Telecom industry lost $23 billion because of free text messages
Global telecoms providers estimated they lost $23 billion in messaging revenue in 2012 as smartphone users switched to free messaging apps.
Technology research firm Ovum predicts that figure will double to $56 billion by 2016 as short message services (SMS) give way to internet messaging apps. It has grown rapidly in the past few years, from $8.7 billion in 2010 to $13.9 billion in 2011.
“Service providers need to understand the impact of free messaging apps on changing customer behaviour, both in terms of communication patterns and the impact on SMS services, and adapt their services to the new situation,” commented Neha Dharia, telecoms analyst at Ovum.
Ovum cites the WhatsApp app as an example, which allows smartphone owners to send messages for free over wireless internet links, bypassing conventional SMS gateways that charge per message or per month.
“Ovum believes that free text messaging will continue to grow strongly with the rise of smartphones and broadband internet access,” the report said, urging telecoms companies to be more innovative to “change the way customers communicate.”
Mobile messaging has long been a cash cow for many phone operators due to its low cost, low resource consumption and ease of communication. Dharia said that SMS accounted for 49% of non-call revenue for global telecom companies last year, but that will fall to 45% this year and 35% in 2016./.
(According to Vietnam+) - VT
