Short Message Service (SMS) is the text communication service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices. SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application in the world, with Four billion active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers.
The idea of adding text messaging to the services of mobile users was not frequent in many communities of mobile communication services at the beginning of the 1980s. The first action plan of the CEPT Group GSM, approved in December 1982. The SMS concept was developed in the Franco-German GSM cooperation in 1984 by Friedhelm Hillebrand and Bernard Ghillebaert. SMS was originally designed as part of GSM, but is now available on a wide range of networks, including 3G networks. However, not all text messaging systems use SMS.
As the telecom industry grows in Pakistan and all over the world. The Telecom service providers offer cheap and flexible SMS Packages. Globally, SMS is used by Four Billion users who sent Five trillion (5,000,000,000,000) messages in 2009 approximately 105 sms per person per month.
According to ITU, theglobe is currently earning 14,000 dollars every second from SMS that is, assuming an average cost of USD 0.07per SMS, in 2010 SMS traffic is generating an estimated USD 812 000 every minute or around USD 14 000every second.
In the year 2008/09, Pakistan had the largest text messaging growth in Asia pacific. In Pakistan, 151.6385 Billion text messaging exchanged during the year 2009, generating a revenue of Rs. 40.76 Billion. The SMS traffic is exchanged at a rate of 27 Paisa (Rs. 027) per SMS in the year 2009. All theoperators have offered very attractive SMS-bundle packages. Approximately 80% of the total SMStraffic is exchanged over bundle packages and rest 20% on flat rate of Rs.1/sms. An average bundledpackage of 700-SMS/ Month is approximately for Rs. 60. According to these two rates, the revenuefor SMS-traffic is calculated to be approximately 40.76 Billion.
Conclusion:
Round the Globe SMS has progressively become a major application to drive the development of themobile data market, and the mobile operators are streaming in quite handsome revenues varying up to30% from SMS traffic. But to sustain growth over the next few years, the operators should put moreemphasis on the social-networking applications lucrative flat rate promotions, enhanced WAPapplications, introducing innovative push, pull and commerce features, utilization of location basedservices, introduction of very liberal third party, also working where possible with popular establishedsocial-networking sites etc to drive SMS traffic.Advertising seems to have attractive potential driver for SMS traffic, and it demands the operators tosupport the end-to-end campaign management and reporting requirements of media buyers andadvertisers.Our country, despite its low income, seems to be most ready for 3G and other broadband applicationsbecause of its subscriber’s agility and adeptness in using their mobile phones for data applications.Some experts foresee the texting (160 character message) to die out with coming of 3G but Yet,unless costs of service and handsets go down, texting, up to some extent will remain the main mode of communication for many Pakistanis