"Facebook's new Messenger app for Apple mobile devices enables voice-over-Internet protocol phone calls, which use data instead of eating into the minutes in a mobile plan.The Digital Trends blog notes that:
The feature, which allows Facebook users to call each other for free, is being tested in Canada first."
"Users in Canada that update their apps today will notice a record button next to the photo and camera button. To send voice messages, you’ll just need to press, hold to record, and release the button once you’ve completed your message to send it."
This is probably another kick in the teeth for traditional operators, who are likely to struggle to compete with Facebook's popularity and reach. With users increasingly keeping in contact via alternative forms of messaging, such as chats with social network environments, in-app VoIP is perhaps another step towards making network operators just a simple connectivity provider, with all valued services being provided at an application layer.
Too pessimistic a view of the communications environment?
