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At the DLD conference in Germany recently, WhatsApp CEO, Jan Koum, also revealed that the network now processes around 50 billion messages per day. He said that the messaging statistics is broken down into around 36 billion outbound messages and 18 billion inbound messages every day. That sort of number puts WhatsApp ahead of the estimated global daily text messaging volumes.
It also puts the recent revelations that the USA spy agency, the NSA is trawling 200 million text messages per day into some perspective. That’s 200 million out of 50 billion text messages, plus 50 billion WhatsApp messages, plus how ever many tens of billions sent by all the other OTT platforms. Already, global expenditure on telecommunications operator messaging services, including SMS and MMS was said to have declined for the first time in 2013 following its peak in 2012.
According to Strategy Analytics operator revenue from messaging services fell by almost four per cent last year to just below $104 billion.
The report noted that continued intense competition for subscribers between operators combined with the fast growing popularity of OTT instant messaging services like WhatsApp, Line Messenger and Tencent’s WeChat drive a 20 per cent fall in global operator messaging revenue by 2017.
Furthermore, Strategy Analytics explained that the projected 20 per cent decline in messaging revenue by 2017 would be more pronounced in regions with the greatest penetration of smartphones and data users, like North America and Western Europe, where SMS and MMS expenditure will decline by 38 per cent and almost 28 per cent respectively.
Director, Wireless Media Strategies (WMS), Nitesh Patel noted: “The fast rising popularity of smartphone messaging applications, both from smartphone vendors Blackberry and Apple, and independent messaging applications like WhatsApp, Line Messenger and WeChat, is significantly hurting both operator messaging volumes and revenue. While SMS volumes remained flat in 2013, operator revenue from messaging declined by almost four per cent.”
Strategy Analytics believed mobile operators must act on a number of fronts in order to mitigate the decline in messaging revenue, including bundling SMS into integrated price plans.
Director, Media & Apps, David MacQueen added: “While RCS/ RCS-e enables mobile operators both to evolve mobile messaging beyond SMS and MMS and keep operators relevant in mobile messaging, it will not offset the current decline in messaging revenue. We forecast that by 2017 there will be just below 180 million users of RCS/ RCS-e based services.
“However, RCS/ RCS-e messaging will contribute little direct revenue for mobile operators. To offset lower consumer spend levels, carriers should aim to tap opportunities such as mobile marketing, or increase innovation by opening up SMS platforms to businesses and the developer community."
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