August 11, 2005
Text Messages Sent by Cellphone Finally Catch On in U.S.
The Wall Street Journal has an good article on text messaging, how it's catching on in the US, and why it's still not as popular as in Europe or Asia.
..."Once mostly a fad among teens in the U.S., text messaging is growing in popularity among American adults. They are finding it to be less intrusive than voice calling, especially in public spaces. It also can be more private than email, since an office colleague or family member can more readily see a message typed on a computer screen.
Some 4.7 billion text messages were sent in the U.S. last December, the latest figures available, compared with 2.1 billion a year earlier and 253 million in December 2001, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association. Revenue from text messaging is projected to grow to $4.3 billion in 2006 from $2.5 billion in 2004, says Forrester Research Inc.
... Text messaging usage is much higher in Europe and Asia largely because most cellphone users there pay per call or per message. Since text messages generally cost less than voice calls, customers have an economic incentive to go that route.
By contrast, there's little economic incentive to text-message in the U.S. because most cellphone users are on calling plans that include large bundles of voice minutes, plus unlimited off-peak and weekend minutes. Often there's no cost to make an additional phone call but for most it costs an additional charge to send a text message. Wireless company executives acknowledge that it's not easy to persuade ordinary Americans to add a new category to their cellphone bills."
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