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The growing importance of social media platforms and apps as well as Internet voice applications has hit telecommunications firms hard, claiming a chunk of their revenue, OZIOMA UBABUKOH writes The telecommunications industry in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is projected to lose a total of N109tn ($386bn) in voice revenue to the growing usage of Over-the-Top Internet voice applications by 2018. United Kingdom-based research and analytics company, Ovum, stated in a report that “the $386bn loss will accrue over a period of six years – between 2012 and 2018 – from Nigerian customers using OTT voice applications.” Checks by The PUNCH show that the increasing rise of the OTT players who provide voice and Short Message Services, or apps such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, BlackBerry Messenger and Viber, is currently eating deep into the voice revenue of telecommunications companies in the country by more than 50 per cent. The impact of these new services is further explained in a...