Europe - Spending on mobile messaging to increase
At around 45 mil users in 2003, the mobile messaging markets of Central and Eastern Europe still offer significant
growth potential. According to a new study from IDC covering 11 CEE countries, newer services like premium SMS and MMS
will supplement traditional text-based messaging, contributing not only to an increase in the number of users, but also
to a jump in spending, which is expected to reach around USDlr2.9 bil (Euro2.46 bil) in 2008. There are noticeable
differences across the region. According to the study, which does not cover Russia, SMS use is common in the Czech
Republic and Slovenia, where mobile penetration is near or at saturation levels. In contrast, mobile penetration in
Poland is much lower, with less than half the population using some form of SMS in 2003. And in Romania, average SMS use
per person per month is just under a third of that in Slovenia and a fifth of that in the Czech Republic, leaving plenty
of room for growth. The natural successor to SMS, MMS started gaining a foothold in Central and Eastern Europe in 2003.
According to the study, the number of MMS handsets has still not reached the critical mass necessary for widespread use
of the service. Nevertheless, MMS is expected to take off over the next few years, accounting for more than 40 percent
of messaging revenue by 2008.
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