In our Global Internet Phenomena Report: Fall 2011 published just last week, we noted the growing popularity of data messaging apps on mobile networks.  In Asia-Pacific specifically we observed that during peak period, between 6%-8% of all mobile subscribers were using the messaging application WhatsApp.  For those who are unfamiliar, WhatsApp is a smartphone app that allows subscribers to use their data plan to send text and picture messages without having to pay any SMS or MMS fees.

BlackBerry users have long praised BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for its ability to send messages using a data plan to other BlackBerry users, but in recent years as the smartphone marketplace has become more fragmented, messaging apps that allow users to send messages between platforms have really started to gain popularity.  LiveProfile, Kik, PingChat are just a few of the apps available that offer this functionality, but WhatsApp popularity is undeniable – the service is now reporting that their users are sending over 1 billion messages each day.

While subscribers love these apps, network operators are, understandably, less enthusiastic. Apps that enable instant messaging or voice communication via data plans compete directly with the SMS and voice services upon which operators depend for a substantial portion of revenue.

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Record numbers of attendees gathered last week in Paris for Broadband World Forum Europe.  As always, we at Sandvine were part of the exhibition floor and this year we were excited to showcase our recently announced Real-Time Entertainment Dashboard and Usage Management 4.0.

Sandvine’s Real-Time Entertainment Dashboard is revolutionary because it provides business intelligence particularly relevant to streaming content (Netflix, YouTube and Spotify), including measurements regarding the quality of the video experience, the viewing duration, and the associated revenue generated by the adoption of over-the-top services. Our Usage Management 4.0 product helps both fixed and mobile service providers create, manage and implement new product offerings.

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Since early this year, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and content programmers have been embroiled in a legal battle over an app that allowed TWC subscribers to watch TV live on their iPad. Content programmers feel the app distributes their content without an appropriate license, while TWC feels it is within their rights of their broadcast agreement.

The court case is still ongoing, but in an interesting move last month, TWC announced that they will offer subscribers a free Slingbox to their highest Internet tier known as Wideband.  For those that don’t know, Slingbox is a device that allows you to stream your cable or satellite set-top box remotely to any computer, tablet, or smartphone connected to the Internet.

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In the US, both Verizon and AT&T have begun to identify subscribers who violate their Terms of Service (TOS) by using unauthorized tethering applications on mobile networks.  Citing these violations, users are being migrated away from their current, often unlimited data plans, and being enrolled in premium plans that permit tethering.

These recent actions aren’t the first attempts by carriers to manage the usage of tethering applications.  This past May, US-based carriers demanded that Google restrict access to applications that allow tethering in the Android Marketplace. This restriction brought Google devices in line with Apple and Microsoft, who both don’t allow third-party tethering applications in their official app stores.

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