Who doesn’t love using mobile instant messaging apps available on our smartphones? Instead of spending on text messages, more users send and receive free messages via mobile IMs. You may be enjoying free messaging apps such as the Blackberry Messenger (BBM), Apple’s iMessage, Facebook Chat, and Samsung’s ChatOn on smartphones such as the Bold Touch 9900, iPhone 4S, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but it is apparently making network operators around the world lose money, suggests a new report.
According to Ovum’s research, messaging apps or mobile instant messaging services are responsible for network operators losing profits amounting to $13.9 billion (approximately £8.8 billion), since a lot of mobile users make use of their data plans to send and receive messages rather than making use of the conventional text messaging.
Ovum suggests that network operators should tie up with phone manufacturers and app developers in the search for alternative methods of gaining back the revenues lost from messaging apps. However, despite Ovum’s findings, BBC says that the research firm failed to take account the amount of profits networks gain when charging customers data fees.
Do you still send and receive text messages, or are you one of the growing number of phone users who would rather make use of free messaging apps? Do think network operators are losing profits due to these IMs, or do you think they make up for these losses through data charges? Give us your thoughts.
