“Sad day for Brazil”, commented Zuckerberg on the 48-hour suspension of WhatsApp service ordered by a court in the country.
Remember the Christmas/Summer Cards, eagerly awaited for free 100 SMS per day and minutes to spend on calls? Brazil has probably taken a step back these days.
For two days, Brazilian users have to give up the most used messaging platform because the court ordered telecom operators to suspend the service nationwide due to a dispute involving the telecom giants. These companies claim the decreased use of their SMS and call services in favor of the app, leading to an erosion of their profits.
Telegram, a major and long-standing competitor of WhatsApp, benefited from this situation, gaining one million new users in Brazil in just one day. To counter this growth and keep his messaging platforms advantageous, Zuckerberg encouraged Brazilians to use Facebook Messenger more.
Let’s be honest, how many of you thought of installing WhatsApp for free the first year, planning not to renew it? I was the first. Now? Now I can’t imagine 48 hours without it!
