SMS Usage to Hit 60 Billion in China

After a slow start, China is embracing SMS in full force. According to a new Pyramid report, SMS use in China will triple from 19 billion messages in 2001 to 60 billion in 2002.

As SMS usage increases, so will revenues. In 2001, SMS revenues totaled US$234 million and this year, revenues will hit US$750 million. And that's just for starters. SMS use will explode over the next few years as the number of mobile subscribers climbs to 500 million by 2007.

"By 2007, SMS revenues in China will surpass US$17 billion," said Connie Hsu, Manager of Asia-Pacific and author of the report. "China will generate greater SMS revenues than all of Western Europe combined." While the concept of bundled packages is relatively new in China, wireless data services and advanced messaging applications such as MMS will support the widespread introduction. Vendors that are able to strike close alliances with operators will no doubt be in a better position compared with their competitors.

While China is largely closed to foreign operators, there are opportunities for aggressive and creative content providers. The report concludes that providers in Korea and Japan are in an ideal position to leverage their data service expertise in China.'"

Posted to the site on 7th August 2002