14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone operators have experienced a drop in the average revenue per user (ARPU) lately, which drove them to start looking for new ways of leveraging their profits, including new value-added services. One data service that is still reported to maintain its profitability is text messaging, at least this is what In-Stat high-tech research firm reports.
The Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS) technologies are able to deliver practically unlimited revenue streams in the future, as they are considered to be rather inexpensive, reliable and, most of all, simple to use for any mobile customer to operate. According to the market research firm, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) should consider maintaining a focus on these services.
“SMS may be a basic, cheap technology, but it still has much life as a MNO cash cow,” says Frank Dickson, an analyst with the In-Stat. “The keys to SMS profitability are its ease-of-use, inexpensive price tag, global reach, and increased reliability as infrastructure development increases in more rural global regions. In developed areas, however, it has become increasingly important for mobile operators to find ways to enhance and personalize the SMS service offering.”
According to an In-Stat recent research, users were sending over two trillion mobile messages every day in the world by the end of last year. At the same time, consumers who used mobile messaging services would also use more voice minutes than others who participated in the firm's survey.
The research also showed that US mobile consumers who usually made use of text messaging were also more likely to pay for value-added services. In addition, they would agree to pay up to 25 percent more for the mobile phones they acquired than other respondents to the survey would.