Mark Zuckerberg was the most prominent speaker at the Mobile World Congress the other week. The Facebook founder made a strong statement by playing a pivotal role at the conference about the developing prowess of mobile in the tech industry, following the company’s $19bn acquisition of WhatsApp. The mobile industry is expected to become a multi-trillion dollar industry in the next decade, and is already rivalling the health care industry in worth, with both estimated to be worth more that $1.6 trillion. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress, Zuckerberg has defended buying WhatsApp for $19bn, describing it as a “strategic fit” for Facebook, and arguing the price tag was worth it because, in his opinion, “it is worth more.” In his typically assured style he explained “I could be wrong – this could be the one service that gets to a billion people and ends up not being that valuable. I don’t think I am.”  WhatsApp’s success is predominantly linked to its price, a 69p-a-year charge kicks in after the first 12 months; it is initially free, and ‘their no-advertisements policy.’ WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum also at the conference, stated that there are currently “no planned changes” to the advertising policies of the app, which doesn’t display adverts to its 465-million monthly users.

This expansion illustrates the increased threat faced by mobile operators from free text messaging services. The introduction of a voice service that utilises the Internet capabilities of Smartphones could signal the decline of traditional modes of communication, and cause significant problems to mobile operators’ position in this developing market. Alongside this, WhatsApp’s strong consumer brand may place them in a position to seriously challenge the monopoly on free call apps held by Skype and Google Voice, and signal a decisive change in communication.