Networks offered tech to communicate with billions of WhatsApp users

Bristol-based telecoms technology provider Simwood says it can offer networks and platform providers a way to reach around three billion WhatsApp users with a tool that brings WhatsApp voice calling and messaging into its software-defined network.

The company describes the launch as a “commercial unlock” for operators, allowing them to offer enterprise customers verified and encrypted WhatsApp conversations without porting numbers or making changes to existing infrastructure.

Carrier Channel

Simwood says the service positions WhatsApp as a customer-contact channel, rather than an over-the-top competitor. It adds that businesses can communicate with consumers on WhatsApp in the same way as with voice traffic and is a way for operators to help enterprise customers contact users on the users’ preferred platform.

“WhatsApp is where the world talks. Now operators can be part of that conversation,” said Simwood CEO Simon Woodhead. “This gives carriers and MSPs a route into the daily communication habits of billions of consumers, with the security and verification that enterprises expect.”

Any verified WhatsApp for Business account can be activated immediately, he says

Value-Added 

The integration supports two-way messaging, AI-driven automation, call recording and sentiment analysis. Simwood says operators have scope to package new value-added, higher-margin services for enterprise customers.

CTO Charles Chance said the development is aimed at helping operators move faster in a market increasingly shaped by app-based communication.

“Operators risk being sidelined if they can’t offer the channels customers prefer,” he said. “We giving the channel tools to build new services quickly and monetise them immediately.”