Metric: Global SMS usage up 50 percent

A recent report from Informa found that total mobile data revenues (excluding SMS) in the U.S. totaled $11.3 billion in the first quarter of 2007, which is up from $8.1 billion for the first quarter last year. Informa claims that the data shows one third of mobile data revenues now come from non-SMS services, which indicates the carriers' investments in advanced technologies for content services may be finally paying off.

Worldwide SMS usage shot up 50 percent to 620 billion texts sent in Q1, so SMS revenues were also up. Revenues climbed only 23 percent during the first quarter of the year, however, because of lower SMS tariffs and more bundled offerings. Total global data revenues for the quarter came in at $34.3 billion.

For more on Informa's report:
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