Industry experts once predicted that MMS would cause SMS to wane and disappear. The opposite occurred: the popularity of text messages is growing. SMS is riding a huge wave of popularity. Global consumption will increase from 760 billion SMS in 2004 to a mind-boggling 2,379 text messages.

Dror Bin, Vice President and General Manager, SMS Division, Comverse says that SMS Is About to Become Even More Popular - and More Versatile

SMS is riding a growing wave of popularity. Global consumption will increase from 760 billion in 2004 to a mind-boggling 2,379 billion messages in 2010 - generating a whopping $50 billion in operator revenues.

SMS is one of the most accepted and popular communication channels in the world. Even with the advent of exciting multimedia content, SMS remains irreplaceable, certain to continue to reach new milestones as a global communications phenomenon.

SMS: There's Just No Stopping It

Industry experts once predicted that MMS would cause SMS to wane and disappear. The opposite occurred: the popularity of text messages is growing. SMS and MMS do not actually compete against each other; they have complementary assets and are used differently. Rather than cannibalize each other's traffic, they provide the user with more choice, convenience and control.

A basic, extremely effective communications channel, SMS pioneered messaging and data usage, creating a new market reality of broad consumer acceptance. It changed behavioral habits and even language usage in peer-to-peer communication. A convenient way to keep in contact, often cheaper than calling, SMS is only a couple of clicks away on the mobile phone, usually more accessible than emailing from a PC.

SMS usage is still increasing, even though new communications technologies such as MMS, mobile IM and mobile email are available to consumers.