A new report from Portio Research predicts a strong future for SMS, and that it will remain the most widely used messaging format for some years to come. SMS revenues are estimated at $50 billion by 2010 driven by almost 2.38 trillion messages. The report also highlights the slow but steady progress of other mobile messaging technologies, especially mobile e-mail and instant messaging. Since its launch in 2002, MMS has failed to assume the SMS mantle, hampered by interoperability issues and low handset penetration, says Portio. MMS can however be considered a commercial success with similar revenue predictions as SMS by 2010 from considerably less traffic. The report suggests that: "the industry must concentrate on increasing the use of Premium MMS as a marketing tool and a distribution channel while promoting growth of cheap peer-to-peer picture messaging. When MMS becomes cheap, simple and compelling, traffic will grow and revenue will follow".
As international travel rebounds to pre-pandemic levels in 2025, the mobile communication roaming market is at an inflection point. Emerging technologies and changing customer preferences are challenging traditional wholesale roaming agreements between mobile network operators (MNOs). The global wholesale roaming market is projected to more than double, from $9 billion in 2024 to $20 billion by 2028. This surge will be fueled by the expanding deployment of 5G Standalone (SA) technology, which enables real-time roaming connections and activity monitoring. But beneath this headline figure lies a complex landscape of regional variations and technological mobile service disruptions. Global Mobile Roaming Market Development Western Europe dominates inbound roaming connections, largely thanks to its Roam Like at Home (RLAH) initiative, which eliminates roaming charges among member countries. Meanwhile, the Indian Subcontinent is emerging as a growth hotspot. Between 2024 and 2029, inbou...