There is talk that Facebook is slowly creeping into the market share of mobile operators. According to Eden Zoller, analyst from Ovum, “Facebook is encroaching directly on mobile operator territory and should not be underestimated".
“It has come a very long way since it first launched Facebook Mobile in 2006. It is now a force to be reckoned with in mobile with over 200 million users interacting with the service via mobile phone. It is much more than a social network and is better viewed as an increasingly rich platform for communications and content. Facebook wants to integrate with everything and be the main way that people consume and share information, anywhere and on any device."
Zoller continued: “There is also intense ongoing speculation that Facebook will come out with its own phone, which in some respects would be the final piece of the puzzle. However, we don’t think that Facebook is any rush to launch its own hardware just yet, although it could be interested in working with partners on a customized device platform. This would in effect make Facebook a social operating system."
The statement by Zoller somehow connects with reports that Facebook had an integration deal with Skype for voice communications.
This to me is an indirect threat to mobile operators that facebook is indeed heading towards competing with them for their services. Currently, people with access to Facebook via their mobile phone would rather use it to sending their messages rather than via text. I am starting to have an inclination towards believing reports that Facebook is really heading towards in competing with mobile operators. Though seems like Facebook is not in a rush, it would probably take them another 5 years to fully realize it.
Though I still find it hard to imagine having Facebook as my mobile phone provider but who knows what might happen in the coming years.
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