The number of SMS and MMS sent continues to rise. New Media Age (NMA) reports that subscribers to the 4 main UK networks sent 15.7bn SMS and MMS during the last quarter of 2007, a jump of 13%.
The NMA also reported a clear indication that the acceptance of mobile advertising is on the up. In a survery conducted by Q Research approximately 46% of young people would switch their mobile phone supplier if they were offered free talk time and texts in return for receiving ads on their mobile. It is clear that the US market is also seeing considerable continued growth. A recent Garner study estimates 189 billion mobile messages will be sent by US mobile phone subscribers this year and forecasts 301 billion for next year…. both of which is still only a small fraction of the 2.3 trillion messages to be sent across major markets worldwide in 2008 Asia is the biggest mobile messaging market worldwide. China is well ahead in the lead with approximately 560 billion SMS, followed by the Philippines’ 430 billion, and Japan’s 190 billion.