Facebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB) is venturing into the SMS
text messaging business, as is clearly indicated by its Facebook Messenger app
made available to a broader set of users. The app for the Android version in
certain places, even allows people without Facebook accounts to sign up for the
service – all they need is a name and phone number.
The Messenger app for Facebook earlier allowed
users to interact with others on the site via instant chat. The Messenger app
was an individual app outside the main Facebook app, but it focused only on
messages, mostly for people who are constantly exchanging messages through phones.
The sole purpose of the app was to make users
turn to the app instead of the main SMS. The hitch lay in talking to others
without a Facebook account. The issue has been tackled, because Facebook is now
designing a separate registration process focused on messaging. This venture
outlines a nascent but promising area of growth for the social network.
Facebook becomes yet another name to challenge
SMS texting services of telecommunications giants such as AT&T and
Verizon, which are already facing threats due to startups such as WhatsApp,
Pinger, TextPlus and also from Google Voice and Apple‘s iMessage, which
allow free messages outside of the traditional SMS service. Facebook also
allows the sending of images free of cost.
As of now, the Facebook messaging feature is
available in India , Australia , Indonesia ,
Venezuela and South Africa .
Facebook can also get new users on Messenger and transition them to Facebook
and get new members, in some of these international markets.
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