According to a new mobile messaging report from Juniper Research, mobile messaging revenues are set for measured growth over the next five years, as market forces take effect. SMS, MMS, mobile email and IM traffic volumes will continue their inexorable rise, but the IP evolution is resulting in disruptive business models, increased competition from the Web and commoditisation of established services, says Juniper.
The research says that the move from per-transaction to per-month billing models incorporating up to unlimited data and messaging bundles will see total P2P revenues in Western and Eastern Europe post declines, balanced to some extent by a healthy rise in revenues in developing markets, plus growth in ad-funded tariffs. Meanwhile, Web-based communities continue to integrate new messaging mediums, which could well impact MNO revenues in the increasingly open mobile Web browsing environment.
"For MNOs, mobile messaging investment is becoming a more considered decision. But mature services such as SMS will remain core revenue generators in the current economic environment, given that messaging is an economical method of P2P communication," comments Ian Chard, Juniper Research Analyst and author of the report ‘Mobile Messaging & IP Evolution: Players, Strategies & Forecasts 2009-2014.
The report found that Smartphone users in particular, will continue to drive high usage levels, while there is also a significant opportunity in using mobile messaging mediums to interconnect the disparate digital communities evolving around gaming, social networking and VoIP.
Steve Reynolds Chairman of the MDA said "Global economic meltdown has changed the world forever, businesses must re-invent themselves and innovate to survive. This report provides valuable intelligence to empower mobile messaging centric businesses in developing future demand based commercial strategies"
Other report findings include:
-.. 3% drop in total revenues but western Europe to maintain position as largest market over forecast period
-.. Growth in revenues greatest in the Africa & Middle East, Indian Sub-Continent and South America regions
-.. Industry looking to enrich market by converging services such as presence, while pushing subscribers to additional VAS and content