More than 4.8 billion text message were sent during September 2007, an average of over 1.2 billion each week, according to the latest figures released by the Mobile Data Association (MDA).
Britons are demonstrating an increasingly voracious appetite for the medium, as this equates to the same number of messages sent during the whole of 1999.
This is a 25% year on year growth, causing the MDA to revise it annual predicted total figure from 48 billion to 52 billion messages in 2007.
Growth is driven by many factors, such as tailored monthly mobile deals, according to the chairman of the MDA, Mike Short. UK businesses have also woken up to the potential of SMS, and in an industry plagued by complexity and compatibility issues, text messaging is a simple and effective technology that works on every phone, at home or abroad, he said.
Short also pointed out that texting continues to play a central part in our daily work and private lives, whilst cost of a text message continues to fall as a result of increased competition.
“Today text messaging remains important but as part of a much larger and more complex mobile communications industry,” he remarked. “From mobile TV, mobile advertising and marketing to internet browsing and music and content creation, the mobile device continues to extend its reach into increasing parts of all our lives.
“The UK text volumes show no real signs of abating and the UK sits within the top six of the global league of countries sending text messages. While the trend towards operators offering ‘all-you-can-eat’ tariffs increases, this will act as a catalyst for consumer’s passion for all things mobile.”
Earlier in the year, a report from research company, Gartner, predicted that text messages would be obsolete within the next five years, due to wireless internet technology coming down in price and therefore more mobile phone handsets including online technology – resulting in users moving from text to email (see Text Messaging To Be Obsolete Within Five Years).
Monica Blasso, Gartner vice president, said: “By 2012, wireless e-mail products will be shipping in larger volumes at greatly reduced prices.”
Gartner predicts that the continued proliferation of wireless technology means that even the cheapest handsets will come with wireless options.
At the start of 2007, the MDA said that the number of mobile phone users accessing the internet on their handsets continued to grow during the last quarter of 2006.
An overall total of 45.6 million unique users were recorded as having used their phones for downloads and browsing the mobile internet in the UK throughout October, November and December last year, an average of 15 million each month (see Mobile Internet User Numbers Grow).
Related Links
