Facebook adds VoIP and voice messaging

A number of places are reporting that Canadian users of Facebook now have VoIP functionality available to them. According to the CBC:

"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 feature, which allows Facebook users to call each other for free, is being tested in Canada first."

The Digital Trends blog notes that:

"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?

Ofcom names 4G auction bidders

The bidders are Everything Everywhere, BT, Vodafone, O2 and Three, as well as Hong Kong conglomerate PCCW and UK network supplier MLL Telecom.

full text is here.

BYTE Guide To In-Flight Wi-Fi

Interesting.
Would you use Wi-Fi on a plane? Or is nice having somewhere still where you can go without Internet access?

#wcit on Twitter

The hashtag #wcit has been adopted for the ITU's World Conference on International Telecommunications on Twitter. Even if you are not normally a Twitter user, there is a steady stream of thoughts and opinions on the topics being discussed — some more interesting and sane than others — and it can be quite good fun seeing what is being discussed in near real time.

"Kenya’s mobile telephones: Vital for the poor"

There's an interesting piece on The Economist about mobile phones in Kenya, and the priority placed on having a phone — credit may score more highly than a meal in some cases.

This made me think of a posting on Slashdot a couple of months ago about the culture of "missed calls" in India; apparently it's customary not to answer a call from your driver / delivery person, since it costs them, but instead to receive the missed call and ring them back.

European Commission makes additional radio spectrum available for 4G services

The Commission said that 120MHz of frequency band that has been traditionally used for the delivery of 3G services should be utilised for the delivery of 4G services.

full text here.

Man files FCC complaint over AT&T FaceTime blocking

With the wireless Broadband access more services can be provided with good quality of service... and more and more, the operators are becoming as transport networks and probably not making enough revenue from the services they provide.

Claims are filed with FCC against AT&T for charging for Apple's FaceTime video conferencing on its 3G and 4G networks, and AT&T seems not to have a competing service to offer here!

See text here.