It’s commonly thought that only incumbent operators are at risk from OTT disruption. But established “OTT” players can be disrupted by other models too.
For Rebtel, a company that essentially works as a local break out/ toll bypass VoIP provider, the prospect of voice moving to in-app and in-browser experiences could be as much of a threat as Rebtel’s own service is to the long business voice businesses of telcos.
Today, though, we saw that Rebtel has been thinking about these issues and about how it can turn that threat into an opportunity. Accordingly, it has announced its own SDK to allow developers to add HD voice comms to their own apps.
The company has already attracted inaugural launch partners: VIVfone, a consolidated mobile CRM app, and MobisleApps that develops applications in the lifestyle, dating, and productivity categories.
You can see more about the SDK at http://www.rebtel.com/sdk. Rebtel said that the SDK offers:
- Signaling and codec handling wrapped into one entity
- Swift integration that can be completed in 15 minutes
- Crystal clear quality with HD voice based on bandwidth adaptable iSAC codec
- Synchronous free app to app calling over Wi-Fi or 3G
- No user sign up with Rebtel needed
- No Rebtel app on users’ device needed
- No back-end or infrastructure commitment needed
A press release from Rebtel explained some of the rationale behind the SDK:
Using Rebtel’s Voice Platform for in-app calling means game developers can offer players the opportunity to phone a friend for strategy tips without ever having to leave the game environment, and dating apps can now offer the ability for real-time voice calls for better matchmaking possibilities.
The launch of the platform comes at a critical time for developers who are looking into new ways to monetize their user base, while making their apps more social to create and extend value to consumers. With voice no longer being a stand-alone service provided by operators, the Rebtel Voice Platform also addresses the emerging trend of an ever-growing number of smartphone users who are turning to OTT (Over The Top) services for free or cheap calling alternatives at the expense of traditional carriers.
“Voice is a feature that can significantly augment the user experience in a variety of verticals and in the long term we see the Rebtel Voice Platform as a game-changing tool for developers,” said Rebtel CEO Andreas Bernstrom. “With the launch of this free service, thousands of content publishers and smartphone developers will have the opportunity to enrich their applications with a voice layer thereby increasing usage and appeal, or they can even distribute their own branded mobile VoIP app without any large back-end commitment.”
In some ways, the move mirrors what the major telcos are talking about with their API-led approach to allowing developers to hook into network functions. It also shows that telcos are not the only entities holding telco assets. As well as a company like Rebtel, which is making its voice platform available, there are the API aggregators and providers such as Apigee and Twilio offering developers similar services.
Brenstrom told Mobile Europe in an interview earlier this month that operators had accepted that their voice and messaging revenues are in terminal decline, and the conversation now is about how they can play in a world where those revenues decline to zero.
“Every operator from a retail perspective understands that those two revenue streams have a shelf life. The only interesting thing is: “What’s the way to transition, what’s the best way of doing it and if there is a void between the OTT players and what we provide, what’s the best way of filling that?“
“Operators know that voice and messaging revenues are zero in five years, but we have to remove those revenues on a successive basis and the longer we drag that period out the more money we earn, and most of that is margin.
“At the moment they are struggling to price their data packages and they don’t really understand the margin there because there’s a lot of current investment required that isn’t really there for voice and SMS. And OTT players are pushing that agenda quicker and making that happen quicker than operators would have liked.
“So they’re asking, ‘Is there a way we [operators] can do OTT ourselves, and maybe own a share of the customer?’ And personally I believe operators should focus on the transition to data models, and creating data pricing models that really suit the consumers. There’s an enormous profitable value for operators in doing that and an enormous ecosystem of apps built on their networks that are all there to essentially generate revenues for them.”
Bernstrom added that the apps and content providers offer great partnership opportunities for operators, in promotional and brand alignments, or in revenues through distribution.
With this announcement, we see Rebtel taking some of Bernstrom’s own prescriptions.