in startups with the potential to disrupt adjacent technologies and their traditional operating models," she added.
It seems like nanu - with its technology and bold mission of ending phone bills as we know them - has readied itself to disrupt the telco industry. It launches on Android first, to be followed by iOS and other operating systems later this year.