A report from In-Stat finds the most profitable data service is still text
messaging.
Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS)
technologies provide potentially endless revenue streams for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). In-Stat found the following:
- Users are sending more than 2 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. - US mobile messengers are also more likely to pay up to 25% more for
their handsets than all survey respondents.
"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.
The research, "Worldwide Application Series: Mobile Messaging Still
Profitable" (#IN0804319MCM), covers the worldwide market for mobile
messaging. It provides customer segmentation of consumers who currently
use mobile data referencing the 2008 Consumer Mobility Survey. Analysis
of different stages of text messaging growth on a regional level is
included. The research also provides global and regional forecasts for
the mobile messaging industry.
For more information on this research or to purchase it online,
please visit: http://www.instat.com/catalog/wcatalogue.asp?id=231 or
contact a sales representative: http://www.instat.com/sales.asp.