SMS

SMS continues to reign supreme

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:49:26 -0500

The theory that SMS usage would decline with the advent of more sophisticated messaging technologies has been become popular over the last few years but this simple and robust technology stubbornly refuses to lie down. Now a report from Portio Research confirms SMS will continue to be a cash cow for operator's mobile data revenues for some time to come. Traffic volumes and revenues are continuing to grow and are expected to maintain their upward trend through the current economic downturn. Indeed, growth across all messaging technologies looks very healthy with the market predicted to grow from US$130 billion in 2008 to US$224 billion in 2013. Portio says SMS remains the "King" of messaging because there is no cheap and easy-to-use alternative that will work on all phones and on all networks. However, the report goes on to forecast bright futures for mobile email and mobile instant messaging. MMS traffic is also growing fast, particularly in China and North America.

For more:
- go to Total Telecom and Mobile Europe

Related articles:
Forecast: Messaging revenues to grow to $224B by 2013
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No slowing of mobile messaging services growth in tough economic times

Mobile mapping on the rise

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:49:05 -0400

More and more customers are using mobile maps according to a report by comScore m:metrics with 8 per cent of U.S. mobile subscribers and 3 per cent of Europeans accessing maps in the three months to May 2008. This represents a growth rate of 82 per cent in the U.S. and 49 per cent in Europe. The main driver behind the rapid growth in the U.S. seems to be the increasing availability of the iPhone which was the leading device used there to access maps. Europeans preferred the Nokia N95 and N70. Around three quarters of U.S. customers used a browser to access maps as against 57 per cent in Europe. Surprisingly, given the heavy usage of SMS in Europe, only 24 per cent of Europeans accessed maps via SMS, a figure only one point higher than the U.S.

For more on this story:
- go to 3g.co.uk and Mobile Europe

Related story:
Mapping Technology. Article

Cut your SMS prices--PLEASE, says French government

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:57:53 -0400

The French population is beginning to complain loudly about increasing inflation, claims the French consumer goods minister, who has reacted by asking the country's three main operators--Orange, SFR and Bouygues, to cut SMS prices that have only fallen slightly over the past four years.

The minister, Luc Chatel, has urged the three operators to be aware of the problem faced by French consumers, and has invited them to make an example by cutting the cost of text messages.

The national regulator, Arcep, has provided support to Chatel's call by stating that French consumers on pay-as-you-go phones pay an average cost of €0.12 per text. This price has remained nearly constant since 2004 while the volume of texts has doubled in this period. Of interest are the prices of SMS from France's MVNOs that cost around 25-30 per cent less than from the three main operators. This 'consumer-pleasing' initiative by Chatel comes only days after the EU announced a proposal to slash by roughly two thirds the cost of text messages for people travelling between EU countries.

For more on this story:
- go to MoCo News

Related stories:
EU to impose heavy cuts to SMS roaming charges. EU SMS story
GSMA Responds To EU Proposals To Regulate Roaming Costs For Text Messaging. GSMA story