Friday, October 12, 2012

Mobile Service Providers Will Lose $54 Billion Worth of Text Messaging Revenue by 2016

Ovum forecasts that by 2016 mobile operators will have lost $54 billion in text messaging (short message service, or SMS) revenues from over the top social messaging services on smart phones.

That would be more than double the $23 billion mobile service providers are expected to have lost by the end of 2012. 

Ovum analysts believe that collaboration with handset manufacturers is imperative if operators are to remain relevant and competitive in the messaging industry.

Service providers in Europe and Asia-Pacific will be affected the most, Ovum says. What remains unclear is whether Rich Communication Suite (RCS) will allow operators to slow the rate of displacement. 

About 75 percent of Dutch smart phone owners have WhatsApp installed on their device, with more than 80 percent of these using the app at least once per day, Ovum notes. 

This translates into a presence of more than 5.5 million smart phones in the Netherlands. Among iPhone users, WhatsApp has about 90 percent penetration. 

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