30/12/2010
More than seven trillion SMS messages will be sent worldwide next year, it has been suggested.
A recently-published report by ABI Research has claimed that messages will be sent from 4.2 billion mobile subscriptions.
The firm said the technology, which came to prominence in the early 1990s, will gain a further boost as it is more popular with younger subscribers who will start to replace older mobile users.
However, SMS is increasingly being seen as a commodity by users due to falling delivery costs and growing competition from e-mail, MMS and IM services, the firm explained.
Industry analyst Aapo Markkanen commented: 'When these trends towards commoditisation are combined with the wider adoption of mobile e-mail and IM services, the revenue proportion of SMS and MMS against the market total is expected to decline.
The expert also claimed that e-mailing will become increasingly available on basic mobile devices.
'Due to relatively low PC penetration in emerging regions, for many consumers across Latin America, Africa and south Asia mobile devices will provide the primary screen for accessing e-mail. This won't be restricted to smartphones: many companies are developing solutions to allow more basic handsets to handle e-mail,' he added.
More than seven trillion SMS messages will be sent worldwide next year, it has been suggested.
A recently-published report by ABI Research has claimed that messages will be sent from 4.2 billion mobile subscriptions.
The firm said the technology, which came to prominence in the early 1990s, will gain a further boost as it is more popular with younger subscribers who will start to replace older mobile users.
However, SMS is increasingly being seen as a commodity by users due to falling delivery costs and growing competition from e-mail, MMS and IM services, the firm explained.
Industry analyst Aapo Markkanen commented: 'When these trends towards commoditisation are combined with the wider adoption of mobile e-mail and IM services, the revenue proportion of SMS and MMS against the market total is expected to decline.
The expert also claimed that e-mailing will become increasingly available on basic mobile devices.
'Due to relatively low PC penetration in emerging regions, for many consumers across Latin America, Africa and south Asia mobile devices will provide the primary screen for accessing e-mail. This won't be restricted to smartphones: many companies are developing solutions to allow more basic handsets to handle e-mail,' he added.