The Bahamas Telecommunications Company held a business and Technology Expo and Hackathon at the Melia Nassau Beach Resport yesterday. BTC CEO Leon Williams greets several of the local technology experts as they participate in the BTC "hackathon" project. (Photos: Ahvia J. Campbell)
In the face of projected revenue losses of $10 million this year due to the popular messaging platform WhatsApp, Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) CEO Leon Williams said yesterday the company has to explore ways to boost its mobile earnings, including possibly taking "disruptive" measures.
While Williams said he can't specify what BTC's parent company Cable and Wireless Communication (CWC) will do as it relates to WhatsApp going forward, he stressed that it currently remains a free service despite the significant losses to the telecoms company. Nonetheless, Williams added that there's no doubt that some decisions will have to be made.
"What happens if all the mobile companies decide that they're going to clamp down on you and just block it (WhatsApp)," Williams asked during an interview.
"And so, you'll see this debate taking place in the United States and a whole doctrine has been developed called net neutrality (the principle that all internet service providers should provide access to all applications).
"In the case of Digicel ... they lost $50 million last year due to WhatsApp. And BTC... we stand to lose $10 million (this year) in voice revenue due to WhatsApp. So we have to find one or two ways, you either partner with these folks or you find a way of being disruptive yourself... That's the choice for telephone companies."
In addition to revenue losses, WhatsApp is also to blame for some of the dropped calls that consumers experience, Williams said.
"People are sitting all day and using WhatsApp for free and when someone wants to make a paid phone call, they can not make a paid phone call because the network is congested or their calls drop because the network is congested because someone is using the network to use WhatsApp for free," he said.
"What do I do? CWC went out in partnership at the group level, not BTC, at the group level. So I can't speak to what Cable and Wireless will do or will not do, but I think BTC was very explicit in how it sent out a response to the frequently asked questions on what BTC's approach is on charging for WhatsApp. I think we basically said everything remains the same. Can I tell you that it will last for a year or two? No. I can't tell you that."
CWC and WhatsApp announced earlier this year they have entered into a strategic marketing partnership, which the marketing materials said offers CWC customers access to the full range of WhatsApp features across the company's networks. Williams said BTC has to be innovative if it wants to remain a lucrative company
WhatsApp, which is free for most users to download, allows people to message, call, send voice notes, pictures and even videos free of charge. The application receives payment based on the amount of downloads it receives, but according to Williams it has no contributing links to the Caribbean or any cell phone company unless shares are purchased.
In a statement last week, BTC pointed out that since BTC is the only operator to exclusively provide WhatsApp service, any new mobile operator providing cellular service in The Bahamas will not be able to provide the same type of WhatsApp service and benefits to its customers.
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