Although Facebook is yet to find ways of generating the type of revenue investors hope for, not all hope is lost.
In fact, no shortage of potentially lucrative opportunities exist for the social networking giant. Just ask Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel, the world’s largest mobile VoIP company after Skype.
On Monday, Bernstrom shared insights into how Facebook could add hundreds of millions in revenue by introducing a mobile calling service.
While it’s clear that Bernstrom’s optimism is likely tied to his close connection to the mobile calling industry – and, namely, his own company – the industry heavyweight still has a valid argument.
According to Bernstrom, looking at a typical Facebook user profile, approximately 15% of a users’ friends reside in a foreign country, and with 900 million users, this translates into approximately 135 million potential customers. With typical Skype conversion rates falling around 6%, for Facebook this would mean the potential to immediately have upwards of 8 million credit cards on file.
Applying this to Skype’s current ARPU of approximately $8 per user a month, Facebook could expect to generate revenues of up to $64 million dollars a month, or very close to $800 million in revenue annually by providing a service similar to Skype Out to handle international calls.
“Everyone has been critical of Facebook’s inability to monetize on mobile, but the social network has a massive opportunity to leverage its vast user base through international calling,” Bernstrom said in a press release this week. “Given its attractive social graph, even if Facebook didn’t reach the same conversion rates as Skype, the huge call volume associated with even a fraction of its users could result in dramatic revenues for the company.”
Do you agree with Bernstrom regarding Facebook’s earning potential in this industry? Please weigh in with a thought or comment below.
