The Brazilian unit of Telecom Italia, TIM, closed a deal with WhatsApp. Under the agreement, TIM Brasil customers who have the post-paid “controle” plan can use WhatsApp without paying for the data consumption used by the over-the-top service. The package costs $10.77 and includes 300 MB of data, unlimited text messages and $3.71 that can be used as the customer wishes. Although it’s the first time a Brazilian carrier has tied up with the Facebook-owned instant messaging app, some carriers have made agreements to offer zero-data packages for Twitter and Facebook.
In an exclusive interview with RCR Wireless News, Fabio Cristilli, managing director for marketing Internet and VAS at TIM Brasil, said the company no longer has agreements with Facebook and Twitter because the carrier found that the customer experience wasn’t positive. “It was not transparent to customers when and how data was used due to the other applications that were being used at the same time, and they consumed data,” he said.
The deal with WhatsApp was closed in the U.S. since the company doesn’t have a subsidiary in Brazil. The deal is exclusive for an undisclosed period of time – WhatsApp cannot make a similar deal with another Brazilian carrier, at least for now. “TIM has a strong affinity with OTT. We don’t see them as a threat,” Cristilli said. “They have a lot of services that customers highly value.” TIM’s strategy includes searching for the best OTTs for possible agreements.
Cristilli also commented on mobile video traffic growth in the TIM network. He said that in both prepaid and post-paid plans the carrier saw a threefold traffic increase in one year.
As a result of the WhatsApp offer, Cristilli said that in the 10 days following the announcement, TIM doubled sales of its “controle” plan.
TIM rival Telefónica signed an agreement with Swiss mobile software developer the Myriad Group. The deal will enable its Latin American operators to offer a co-branded version of Myriad’s social messaging application to their customers. According to Myriad, the platform can help operators create loyalty and promote data plans by allowing consumers to use their phones to group chat and share content with their friends.
Twitter grows in Brazil: In 2014, Twitter use grew in Brazil by 25.6%, the biggest jump since 2010. Also, mobile users of the microblog are increasing: In the beginning of 2014 they represented 62% of total Twitter users, and by December they were at 72%. Brazil is currently one of Twitter’s five most important markets. In total, Twitter has 284 million active users per month, 80% of whom use the service on their mobile devices. About 500 million tweets are posted every day.
More Latin American news:
PERU – Telefónica said it will invest about $1.8 million in the country over the next two years.
MEXICO – The country’s telecom regulator approved AT&T’s acquisition of the wireless company Iusacell.
BRAZIL – Claro announced that it has reinforced its network to support the increase in data and voice use during the holidays.
MEXICO – Starting Feb. 1, the OTT service owned by Wal-Mart, Vudu, will stop working in Mexico. Instead, Wal-Mart has signed an agreement with Cinépolis Klic to provide a similar service to its customers.
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