14 DAY TRIAL // One of the latest trends among mobile phone users all around the world shows that they are bound to use more and more mobile social networking sites, and carriers are expected to benefit a lot from this state of facts. According to a recent report from Mobile Social Networking, European wireless operators are those which would have to consider making a move in the area, as the number of users of mobile social networking sites is expected to reach 112 million at the end of the ongoing year.
Moreover, the newly published report from Pyramid Research also shows that the number of mobile social networking users might reach 450 million users by 2014 in Europe, going up from only 52 million in 2009. According to the research firm, these services have great opportunities for growth in Europe, as the number of users in the area should increase by around 150 percent by the end of 2010.
According to Stela Bokun, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report, both mobile operators and social networking sites should collaborate closely to enhance the services users receive. “Technical issues, such as the penetration of 3G networks and advanced handsets, that are of paramount importance to many other markets are, with few exceptions, non-issues in most European markets, and both mobile operators and SNSs are motivated toward a joint future,” Bokun notes.
At the same time, Bokun also says that European operators and global social networking sites are able to increase their share in the area if they collaborate. Moreover, their collaboration can also result in new revenue opportunities, considering the fact that data usage will increase, and in benefits from new revenue streams, including advertising.
“SNSs' proactive role in promoting the importance of mobile access among their users will be a strong contributing factor in the projected uptake of mobile social networking. For example, through strong collaboration with mobile operators, Facebook has grown its mobile users from only 5 million in January 2008 to an estimated 85 million in December 2009; our projection is that more than 30 percent of its global mobile users are in Europe,” Bokun concludes.