SMS to generate $67 billion revenue by 2012

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Mobile messaging is set to enjoy a prosperous future, with SMS in particular being the star of the show, according to new figures from Portio Research, which claim that revenues for this market will reach $67 billion in the next five years.

This 2012 revenue target will be accompanied by the transit and receipt of a staggering 3.7 trillion messages, claims the report entitled Mobile Messaging Futures 2007 - 2012, which also predicts exciting times ahead for other members of the messaging family such as instant messaging and mobile e-mail.

"If there was one message this report should get across it is this: SMS continues to be a phenomenal success as the cheapest, quickest and easiest to use form of peer-to-peer mobile communication," said Portio Research in a statement.

"The worldwide population is expected to rise from approximately 6.55 billion to approximately seven billion between 2006 and 2012, and at the same time we forecast the worldwide mobile subscriber base to also increase from 2.65 billion to 4.81 billion. Asian markets, which are growing at a staggering pace, are expected to account for 50 per cent of the total worldwide subscriber base by 2008. Also, the rise in mobile penetration in Latin America and Africa will contribute significantly towards the overall growth of the mobile market."

Portio continued: "Although revenues from voice calls still comprise 80 per cent of worldwide total mobile revenues, operators globally are focussing on data services for increasing their average revenue per user (ARPU). Of the various data services available, while attracting none of the glamour as a leading product in most MNOs service portfolio's, SMS actually accounts for approximately 75 to 80 per cent of non-voice service revenues worldwide."

By 2011, mobile instant messaging (MIM) will replace SMS as the mainstream messaging service spurred by the proliferation of smartphones and wireless internet connectivity, according to Portio.

To avoid the cannibalisation of SMS revenue in the future as a result of MIM's predicted popularity, Portio urges operators to strike a balance between SMS and IM pricing.

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