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| SMS ‘top non-voice money-maker' |
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| BY STAFF WRITER, ITWEB |
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| [Johannesburg, 8 July 2005] -
SMS has emerged as the telecoms world's top non-voice revenue generator, representing approximately 90% of non-voice revenue worldwide, according to a new worldwide study of mobile messaging markets by UK-based Portio Research.In a study entitled “Mobile Messaging Futures 2005-2010”, Portio says voice still represents 80% to 90% of all mobile traffic worldwide.The research firm notes that while the global technology sector “had a tough time at the turn of the century, the mobile industry has continued to grow”, with the total number of mobile subscribers worldwide passing 1.5 billion in 2004, from 17 million in 1991.The study expects the growth to continue for the rest of this decade, crossing the 2 billion mark by the end of 2005, and passing 3.5 billion by 2010.Asian markets are estimated to account for half of the total subscriber base, while “low penetration markets” such as Latin America and Africa are expected to contribute significantly to the overall growth of the worldwide market.The number of mobile subscribers in Europe and North America is expected to continue growing slowly until saturation occurs.Portio says 3G “has finally come of age” worldwide, with the number of 3G subscribers gradually growing “although the new technology still has a long way to go before it achieves mass market penetration”.The report says only one non-voice service – SMS – can truly be described as a mass-market success.The report says: “The texting phenomenon has grown to epic proportions and in 2005 it looks certain that we will see global SMS volumes exceeding 1 000 billion messages in 2005. In the space of just a few years, mobile messaging has become an immense global industry generating over $55 billion in 2005. The largest portion of this revenue comes from simple SMS, worth an estimated $35 billion in 2005.”On the other hand, the report says the growth of MMS has been sluggish since its launch in 2002.“Network interoperability, format standardisation, steep handset prices and inefficiencies in handset technology have plagued growth in MMS usage volumes. The uptake of MMS has been higher in advanced markets, such as Western Europe and Korea, but has continued to disappoint mobile operators, and now mobile instant messaging and mobile e-mail are looking for their place in global messaging markets too,” the report says.
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