This is one of the findings of Mobile Messaging - 2005,  a new strategic report from Informa Telecoms & Media, which brings together the latest  research and current market information from around the world. 

The report also analyses the current position and future prospects for a range of
enhanced messaging options such as multimedia messaging (MMS), mobile email and instant messaging (IM). 
Across all these sectors, person to person (P2P) messaging will continue to represent the main sector of the business, but application to person (A2P) and interactive messaging will become increasingly important as new services such as mobile marketing and
delivery of rich content come on stream.

'We believe the messaging market has great potential' says Dan Winterbottom -
one of the report's authors - 'with total revenues approaching $120 billion
globally by 2010, this is one of the key growth sectors in mobile services'.
Part of this growth will come from new markets, such as the developing areas
of Asia Pacific, and part from an increasingly complex marketplace where
messaging is driven by business users as well as by consumers. 
One example of this is mobile email, which is attracting the attention
of a number of major players including Microsoft.

The application to person market has seen a considerable amount of evolution
recently - increasing penetration of higher performance handsets, as well
as moves by brand owners to go direct to the consumer have combined to
create a more attractive environment for content providers and mobile consumers alike.  Alongside existing content like ringtones and games, new
forms such as full-track downloads, end user-generated content like mobile
blogging and fan-based communities are helping to fuel new growth in the sector.

Looking further ahead towards the medium term future, the outlook for
enhanced messaging including mobile email, MMS and IM is promising. 
The common theme that runs through the success stories in the sector is
consumer benefit - whether that means sharing pictures on a network,
downloading music on demand or giving consumers the power to shape
mobile content in a way that suits them.

As part of the research programme for the report, Informa Telecoms
& Media carried out a special online survey of mobile professionals
worldwide to assess opinions and market trends.  This revealed for
example that device usability is still a key success factor for
messaging, and that longer term, technology issues such as how to manage
the convergence of different messaging types are critical.  The report
concludes that device usability, pricing and quality of service are the
immediate concerns to be addressed, but that in the medium term the prospects for enhanced messaging are good.

Mobile Messaging - 2005 is published this month by Informa telecoms & Media. For more information please visit http://telecoms.msgfocus.com/c/1butZnAkp5qqpXR

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