OXFORD, United Kingdom—The boom in European short message service (SMS) traffic is forecast to peak in 2003 as other messaging technology bites into the service from 2004 onward, claims new research from Forrester. The company said that as the decline in SMS traffic occurs, mobile operators will experience increased competitive pressure and see sharp falls in the prices charged per message.
However, Forrester said a new wave of messaging technology will help boost the overall market. It believes that multimedia messaging service (MMS) will bring in one-third of mobile messaging revenues, instant messaging (IM) one-tenth, e-mail 9 percent, and enhanced message service (EMS) 3 percent. It also cautions operators not to ignore IM, as one in six mobile users in Europe currently uses IM on PCs. The medium is predicted to gain popularity as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks enable users to turn to it as a cheaper SMS alternative and the best tool for dialogues and group messaging.
Separately, U.K.-based MobileFuture said it signed an agreement with Generation Telecom, a cellular service provider and part of Phones International Group, to provide its enterprise bulk messaging systems SMS+ in a “white labeled” format. SMS+ allows guaranteed delivery of information to large numbers of people, without the need to re-enter the message for each number, said MobileFuture.
