Application Generated Mobile Texts to exceed $70 billion Revenues by 2016, overtaking Person-to-Person Messaging, says Juniper Research

Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS to become increasingly important for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) as revenues from one-to-one communications peak

Hampshire, UK – 4th May 2011:  A new report published today by Juniper Research forecasts that revenue from A2P SMS will exceed $70bn by 2016. Revenue from these types of messages will overtake that of P2P SMS during that year as the strategic focus for players within the mobile messaging ecosystem shifts from communication between individuals, to sending and receiving service-enabling messages.

A2P messaging – defined as those messages which are sent to or from an application – has a wide variety of use-cases. These include financial services, advertising, marketing, business administration, ticketing, television voting and any other service where information needs to be sent to, or received from a large number of users in text form.

Mobile Messaging Report author Daniel Ashdown argues: “While SMS is one of the oldest value-added services, it has an enduring appeal for a number of reasons. In terms of text communication it is unrivalled on the mobile device in its ubiquity – virtually every handset in the world can send and receive it. This makes it extremely appealing for brands who want to enable communication with their customers, as unlike other messaging mediums, they know it will reach almost its entire intended audience.”

However, revenue from P2P (Person-to-Person) SMS – commonly referred to as texting – will peak in a number of regions during the period 2010-2016 as it reaches a low point in valuation. The report finds that even in other regions where SMS has not reached the same levels of traffic, revenue growth will be moderate due to continuing competitive pricing, particularly of prepaid message buckets.

Other key findings:

•    Premium-rate SMS and MMS will decline due to challenges from other forms of billing/delivery.

•    MMS traffic and revenue will continue to grow, but A2P MMS will not have as bigger impact as A2P SMS.

•    Mobile IM will increasingly become a customer retention exercise as with fixed line services

Source: By Juniper Research on 9th Dec 2014

Citizens to be informed on road closures by SMS - Azerbaijan

The Cabinet has approved the rules.

The Cabinet has approved the "Rules of SMS-information about the temporary closure of roads and other activities in this area."

Oxu.Az reports that, according to the rules, the information about the temporary closure of roads and other activities in this area through short messages (SMS) will be implemented by the Ministry of Transport with the help of cellular (mobile) telecom operators.

Messages will be sent to users by the Intelligent Transport Management Center. The volume of a short message will be determined in line with the requirements of GSM-standard.

Services will be provided in electronic form. Information will be available through subscription services or sending SMS-request. Services will be provided for a fee. Monthly fee and the cost of one SMS will be determined in line with the agreement signed between the Ministry of Transport and cellular (mobile) telecom operators.

The proceeds will be stored on the current account of the Intelligent Transport Management Center of the Ministry of Transport.

Source: By news.Az on 9th Dec 2014

Pakistan - SMSs make electioneering more robust in country

Mobile phone operators in the country cashed the boom and enthusiasm of voters during elections 2013 campaign and generated revenues as SMS traffic went up to one billion text messages per day.

Thousands of candidates in the country made full use of the modern communication facilities and continuously tried to convince voters in their constituencies through text messages.

According to rough figures, one billion short messages (SMS) were exchanged on a daily basis in the country when the election was drawing nearer. 

“A huge rise in the usage of SMS was observed and not only the political parties used the SMS, but their supporters also exchanged a lot of SMS. Subscribers in Pakistan usually spend about a billion rupees a month on SMS,” said an official from a mobile service provider.

This increase in revenue is not only good for mobile companies but the medium used for campaigning is also very effective as there are 120 million mobile phone users in Pakistan.

Mobile phone companies also used Election 2013 as an opportunity and promoted different offers for their users. The subscribers were able to get all the information through text messages. 

Pakistan is one of the countries where per user SMS ratio is quite high. A general user generates 176 SMS per month in Pakistan. In China this number is 99 SMS per month, for India this figure is 53 per month, in USA this figure is 617 and in Brazil this figure is 22 SMS per month.

Source: By dailytimes.com.pk on 13th May 2013

Tanzania: Sh300 Million Daily SMS Craze

The short messaging service (SMS) craze has gripped mobile phone users in the country, whose nimble fingers are generating a whopping Sh300 million in revenue for the mobile phone companies every day.

With more people owning the increasingly affordable handsets, the traffic has surged to a record 5.1 million text messages daily, and this helped largely by the general belief among the subscribers that it's cheaper to text than to make a call.

Source: By allafrica.com on 19th June 2013

Pakistan cellcos bleed subs due to SIM rules

Pakistan's mobile operators have together lost around 2.7 million mobile subscribers in the first two month after the introduction of restrictions on the direct sale of SIMs through retail channels.

 

The latest statistics from telecom regulator PTA show that the nation's total mobile subscriber base fell to 120.8 million in January, from 123.6 million million in November.

 

Over the same period, cellular mobile teledensity dipped from 69.8% to 68%.

 

Each of Pakistan's five mobile operators were affected. Mobilink's mobile subscriber base was reduced from 36.6 million to 35.9 million over the two months. Telenor Pakistan's base fell to 30.2 million from 30.6 million, while Ufone's base declined from 24.3 million to 23.5 million.

 

In November, the Pakistani government announced new rules, introduced from December 1, prohibiting the direct sale of SIMs through retail channels. Operators were instead instructed to mail the SIMs to customers based on the address on their national identity card.

 

Operators were also ordered to block unverified SIMs and to limit the amount that can be registered to any one identity card to five.

 

Telecom operators have laid the bulk of the blame for the steep declines on the retail sales restrictions, the Express Tribune reported.

Source: By telecomasia.net (Dylan Bushell-Embling) on 27th March 2013

New fines to block spam messages in UAE

TRA working with etisalat and due to block messages coming from outside the country as well

In an effort to minimize unwanted messages on your mobile phone and other e-devices, the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) has drawn up a fresh list of penalties.

According to a report in Emarat Al Youm, TRA will act upon complaints of consumers who receive marketing messages without their prior consent.

The TRA is also working with etisalat and du to activate monitoring devices to block all advertising messages coming from outside the UAE.

Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, Director-General, TRA, said a list of penalties have been finalised to minimise marketing messages send to mobile phones of residents.

Initially, the senders will be only warned. On repeated violation their service will be temporarily terminated and finally if caught again the senders will be fined and their service terminated permanently.

TRA has been receiving complaints from consumers about spam messages since long. Al Ghanim said, those who send marketing messages after the allotted time will be fined. Marketing messages are to be sent only between 7am and 9pm.

Residents can block messages sent from within the UAE by sending a text SMS to 7726.

He added that the TRA is currently working with etisalat and du to help block messages coming from outside the country as well.

Source: By emirates247.com on 25th March, 2013

Tanzania’s Healthy Pregnancy Text Message Service Reaches 100,000 Subscribers in 15 Weeks

SMS service is going into HEALTH CARE sector which bring more pregnancy awareness to the public in an easy way....

The unique healthy pregnancy text messaging (SMS) service reached 100,000 active registrants in March 2013. More than 4 million text messages have been sent to those who signed up for the free healthy pregnancy and safe motherhood information, since the launch late November 2012.

“Wazazi Nipendeni’ (Parents Love Me) is a national healthy pregnancy and safe motherhood multi-media campaign. The mHealth Tanzania Public Private Partnership strengthen this campaign by providing informative text messages and appointment reminders in Swahili at no charge for pregnant women and mothers of newborn babies up to 16 weeks of age. This service offers also free information to her supporters - such as husband, friends and family - and information seekers”, explains Sarah Emerson, Country Manager, mHealth Tanzania Partnership, CDC Foundation.

The Wazazi Nipendeni multi-media campaign includes promotion of the free text messaging service by listing the short-code on the campaign materials and instructs anyone interested in more information about healthy pregnancy to send the word ‘MTOTO’ (child) to the short-code 15001. Registrants receive instructional messages during registration, allowing them to indicate the woman’s current week or month of pregnancy (or the age of the newborn baby) during the enrollment process. “This process allows the recipients to receive specific text messages at the time the information is most relevant to them. The service registered an average of 7000 people per week. Healthcare partners such as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation (EGPAF) and the Aga Khan Health Services - Joining Hands Initiative - play an important role by supporting the registration assistance of pregnant women at the healthcare facility level.

Eliza’s experience
“I found the text messages on my phone very useful during the period of my pregnancy”, says Eliza (29). This first-time mother was part of a group of women that gave feedback on the informative messages before the service started. She registered for the service as soon as it was launched in November 2012. “I was happy to receive the ‘Wazazi Nipendeni’ information about my pregnancy. I liked the helpful tips, including the importance of attending clinics regularly. I was able to learn about the need for testing and malaria prevention. I feel that it benefited me to know these things. I was able to go and deliver my baby safely since my baby was born healthy and without malaria. This service has also assisted my husband to better understand what I was going through during my pregnancy, so that he could be of greater assistance to me according to my needs.”

Eliza works as a housekeeper in Dar es Salaam and considers herself privileged when it comes to receiving information. She reads the newspapers and listens to radio. The housekeeper believes the service will especially be useful to women in remote areas as many have a mobile phone. “Many people, especially those living in rural areas, are not realizing how important it is to visit clinics”, she states. “They just don’t receive as much education and information as we do a big city. Newspapers are scarce there and not everyone has a radio. It also does not cost anything to get these text messages. So anyone can get the information from the Wazazi Nipendeni text messaging service. It will benefit many people, because it reaches all regions around the country.”

Government led initiative
Tanzania is a large country, it almost 900,000 square kilometers big. The country is approaching a population of 44 million. Current reports show that there are over 25 million mobile phone subscribers in our country. Tanzania registers the highest average number of text messages sent per month per subscriber in East Africa. The use of text messaging (SMS) doubled over the past few years to almost 5 billion messages in 2012. The mobile technology is therefore recognized by the ministry as a useful tool to offer crucial healthy pregnancy and safe motherhood information to even the most remote pregnant woman and her supporters.

Source: By Virtual Strategy Magazine on 28th March 2013

Africa, Asia lead 'mobile money' boom

Still thinking if you're ready to tap into the mobile world? Think no more now and go for it! You'd be amazed by the positive impacts of SMS marketing.

 

AFP - Africa and Asia are leading a global boom in the use of "mobile money" as millions turn to their mobile phones instead of coughing up cash or handing over credit cards.

In 2012, more than 30 million people were actively using mobiles to make payments, according to an industry study released Wednesday at the world's biggest mobile fair held from February 25-28 in Barcelona, Spain.

The study by the mobile operators' industry association, GSMA, found there were more mobile money accounts than traditional bank accounts in Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda.

In a single month, June 2012, more than 30 million people worldwide undertook 224.2 million transactions totalling $4.6 billion (3.5 billion euros), said the report, based on a worldwide survey.

The pace of activity exceeded the 196.3 million transactions performed by PayPal customers on average each month in the third quarter of 2012, it said.

Providers offered 150 mobile money services for people without banks, 41 of which were launched in 2012.

There were 56.9 million registered mobile money customers in sub-Saharan Africa, the study said. In June 2012, there were twice as many mobile money users as Facebook users in the region.

Mobile money's success is based on the fact that the number of mobile phone owners far exceeds the number of people with bank accounts. Sending money can be as simple as sending an SMS text message.

In Indonesia, mobile phone penetration is 106 percent, meaning there is more than one phone for each person in the population, while only 20 percent of the population holds a bank account.

According to Fundamo, an offshoot of global payments giant Visa, some 1.7 billion people worldwide have a mobile device but no bank account and are "economically active".

Originally dominated by banks, newcomers including mobile operators have been lured to the market, notably Safaricom's M-PESA service, which launched in Kenya in 2007 and now claims 15 million users.

The M-PESA service has a network of 50,000 agents including shopkeepers, allowing a city worker for example send to money home to a remote village or to put money aside in savings without opening a bank account.

In September 2012, 19.3 million people in Kenya were signed up to mobile money services, with nearly two billion euros deposited, according to the Kenyan telecommunications regulator CCK.

"The mobile money transfer service has become a key payments and transaction tool, mainly due to its easy use of applications, convenience and low cost value propositions," CCK said.

M-PESA, also present in Afghanistan, South Africa, India and Tanzania, now faces competition in Kenya from rivals including Orange Money provided by France Telecom offshoot Telkom Kenya, Paga, Airtel Money owned by Airtel Kenya and yuMobile offered by Essar Telekom.

Aletha Ling, chief operating officer at Fundamo, said the sector's future growth would depend on the players reaching a certain scale and on the various standards being able to work together.

With its "Visa Mobile Manage Service", Fundamo lets banks or telecommunication operators offer mobile money to customers without having to develop their own technology, she said.

"We think it's going to be an acceleration point," Ling said, noting that the company had recently signed deals with one bank in India and two others in Rwanda.

Are you tempted to try SMS service yourself? Contact us at sales@moceansms.com or +603 8996 4780.

Source: on 5 March 2013 

China’s SMS Volume Reaches 897.31 Billion, An Increase Of About Mere 2.1%

According to the recent statistics provided by the Ministry of Industry 2012, the mobile SMS Volume in the China has reached 897.31 billion, an increase of about 2.1% while the country’s mobile phone users increased by 11% last year calculating the country’s 2012 per capita sent down by about 9%, Sina Tech reports.

The statistics states that SMS amount reached last year 897.31 billion, but MMS volume reached 69.67 billion, an increase of 16.2% with the net increase of 64 million people in 2012 the number of mobile phone users reached 420 million, accounting for 74.5% of the total number of internet users, the rural netizens net increase of 20 million people, 156 million people.

Online shopping a net increase of 48 million users, with a total size of 242 million while the microblogging users a net increase of 059 million, with a total size of 309 million. The statistics further revealed that the non-voice revenue was 532.21 billion yuan, an increase of 16.9% while the voice business revenues of 544.09 billion yuan.

Source: By Karan Chopra on 28th January 2013

5 Reasons SMS Is Here to Stay

SMS remains the most popular two-way communications platform on the planet. In most cases, it's inexpensive, casual, and discreet for users. It also represents one of the more profitable features offered by mobile network operators. And while SMS does face an increasingly fractured market, largely from the growth of messaging apps, it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Here are five reasons why:

1. SMS IS GROWING, NOT SHRINKING

Indeed, SMS is continuing to grow at an incredible rate globally. In 2011, more than 7.8 trillion SMS were sent worldwide. That vastly outpaces every other messaging platform combined. Over-the-top (OTT) messaging (instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, iMessenger, BlackBerry Messenger, etc., also known as application-to-person) represent 3.5 trillion messages, combined. Multimedia messaging service (MMS) adds another 200 billion. The rate at which SMS are sent is increasing, and is expected to increase each year at least through 2016, according to several research firms.

2. SMS IS A MAJOR REVENUE DRIVER FOR MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS WORLDWIDE

SMS represents 63.5% of mobile messaging revenue globally. And it represents somewhere around 10% of an average operator's revenue streams. I have a hard time believing MNOs won't think of ways to add value to SMS, or reduce the cost enough that it still makes sense for consumers.

In fact, there are multiple examples of them taking this step. For instance, SMS sent via first delivery attempt mechanism can potentially save money on 80%-90% of text messages. Clever bundling can also drive revenue: Here in the United States, we bundle SMS with our calling plans, meaning there's no ceiling to how many messages a given subscriber sends in a month on his or her plan. What's the disincentive to use SMS?

3. SMS IS PLATFORM AGNOSTIC AND HIGHLY RELIABLE

I can (and do) use iMessage with friends who also have iPhones. But what about friends who have Android-based mobiles? Colleagues whose businesses use BlackBerry devices? My mother, who uses a feature phone? To reach them, SMS is the most reliable option. This is due to the simple reason that it's hard-coded into the global mobile infrastructure, requiring distribution across all phones and carriers.

What's more is that I find iMessage and other chat applications to be unreliable. SMS, on the other hand, works even in extremely resource-limited conditions, including lack of Internet access and even moments of cell tower traffic congestion. For example, in emergencies, texts have a higher chance of reaching people than other forms of communication. This level of low-resource ubiquity is unmatched in the global communications infrastructure.

4. INCREASING USE IN BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT AND NON-PROFIT SECTORS

SMS is seeing a dramatic increase as a tool for businesses, governments and non-profits to interact with large populations. For example, Detroit recently introduced a Text-My-Bus program that allows people using public transport to learn when the next bus is arriving at a given stop. Businesses are increasingly looking to SMS as an opportunity for advertising special prices or events to clients. UPS, for example, uses SMS to notify clients as to the progress of their package deliveries. And non-profits are increasingly participating in text-to-donate programs, where donors can send a brief message to a short phone number and a small donation is added to a cell phone bill. Most famously, the American Red Cross raised more than $43 million with its text-to-donate campaign following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

I suspect they choose SMS over a messaging service largely because user adoption rates are so high -- see my previous point about SMS being platform agnostic. With so many mobile phones in circulation, there's only one global messaging platform at the moment. For people wanting to reach a large audience via a convenient messaging feature, SMS is the only real option. As these services gain more traction, people will continue to interact with them via SMS.

5. CHAT IS ATTEMPTING TO EMULATE SMS SUCCESS

Many analysts see built-in messenger apps, such as iMessage, WhatsApp, Mxit and others as a threat to SMS. These apps operate on a user's data plan, rather than through the SMS protocol. The argument follows that in cases where data plans are cheaper than SMS plans, users will choose the least cost route, thus supplanting SMS as the most popular platform. To be fair, we've seen this happen in a few places. Hong Kong, Australia, and Finland have seen drops in SMS usage. In the U.S., SMS usage levelled off in 2011 for the first time. But a dip in usage does not translate to an evaporation of an entire platform. Indeed, SMS is still the most popular platform in the U.S., despite the relative ubiquity of iMessage, Blackberry Messenger, and Facebook chat.

Portio Research takes this argument a step further, suggesting that messaging apps may only be an addition to an increasingly fragmented market, rather than being an SMS killer:

Does a boost to one messaging type have to equate to a usage drop in another? Does it have to mean cannibalization of SMS? What about synergy? Side by side traffic growth? And what of the other messaging mediums of MMS, mobile e-mail, and mobile IM? After all, while messaging users love to communicate seamlessly, popular modes of communications do vary - and maybe OTT isn't a replacement, but rather just one more segment of the messaging mix.

In an increasingly device-rich society, with wild differences in access to infrastructure and technologies of all kinds between the very poor and even the moderately well-off, multi-channel communications are critical if service providers and businesses are to engage effectively with everyone in a community, all of the time. Each platform and channel of communication has trade-offs, and as we've argued elsewhere, your choice of platform not only presents opportunities -- to sharing video, or messaging more cheaply across cell data -- but can close doors to those without the kit or the credit to access them. Multi-channel approaches, such as the Praekelt Foundation's Young Africa Live, which combines SMS with feature- and smartphone apps and a website, offer the broadest possible number of options for individuals to engage with its message. Despite the brevity of the format, SMS has a valuable place in this spectrum, both as a lowest common-denominator technology, and as a communications platform that often works when all others fail.

In a multi-channel world, where successful engagement and data capture are increasingly critical, and as businesses focus more and more on reaching previously difficult markets in low- and middle-income countries, who can afford to discount the world's most accessible, most widespread, digital communications medium?

Source: By Trevor Knoblich on 14th January 2013. 

Do you feel tempted to try it out yourself? Contact us at sales@moceansms.com or +603 8996 4780

UK: Texting is top way for UK to stay in touch

Texting is the most popular way for British people to stay in contact, with the average consumer sending 50 SMS messages a week, according to a study by UK communications regulator Ofcom.

The findings come as the text message celebrates its 20th birthday on Monday.

The first ever SMS was sent on December 3 1992, when Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old British engineer used his computer to send the message "Merry Christmas" to an Orbitel 901 mobile phone.

Now 90 per cent of 16-24 year olds text daily to communicate with friends and family, according to the Ofcom study.

The Communications Market Report 2012 said talking on the phone was also less popular than texting among the age group, with only 67 per cent saying they make daily phone calls.

In 2011, more than 150 billion text messages were sent in the UK, which was almost triple the amount sent five years previously in 2006.

The report also found that texting was most prolific among 12-15 year olds, who send an average of 193 texts every week, almost four times the UK average. This has more than doubled from 12 months ago, when just 91 were sent each week by the same age group.

Girls aged 12 to 15 are texting significantly more than boys, sending an average of 221 messages a week - 35 per cent more than boys of the same age, who send 164 a week. The average child aged 8 to 11 sends 41 texts each week, almost double the number sent in 2011.

The first half of 2012 saw two quarterly declines in the volume of SMS messages sent in the UK (Q1 2012: 39.1 billion; Q2 2012: 38.5 billion), falling slightly from their peak of 39.7 billion in Q4 in 2011.

This decline could be attributed to people using alternative forms of text-based communications, such as instant messaging and social networking sites.

The recent increase in ownership of internet-connected devices, such as tablets and smartphones, could also be behind this trend. Four in 10 (39 per cent) adults now own a smartphone, making it easier to gain access to web-based communications.

James Thickett, Ofcom's director of research, said: "When texting was first conceived many saw it as nothing more than a niche service.

"But texts have now surpassed traditional phone calls and meeting face to face as the most frequent way of keeping in touch for UK adults, revolutionising the way we socialise, work and network.

"For the first time in the history of mobile phones, SMS volumes are showing signs of decline.

"However, the availability of a wider range of communications tools, like instant messaging and social networking sites, means that people might be sending fewer SMS messages, but they are 'texting' more than ever before."

Source: By AAP on 3rd December 2012.

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Happy 20th Birthday to SMS Text Message!

Woohoo ~ ~ Let's sing a birthday song now !!

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to SMS

Happy Birthday to You

The first text message was sent 20 years ago!

Ever wonder when was the 1st SMS was sent? Read below...

The very first text message was sent 20 years ago, on Dec. 3, 1992. The momentous missive? “Merry Christmas,” wrote Neil Papworth, then a 22-year-old engineer, to Richard Jarvis, an executive at British telecom Vodafone. Jarvis was attending his company’s holiday party in Newbury, England, and received the text on an Orbitel 901 (see picture on left).

To be precise, this marks the 20th birthday of SMS, which stands for Short Messaging Service. In most cases, an SMS is sent from one phone to another on a narrow slice of cellular bandwidth called the control channel, an ever-present connection that’s also used to notify phones of incoming calls and signal strength. That’s one reason why SMS has proven to be a durable form of communication during disasters, when traffic channels, which are used for phone calls and larger data transfers, get overloaded.
The control channel’s diminutive size is what accounts for the strict, 160-character cap on text message length. (In turn, that’s why Twitter, which was originally based on SMS, limits tweets to 140 characters, in order to fit the message plus the sender in a single text message.) It’s also why some people argue that wireless carriers gouge their customers by charging several cents per text when the marginal cost to the company is zero: the control channel is used whether or not it’s transmitting an SMS.

In fact, on its 20th birthday, the text message finds itself threatened by a host of free alternatives, from Facebook messaging to Apple’s iMessage. SMS usage is waning in much of the world, now even including the United States, which was slower to the adopt the technology. That decline is likely to accelerate as more people purchase smartphones that are laden with other messaging options, meaning the future of SMS lies in feature-phone markets like India and Africa.

Still, text messaging remains the world’s most widely used form of digital communication, with some six billion to eight billion texts sent per year, according to various estimates. The technology has endured, in part, thanks to its compatibility across different types of phones and networks: SMS didn’t really take off until the late 1990s, when companies and governments began lifting regulations that only permitted sending texts between customers on the same network.

Though other forms of communication had more memorable inaugural messages—”What hath God wrought” was the first telegram—it’s fitting that the first SMS was “Merry Christmas.” Nowadays, the busiest day for text messaging is, in fact, Christmas Eve, when people across the world reach out to each other with short and sweet attempts to connect.

Source: By Zachary M. Seward on 3rd Dec 2012

Philippines - Cops to use SMS to check gun licenses

MANILA, Philippines - Police officers will use short messaging system (SMS) or text messaging to verify the ownership of firearms whose bearers are accosted during the election period, a Philippine National Police official said yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta, chief of the PNP Firearms and Explosives Division (FED), said the use of text messaging for policemen manning checkpoints would surely help them in immediately verifying the gun ownership of certain firearms.

Petrasanta said the SMS program would be launched within the month in preparation for intensified implementation of checkpoints to ensure honest, peaceful and orderly elections.

“We will soon launch this SMS program for members of the PNP to allow them to verify real-time,” he said, noting that the program will be in operation round the clock since it is computerized.

Petrasanta said if the person is not the rightful owner of the firearm he or she will be charged with illegal possession of firearms. He clarified that only the gun’s registered owner can keep it and only a person with a permit to carry a gun outside residence (PTCFOR) can bring a gun outside his house.

He warned gun owners that they will need a PTCFOR even if their gun is in their car since “cars and other vehicles are not considered an extension of your home.”

Source: By Cecille Suerte Felipe on 15th November 2012

China - now has over 200 million 3G subscribers

China added 10.08 million new 3G subscribers September to reach a total 3G user base of 202.64 million,China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said.

Telecom operating revenues were 106.36 billion yuan ($16.83 billion), bringing the cumulative year-to-date total to 895.27 billion yuan ($141.66 billion), up 12.1% over the same period of 2011.

Mobile subscribers grew by 12.50 million to 1.085 billion, and fixed-line subscribers dropped by 0.24 million to 281.94 million.

A total of 79.03 billion SMS messages were sent during September, bringing the total for the first 9 months of 2012 to 676.61 billion, a 3.6% increase over the figure during the same period of 2011.

Broadband added 2.28 million new registered users in September to reach a total of 170.57 million. Dial-up increased by 1.03 million users, lifting the total dial-up user base to 5.73 million.

Source: By  Tony Zhu on 24th October 2012

Philippines - Smart Money brings cashless parking system

e-Park via SMS: what an advanced mobile solution technology

Smart and parking operator Wi-Tech Solutions & Development have launched an e-Park initiative and is a project of Smart Money. Users of Smart Money, the electronic wallet service, can conveniently pay parking fees through SMS when they park their vehicle along the Roxas Boulevard service road in Manila, site of the first cashless and automated street parking system in the Philippines. After parking on any of the 90 slots between Pedro Gil Street and the Magsaysay Center on Roxas Boulevard, vehicle owners with a Smart Money account need only text a code to have the parking fee automatically deducted from their mobile wallet. The parking rate is PHP 10 per hour. Vehicle owners can occupy a slot for a minimum of two hours. Thirty minutes before they reach the time limit, Smart Money users will receive an SMS reminding them to either vacate the slot or send additional load using the same code to extend their use of the parking space.

Vehicle owners who have no Smart Money account yet can pay in cash to e-loaders in the area who, for a minimal fee of PHP 3-5, will then use their Smart Money account to remit the payment to the e-Park system. Those who wish to get a Smart Money account may visit smart.com.ph.

Source: By telecompaper on 8th October 2012.

Looking for SMS solution? Contact us at +603 8996 4780 or sales@moceansms.com

Australia: Acceptance of Mobile Advertising Jumps

Have you incorporated SMS marketing into your marketing activities? Have not? Uh be fast to adopt this new and highly accepted method before left behind. Not convinced? Let's see below! :)

Australians are becoming more and more accepting of mobile advertising with new figures showing a boom in the proportion of mobile users 'opting in' to receive corporate SMS and MMS messages.

Almost 60% of consumers surveyed in the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association's (AIMIA's) 2012 'Annual mobile phone lifestyle index' (AMPLI) said they had opted in to receive direct mobile ads from businesses, up 10% on last year.

The research also revealed that once consumers received advertising messages, they were more likely to engage with them than not, with 54% or respondents saying they would engage with direct messages.

The news comes as the Australian government considers amping up privacy laws which would curb the ways mobile marketers are allowed to communicate with consumers. 

Unsurprisingly, the percentage of smartphone owners has also jumped year-on-year, with 76% of all respondents owning a smartphone, up from 67% in 2011.

Based on the survey results, AIMIA predicts that 80% of respondents will own a smartphone by the end of 2012 and 84% will own a smartphone by mid-2013.

Tablet ownership has more than doubled year-on-year, with 38% of respondents saying they owned a tablet device, up from last year’s figure of 16%.

An additional 33% of survey respondents said they were planning to purchase a tablet within the next 12 months. Based on these results the forecast for tablet ownership is 50% by December 2012 and 71% by mid-2013

When it came to the use of mobile apps, 69% of people reported having downloaded and installed an app on their mobile phone, up from 55% in 2011.

The most popular type of apps were those for navigation and games, followed closely by news and weather and social networking.

Almost 60% stated they had paid to download an app, flat on last year.

But while uptake of mobile technology booms, it seems customer satisfaction with mobile carriers is low. Last year’s AMPLI survey saw satisfaction levels for almost every service type decrease considerably when compared to previous years and the 2012 results have persisted, with minimal evidence of recovery. 

However this year’s results show substantial variation in satisfaction across the carriers when it came to specific services.

Satisfaction with Virgin was considerably higher for almost all services when compared to other carriers, except for network coverage

Vodafone experienced substantially lower levels of satisfaction compared to the other carriers for overall satisfaction, customer service, network coverage and content and services available via the carrier’s portal. AIMIA said these results were most likely an outcome of the network issues the carrier has experienced over the last year

Satisfaction with Telstra’s network coverage was a standout for the carrier when compared other providers

The AMPLI report is a collaborative industry research project carried out by the Mobile Industry Group (MIG) - a special interest group of AIMIA.

Source: By Madeleine Ross on 27th September 2012.

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Tanzania: Mobile Phone Users Opt for Messages

THE number of on net traffic mobile phone calls declined by 2.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to quarter ending December 2011, with many people opting for short messages (SMS) that more than doubled.

Official data released last week by Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) shows that the number of on net calls declined to 4.63 billion in the quarter under review from 4.76 billion of the preceding period, a sign that many mobile users have opted to messages.

"The number of short messages sent through mobile phones more than doubled to 1.23 billion in the quarter ending March 2012 compared to only 598.74 million recorded in the period between October and December, last year," stated the report.

Total revenues garnered from the number of messages which exchanged hands among various mobile users jumped to 72.64bn/- in the period ending March compared to only 20.95bn/- accrued between October and December, 2011.

In the meantime the number of calls from one network to another declined by 3.31 per cent to 232.12 million
in the quarter under review compared to 240.07 million of the previous period.

But the number of mobile sms from one network system to another increased by 16.27 per cent to 324.80 million in March, this year compared to only 279.34 million messages. Tanzania lead in the East African region in terms of average number of text messages sent per month per subscriber.

Moving the 2012/13 budget estimates in Dodoma in June, this year, the Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Dr William Mgimwa said the government has increased taxes on mobile phone calls by two per cent to 12 per cent, which will definitely impact on the rate of both on and off net calls.

The quarterly operator's subscriptions market shares show that Vodacom still leads with 45 per cent, Airtel 27 per cent, Tigo 21 per cent and Zantel six per cent.

Source by: Sebastian Mrindoko on 22 August 2012