The number of short message services (SMS) text messages sent over phone handsets in the mainland will more than triple this year, providing a major source of revenue for mobile operators, according to a study by Pyramid Research.
The report said SMS volume would increase from 19 billion messages last year to 60 billion this year.
The author, Hong Kong-based analyst Connie Hsu, said the rapid growth resulted from the relatively low cost of sending a text message and the popularity of games and other SMS services.
It costs the equivalent of about 10 HK cents for a text message compared with 50 HK cents for a voice call.
Ms Hsu said as the number of mobile-phone subscribers in China increased to 500 million by 2007, there would be a revenue windfall from text messages for operators and content providers.
'By 2007, SMS revenues in China will surpass US$17 billion. China will generate greater SMS revenues than all of western Europe combined,' she said.
Pyramid said SMS revenue last year was US$234 million; this year, it was expected to hit US$750 million.
