Lately it seems like there is endless news close to messaging, VoIP and video calling. Apple recently reported they’d added FaceTime support for the Mac, and had shipped 19 million FaceTime-enabled iOS devices since June. Google Voice also made headlines last week for an outage, but I think the greater news connected with that downtime is how quick they’ve been growing. And there’s been a flurry of startup activity close to messaging and communication as well, such as the super innovative GroupMe releasing an Android App.The resounding theme from all these seemingly disparate press releases is that messaging, voice, video, and chatting applications are on fire. Positive, all of us use social media, but it sure hasn’t dampened people’s affinity for texting or making a call.
Far more revealing, all of this creativity seems to be happening at the application layer, not even close to the AT&Ts of the world, who will be missing another wave of innovation which is happening on top of their networks. It’s very apparent that Google and Apple are making overtures to become your de facto voice and messaging provider, and the carriers are sitting with their pants down, struggling to plan how they stay relevant.
Why Carriers Are Losing Their Power
Lately it seems like there is endless news close to messaging, VoIP and video calling. Apple recently reported they’d added FaceTime support for the Mac, and had shipped 19 million FaceTime-enabled iOS devices since June. Google Voice also made headlines last week for an outage, but I think the greater news connected with that downtime is how quick they’ve been growing. And there’s been a flurry of startup activity close to messaging and communication as well, such as the super innovative GroupMe releasing an Android App.
The resounding theme from all these seemingly disparate press releases is that messaging, voice, video, and chatting applications are on fire. Positive, all of us use social media, but it sure hasn’t dampened people’s affinity for texting or making a call.
Far more revealing, all of this creativity seems to be happening at the application layer, not even close to the AT&Ts of the world, who will be missing another wave of innovation which is happening on top of their networks. It’s very apparent that Google and Apple are making overtures to become your de facto voice and messaging provider, and the carriers are sitting with their pants down, struggling to plan how they stay relevant.