SMS and Data

One factor impacting SMS usage is the increase in smartphones and hence greater use of Internet-based messaging alternatives. A chart from the Irish electronic communications regulator illustrates this tendency showing SMS volumes declining while data usage is rising rapidly.

Comreg, Irish Communications Market [Click to enlarge]

Similarly the Luxembourg Institute of Regulation (ILR) shows voice, text and data traffic generated over the country's mobile networks, with the latter growing rapidly.

ILR, Rapport statistique des télécommunications [Click to enlarge]

Despite the rapid growth of data use, SMS is still a leading activity for cellphones, even smartphones. A survey of smartphone owners across 8 countries published by OFCOM, the electronic communications regulator in the UK, found that SMS was the most popular use, except in Japan, Germany and Spain. In Japan, SMS has never caught on with users preferring email while in Germany and Spain, high prices for SMS has discouraged use.

OFCOM, International Communications Market Report 2015 [Click to enlarge]

SMS interconnection rates and text message usage in Europe

European countries with low SMS termination rates generate more text message traffic.

According to the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), the simple average SMS termination rate in the region was €2.35 cents (US 3.13¢) per message at the end of 2014 (see figure below). The termination rate is the amount that one mobile operator must pay another mobile operator to deliver a cross-network SMS. In Serbia and Slovenia, there is no SMS termination rate. The highest rate is in the Netherlands (5.60) and the lowest in Denmark (0.15).

SMS termination rate, 1 January 2015, source: BEREC (click to enlarge).

The figure below shows a plot of SMS interconnection rates compared to the number of SMS sent per mobile subscriber per month. The average is around 75 SMS sent per mobile subscriber per month. All of the countries except one with below average SMS termination rates generate more than 75 SMS per subscriber per month. Macedonia does not fit the pattern with a measly 15 SMS per subscriber per month. Only three of the countries with above average SMS termination rates generate more than 75 SMS per subscriber per month.  Of those three, it is likely that most SMS is sent within network, thereby unaffected by the termination rate. France, where the termination rate is one € cent, generates the most SMS traffic per user by some margin.

Click to enlarge

School Connectivity for the 21st Century

Today, the fact that a school is connected to the Internet is not as important as how it is connected, what its connection speed is and whether it has sufficient in-school Internet access for laptops, tablets and other digital devices in classrooms.

The emergence of one-to-one computer initiatives along with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and rise of cloud computing is placing high demand on

school connectivity. This report looks at five countries (Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, United States and Uruguay) and how they have upgraded Internet access in primary and secondary schools in a relatively short period of time. The report finds that having a vision, a concrete plan, adequate funding, monitoring and evaluation, content and teacher training are the successful ingredients for connecting schools. The report features a number of comparative metrics relevant for anyone interested in the infrastructure side of school connectivity in the 21st century.
For more information and to download the report:
https://blogs.cisco.com/gov/connecting-schools-and-students-via-smart-policy

Top SMS 2009

The Philippines is still on top in the latest ranking of leading SMS countries. There have been some interesting changes since the last benchmark (see 2003 ranking). Text messaging has tripled in the Philippines with a whopping 609 SMS per subscriber per month in 2009. The USA enters the ranking at second with skyrocketing use of text messaging from just 8 per user per month in 2003 to 408 in 2009. This can be attributed to add-on packages for SMS where users get unlimited text messaging for a flat monthly fee. Singapore, Malta, Croatia and Norway have dropped out of the top ten replaced by Venezuela, Lithuania and Portugal. Another drop out is Japan where text messaging has been eclipsed by mobile e-mail. Care must be taken in interpreting these statistics since they may not reflect a relatively high intensity of non-voice use because users are more "tech-savvy".  In many instances, SMS is used because it is a cheaper alternative than a voice call. When the price of voice calls decline, the use of text messaging often goes down.

Top 10 countries by SMS per user per month, 2009

Note: Philippines and Indonesia based on largest mobile operators. USA refers to H2 2009. Ireland refers to Q4 2009. Korea refers to South Korea's KTF at February. SMS per user per month calculated as: Number of SMS for 2009 / Average mobile subscriptions in 2009 / 12. 
Suggested citation: "Top SMS 2009." www.ictDATA.org. IBSN: 000-1-05-2010. http://www.ictdata.org/2010/10/top-sms-2009.html. [Extracted dd-mm-yyyy].
Contact for additional information about this table or purchasing data set covering additional countries and years.

See 2011 update: http://www.ictdata.org/2012/06/sms-update-2011.html