MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS: The $19 billion shot heard ’round the wireless industry

THE FACT THAT A messaging app (albeit one with 465 million users) can be worth $19 billion American dollars is certainly top of mind among most delegates at the Mobile World Congress here in Barcelona.It was just about standing room only in a morning panel session that featured the CEO of the acquiree, Jan Koum of WhatsApp (so we got in line early on Monday for the keynote address of the acquirer, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg) and while the cellco network owners were quick to say they know they must provide excellent, unfettered access to all sorts of over-the-top messaging services, the...