Over
2 Trillion Mobile Messages Go in a Day
While more than two trillion mobile messages are being sent per day
globally as of the end of 2008, messaging is a big revenue source for
mobile operators, says tech research firm In-Stat.
The
research reveals that as mobile operators have seen the average revenue
per user (ARPU) decrease, they have sought to boost revenue via new
value-added services. However, the most profitable data service is still
text messaging, reports In-Stat.
Inexpensive, ubiquitous, reliable, and simple for the mobile customer to
operate, Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service
(MMS) technologies provide potentially endless revenue streams for
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), the research firm says.
"SMS
may be a basic, cheap technology, but it still has much life as a MNO
cash cow," says Frank Dickson, In-Stat analyst. "The keys to SMS
profitability are its ease-of-use, inexpensive price tag, global reach,
and increased reliability as infrastructure development increases in
more rural global regions. In developed areas, however, it has become
increasingly important for mobile operators to find ways to enhance and
personalize the SMS service offering."
In-Stat
found the following:
- Users are sending more
than two trillion mobile messages per day globally as of the end of
2008.
- In-Stat consumer survey
showed that consumers that use mobile messaging also use significantly
more voice minutes than overall survey respondents.
- In addition to paying more
for value-added services, US mobile messengers are also more likely to
pay up to 25% more for their handsets than all survey respondents.
Its
research, "Worldwide Application Series: Mobile Messaging Still
Profitable" covers the worldwide market for mobile messaging.
The
information was released by In-Stat today (Jan. 29).
