SMS to be US$67bn Industry by 2012

USA – A report from Portio Research is forecasting SMS revenues to reach US$67 billion. The increase is mostly attributed to an expected increase in mobile subscriber base from 2.61 to 4.81 billion, sending 3.7 trillion messages. The Asian markets are expected to grow the fastest, comprising 50% of the subscriber base by 2008.

SMS accounts for approximately 75-80% of carrier’s non-voice plan revenue, with voice plans comprising 80% of worldwide mobile revenue. Competition amongst carriers has been eroding voice margins and mobile content providers for ring tones and wallpapers are on their last legs, with users more easily accessing content over the internet. One of the largest content companies, Moderati, was recently purchased by Bellrock Media, and will be transitioning into mobile applications. Consequently, carriers should be turning their attention to data services.

SMS has been the fastest growing messaging service, but the pricer MMS, e-mail, and mobile IM are expected to grow healthily as well. The report suggests operators must carefully manage rates for these alternatives in order to avoid cannibalizing the SMS market.