Consumers' adoption of mobile messaging will lead industry growth to $212 billion by 2013

Mobile messaging revenues will grow to $212 billion by 2013, as a result of the strong pace of consumers’ adoption of mobile messaging applications such as SMS, MMS, IM, voicemail and email. According to a new study from ABI Research.

The report stated that SMS is taking off in the Americas, mobile e-mail continues its strong growth in developed regions, subscriber growth is driving messaging adoption in Asia-Pacific. Social networking is lifting the messaging boat across nearly all regions, because of the rising use of social networking sites, blogs, and Web 2.0 applications that are expanding to mobile phones.

“The range of capabilities, services and pricing options can be fit to the economic and social differences of each region, and the result quite simply is steady growth over the next five years,” said Dan Shey, Principal analyst at ABI Research.

Messaging services provide a timely, cost-effective, customer-specific communication and information capability. As new and improved hardware, software, and services are increasing customer choices while bringing down costs. But the next stage of messaging growth will be strongly influenced by new input and access capabilities and integration across mobile and fixed-line platforms, while players in this market are constantly challenged to evolve and look for new revenue streams.

Bridging the Digital Divide - The Mobile ULC2 Alliance Solution

By Adi Gavish, Director of Business Development, Tjat

The GSM World organization is promoting "Universal Access" projects in developing countries. The goal is to ensure access for emerging markets to mobile technologies. One of the main efforts of the initiative is removal of cost barriers, exemplified by. The much celebrated "$20 phone", or to use the industry buzz word – the ULC (Ultra Low Cost Phone).

The problem to date with ULC initiatives has been the concentration on voice services only. 2G networks that are capable of some data access are deployed, with more and more 2.5G and 3G data networks becoming common. With no data capabilities in ULC devices targeted to the (majority) lower-end market, the current ULC devices are inadequate in fulfilling the stated goal of "Bridging the Digital Divide". Data Services are essential for ULC devices, leading to the ULC2 Alliance.

The Mobile ULC2 Alliance consists of Infineon Technologies, Jurong Technologies, TJAT Systems and Brightstar Corp. Infineon developed the technology platform, TJAT Systems enabled all mobile messaging and integrated services, and Jurong Technologies combined Infineon's technology platform with other systems to produce the Smart Entry Phone (SEP). Brightstar is the worldwide distributor of the new handset.

The Mobile ULC2 Alliance believes that the SEP will remove the affordability barrier, while incorporating high-end functions like email, localized services, and Instant Messaging. The ULC2 Alliance believes that the SEP offers both network operators and consumers in emerging markets a groundbreaking new development by combining exceptionally low operational costs with no requirement for additional infrastructure purchases.

By leveraging TJAT's unique platform of services and its worldwide deployment, the messaging services are tailored to maximize the benefits available to the targeted communities, while keeping device and operations costs to a minimum. The Tjat services have a surprisingly small foot print to minimize device resources, and do not require special data networks, and even 2G networks with data access are more than sufficient.

A study from 2005 has shown that an increase of only ten mobile phones per hundred people increases GDP growth by 0.6 percent, and these are the voice-only benefits! It is expected that the web based Instant Messaging and Email, together with innovative, localized, programs based on new data capabilities, will dramatically increase the social and economical development of the communities enjoying even modest penetration of the new ULC2 handsets and services.

Examples of the planned services based on the introduced messaging and localized services include:

- Propagation of agricultural information between communities.

- Introduce remote areas to E-Banking, extending bank accounts to new population sectors, and allow for "micro payments" for goods and agricultural needs.

- Job markets for day laborers and transportation bulletins.

- Local (up to the village level) user generated and managed content.

All this translated into actual participation in the data world, and not just consumption.

The ULC2 alliance is planning to distribute tens of millions of these new data enabled handsets in the next one to three years, introducing new social and economical benefits derived from being integrated into the world of digital communications, along with huge opportunities for mobile network operators, handset vendors and service providers tapping into new consumer segments when growth in the developed, saturated markets is slowing.

TJAT is short-listed for the Best Mobile Messaging Award at GSMA 2008

Tjat has been short-listed for the ‘Best Mobile Messaging Award’ at this year’s Mobile World Congress event taking place in Barcelona next week. The Mobile Messaging Award highlights the very best of business and consumer messaging services, however and wherever they are delivered.

“The 2008 GSM Association Awards have been specifically designed to showcase the diversity of products and services and the quality, ingenuity and level of innovation that combine to fuel the mobile value chain,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association. “Entries this year have again exceeded our highest expectations, reflecting the vibrancy of the mobile industry on a global basis.”

The award winners will be announced at the GSM Association Awards black tie Gala Dinner on Tuesday 12th February 2008 in Barcelona.

80 million European mobile consumers will use mobile IM by 2013

80 million European mobile consumers (24% of subscribers) will be using mobile instant messaging (IM) services by 2013, compare to 26.7 million (8%) in 2007, according to a new study by Forrester Research. As Young consumers’ familiarity with PC-based IM and the growing number of IM-capable mobile devices entering the market will drive adoption in Europe.

Mobile IM will displace 13% of SMS traffic in the next six years, but text messaging will continue to grow regardless of the increasingly popularity of mobile IM. Monthly Person-to-Person (P2P) SMS traffic in Western Europe will climb from 190 billion messages in 2007 to 233 billion by the end of 2013, despite the fact that some traffic will have moved to IM.

“Operators still lack a true commitment to backing the technology because of fears that mobile IM will cannibalize revenue from their highly profitable SMS,” said Niek van Veen, analyst of Forrester Research. “But mobile IM’s growth is inevitable and operators’ fears of revenue erosion are greatly overstated. In the long run, IM and presence services will integrate better with handsets' native applications and other services.”

The report “Mobile IM Adoption Forecast Europe: 2007 To 2013,” estimate that Sweden and the UK will lead in mobile IM adoption with 35% and 31% of subscribers using mobile IM respectively by 2013. In Sweden, where SMS usage is low and mobile IM uptake high, mobile IM will replace 28% of SMS traffic, and in Spain it will replace 8% of SMS traffic.

Mobile IM will become a mass-market application

As the popularity of mobile messaging services continue to grow, IT research company Gartner is forecasting that Mobile IM will become a mass-market application similar to mobile e-mail in developed markets, initially being adopted by PC-based IM users, who are now able to access their service on their mobile phones, due to partnerships between the operators and the IM providers.

The report, “Market Trends: Mobile Messaging, Worldwide, 2006-201”, estimate that 2.3 trillion messages will be sent across major markets worldwide in 2008, a 19.6% increase from the 2007 total of 1.9 trillion messages. Mobile messaging revenue across major markets will grow 15.7% in 2008 to $60.2 billion, up from $52 billion in 2007.

Mobile messaging usage has increased in all Western European countries, and the growth in the number of messages sent is projected to continue until 2010. A total of 202 billion mobile messages were sent in 2007 in Western Europe, and this is forecast to reach 215 billion in 2008. In North America there were 189 billion mobile messages sent in 2007, and this is forecast to reach 301 billion in 2008.

“Carriers should plan for a future of much reduced margins on messaging services. They should develop messaging platforms, services portfolios and pricing plans that support the broader objectives of customer acquisition and retention, rather than short-term margin enhancements," said Nick Ingelbrecht, research director for Gartner.

Mobile IM will supplant SMS as the mainstream messaging service by 2011

Mobile instant messaging (MIM), especially in markets such as North America, will supplant SMS as the mainstream messaging service by 2011, as smartphones and wireless Internet proliferate. According to a new report from Portio Research.

The report, Mobile Messaging Futures 2007-2012, concluded that mobile messaging is an integral and vital part of the mobile industry and contributes significantly to worldwide total mobile service revenues.

Current and future prospects of the SMS industry, is still looking bright, as SMS continues to be a phenomenal success as the cheapest, quickest and easiest to use form of peer-to-peer mobile communication. Although the growth of SMS revenues will not be as aggressive as the growth of SMS volumes due to declining prices, by 2012 global SMS revenues are expected to reach $67 billion, driven by 3.7 trillion messages.

Although revenues from voice calls still comprise 80 percent of worldwide total mobile revenues, operators globally are focusing on data services for increasing their average revenue per user (ARPU). Apart from SMS and MMS, mobile e-mail and mobile IM are showing strong future growth prospects in some geographic regions.

Aside from North America and Europe, mobile e-mail is expected to grow significantly in the mobile markets of the Asia Pacific region. The success of mobile e-mail is largely driven by the growth of more advanced handheld devices, such as PDAs and smartphones, so obviously growth of these services will be broadly restricted to the wealthier, more advanced markets for the immediate future.

Tjat Presents First IMS Based IM for Mobile & Web Communities

After extensive joint development work, Tjat and Comneon (an Infineon subsidiary) have successfully launched a seamless IMS/SIP access solution to web based instant messaging (IM) communities such as ICQ and MSN. The solution is IMS/SIP compliant, taking advantage of Comneon’s SIP framework, an integral part of hundreds of millions of newly-produced handsets over the coming years, making the Tjat solution ready for immediate and future IMS network deployments and migrations.

Our innovative solution, demonstrated at the Mobile World Asia Congress in Macau, drew excitement from all participants, both technical and business oriented. VAS and Network experts, together with IMS infrastructure vendors and Mobile Handset Manufacturers, were especially interested.

The Tjat/Comneon solution enables subscribers to access all Tjat services (IM, Email and Storage) with a rich and native feature set while allowing Operators to offer their subscribers Tjat services, instantly deploying Tjat in IMS or Legacy networks.