Telecom industry lost 23 billion USD 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.
The figure is expected to double to $56 billion by 2016 as SMS gives way to internet messaging apps, a figure that has grown rapidly in the past few years, from $8.7 billion in 2010 to $13.9 billion in 2011, according to technology research firm Ovum.
“Service providers need to understand the impact of free messaging apps on the network that are changing customer behavior, both in terms of communication patterns and the impact on SMS services, and adapt their services to the new situation,” commented Neha Dharia, telecom analyst at Ovum.
Ovum cites the WhatsApp application 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 in “changing the way consumers communicate.”
Mobile messaging has been a major source of cash 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 telecoms last year, but will fall to 45% this year and 35% in 2016./.
(According to Vietnam+) - VT
