Research and Markets: In 2008 It Is Predicted That Over 2 Trillion Text Messages Will Be Sent Worldwide and This Number Continues To Grow

Business Wire - Research and Markets has announced the addition of 2008 Global Mobile -- Data and Content Markets to their offering.

Key highlights:

-- In the wake of the popularity of HSDPA, currently over 25 HSUPA networks have been commercially launched in 20 countries around the world.

-- Today more than 40 mobile operators worldwide are developing mobile IM services for personal use and in late 2007 personal mobile IM became available in Asia.

-- In 2008 it is predicted over 2 trillion text messages will be sent worldwide and this number continues to grow.

-- The USA is planning the most significant upgrade to its GPS system since its launch. GPS III satellites are expected to have 500 times the transmitter power of the current system.

-- In 2008 mobile TV/video is commercially available in some markets and there will be further launches and trials taking place in all regions of the world.

-- The introduction of smaller and more flexible chipset modules will reduce the size of the RFID readers and bring overall costs down.

-- Operators around the world are contemplating and deploying IMS; a mobile platform that makes seamless communications possible between fixed and mobile networks. Initially attitudes towards IMS were overly positive, but the hype is now settling with operators taking a more realistic and cautious approach.

-- In 2008 around 70% of GPRS operators have committed to deploying EDGE in their networks worldwide.

-- The US mobile data sector continued to enjoy strong growth (at around 60%) in 2007.

-- Mobile operators in Eastern Europe are slowly focusing on mobile data, particularly in countries where prospects for revenue growth from saturated voice markets are slim and the number of deployed WCDMA/HSDPA networks is on the rise, a tribute to the technology's maturity and its dominance of the 3G technology market.