New WhatsApp calling feature, what are the consequences?

WhatsApp is one of the biggest social media applications available for all cell phones, and is growing rapidly.

The application was recently upgraded with the much-anticipated calling feature which allows users to call their contacts through WhatsApp, and you guessed it, it’s free – or is it?

The calling feature does not use your airtime, allowing users to bypass the need for airtime and free minutes, but has been reported to use a large amount of data instead.

It’s important for users to understand that 1 minute using WhatsApp call, on a 3G network, costs between 0.15MB and 0.20MB of data, which may not seem like much but adds up with long calls.

The type of network used must also be considered.

The cost for using a 2G network is considerably higher, with 0.35MB being charged per minute.

In addition, data is used by both caller and receiver.

Finally, the impact of this calling service may have undesirable effects on network providers.

With more and more free WiFi zones being created in public areas, many WhatsApp users may be able to perform a considerable portion of their data using activities – and now make phone calls – using WiFi, which will not be charged to their network providers.

Could WhatsApp possibly render network providers obsolete in the future?

What do you think of WhatsApp’s new call feature?

Tell us by leaving your comment below.