LONDON-Within three years, mobile telecommunication operators will be sending 100 billion short messages per month, a 170-percent per year increase over current levels, according to computer consultancy firm Logica plc.
At the predicted growth rate, short messages will surpass Internet usage over the same period and will see the average mobile-phone user receiving three short messages every day.
Logica noted that one of the main drivers underpinning this growth is the fundamental role SMS will play in the introduction and acceptance of new mobile telecom technologies such as Wireless Application Protocol, General Packet Radio Service and third-generation technology.
“The introduction of packet technologies such as GPRS and 3G and Internet browser capability such as WAP will have a dramatically positive effect on SMS volumes,” said Kevin Duffey, group telecom director for Logica. “As experience in leading markets such as Japan already demonstrates, operators expect SMS to complement perceived weaknesses in packet technology. In the WAP environment SMS allows customers to download Internet content at the same time as holding a voice conversation.
