I want all Indians to use Viber: CEO

With over 200 million users, Viber is among the fastest-growing mobile calling app. On mobile phones it competes with rivals such as Whatsapp, Line and WeChat. Viber has expanded beyond the small screen to tap users on desktops and tablets as well, taking the fight to traditional voice-over-internet players such as Skype (now owned by Microsoft ).

The company has already signed up 15 million users in India and is gearing up to tap the market aggressively, according to chief executive officer and founder Talmon Marco, an Israeli entrepreneur. In an exclusive interview, Marco told Lison Joseph about the company's plans to monetise the popular platform. Edited excerpts:

The market for instant messaging apps is getting crowded. How will you differentiate Viber?
Sure, there are numerous players in the market. But it helps you narrow down if you look at the features that they offer. It is a competition among the R&D departments as each of these companies come out with features that enrich user experience. I think Viber is far ahead on that front.

Unlike most of our competition, Viber is available on multiple platforms, including desktops and even tablets now. Some features such as the ability to switch a call that is already in progress from one device to another—say from tablet to a phone, or desktop to tablet without interrupting the conversation—makes us unique. Some of our competitors have been marketing themselves aggressively to gain users but Viber has grown mostly by word of mouth and that is testament to what users think of competing products.

Companies like Viber live in constant tension with telecom carriers who complain about loss of revenue. How do you see that relationship evolving?
At the end of the day, what carriers have to realise is that applications like Viber offer something that users want. We are popular not because we are free, but because users see something useful in what we offer.

When they disrupt such services, they are not denying us an opportunity but they are treating their consumers badly. That is not sustainable behaviour. There is room for coexistence , be it offering complementary services or billing services for some of the paid services that apps like ours offer.

Viber's user base has been growing, but what about the bigger challenge of making money?
We already have the sticker store. And over the past few days, we have launched this service where Viber users can call non-Viber phone numbers. We did this in response to the natural disaster in the Philippines, for people to track and get in touch with their relatives . This is a feature that has been in the works and we are announcing a global soft launch now.

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