[frostymarvelous]

Right now, it's more of a benefit to phone manufacturers to pre-install whatsapp than it is to whatsapp itself.

Same goes for the telcos. Offering free whatsapp and Facebook is a thing. And it's not because whatsapp had a "deal". It's because the telcos want more users.

Developing countries eat that up. People explicitly want to see whatsapp support or they don't buy the phone and many terrible devices have been sold on this premise.

Source: Experience

[gcb0]

Source: 20+yrs on the online advertising industry.

Nothing that lives of ads or telecomunication companies survive only by "serving the user". The telco only pre-install something on the device if: A. they are paid upfront, B. if they get a percentage of the ads.

yeah, serving the user is good, but remember that you are talking about companies that charges for SMS. the day they have to rely on "pleasing the user" hell will freeze over. They rely on regional monopoly, just like in the US.

[hoppa_liza]

Does not including a popular app preinstalled increase sales?

[gcb0]

not at all. what part of monopoly didn't you get? they already have all the sales.

[frostymarvelous]

We have a clear market leader, but it's by no means a monopoly.

People constantly switch network providers here since we have number portability. My wife, me and many of our friends switched to Vodafone cos they were offering a really great Internet package. Free Whatsapp, Facbook, Twitter, Instagram,and Snapchat plus 3.5 GB for what's essentially $9 a month. Here that's unbeatable and unheard of. http://support.vodafone.com.gh/customer/portal/articles/1813...

I doubt all these services are paying for for Vodafone to do this.

[frostymarvelous]

Luckily, there is serious competition here.

MTN does it, Airtel does it and Vodafone I think does it as a package.

If you currently don't offer some sort of package or free service, you're out of the competition.