[Satellite TODAY Insider 01-27-11] Enterprise users, emerging markets and social networks will help boost worldwide SMS traffic revenues up to $136.9 billion in 2015 from the $105.5 billion the sector generated in 2010, Informa Telecoms & Media projected in it’s latest Mobile Messaging Research Forecast issued Jan. 26.
    The firm said the expected rise in global SMS traffic from 5 trillion messages in 2010 to 8.7 trillion messages in 2015 would provide a significant source of revenues and traffic for mobile operators on a global basis for at least five years.
     “Mobile operators are spending heavily on LTE rollouts and other high-speed mobile data networks, leaving relatively little in the budget for messaging services,”
Informa Senior Analyst Pamela Clark-Dickson said in the report. “SMS will continue to be the most popular form of messaging for a number of reasons: universal access and interoperability across devices and mobile operator networks; ease of use; reliability; and low costs. However, SMS remains a core service for mobile users and continues to account for 80 percent of their data-and-messaging revenues in 2010. ”
      Informa credits SMS’ increasing popularity in emerging markets and the delivery financial services to mobile users as the main driver for the sector’s long-term growth.
     “Emerging markets in Africa and other regions are playing a vital role in improving the economic and social well-being of mobile users and their families in these markets,” said Clark-Dickson. “The fact that SMS is the universal data communications channel on the mobile device is also a huge benefit for businesses and government departments in developed markets and, more recently, for social networks like Facebook and Twitter.”
     However, Clark-Dickson warned that growth in SMS revenues is slowing or falling in developed markets, and mobile operators may lose a significant cash cow if they do not act to introduce or enable the introduction of new and innovative SMS-based services.
    Separately, Mobile Experts predicted a 3000 percent rise in small-cell deployment for mobile data networks in its latest mobile sector report issued Jan. 26.
    “Mobile data has moved indoors, and the network is moving indoors as a result,” Mobile Experts Principal Analyst Joe Madden said in the report. “We have interviewed over 25 different mobile operators to understand the regional preferences of operators worldwide. It’s clear that mobile operators will continue to maintain control over most of their network assets. For example, we are now forecasting that in 2016 less than half of the small cells deployed will be owned by consumers.”

Related Stories-

TerreStar Networks Creditors, Investors Battle Over Assets    Satellite News   January 25, 2011
[Satellite News 01-25-11] Since TerreStar Corp. subsidiary TerreStar Networks filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, the company s investors have been locked in a heated legal battle to protect its $1.4 billion assets most…

MSCI CEO Sees Enormous Market for CommStellation Backhaul, Capacity    Satellite News   January 20, 2011
[Satellite News 01-20-11] Microsat Systems Canada (MSCI) hopes its plans to build and launch CommStellation, a constellation of 78 low-Earth orbit microsatellites, will propel the company to the forefront of international backhaul and capacity…

Year in Review: The Most Discussed U.S. Satellite Topics of 2010 (Part 2)    Satellite News   January 4, 2011
[Satellite News 01-04-11] Every sector of the U.S. satellite industry experienced dynamic changes with long-term impact in 2010. The year proved opportunities during an economic period that has curtailed many other businesses around the globe…