The world revenue of communication operators from SMS and MMS fell for the first time in history

The world combined revenue of communication operators from the provision of SMS and MMS messages in 2013 decreased for the first time in history - almost 4% to about $ 104, after reaching the peak value in 2012, the Strategy Analytics report said. Moreover, the number of sent messages remained at the level of 2012.

There are two causes of such dynamics. The first is the growth of competition between operators who seek to get subscribers, including through low tariffs for messages. The second reason is the growth of the popularity of Internet mixers, such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, WeChat, Apple Imessage, reports CNews .

So, in December 2013, the WhatsApp service announced that its monthly audience is 400 million active users, of which 100 million have joined the service over the past four months.

By 2017, the total revenue of operators from the provision of messaging services will be reduced by 20%, Strategy Analytics predicts.

Reducing revenue will be most noticeable in regions with a large number of users of smartphones using the services of mobile data. Such regions, among others, include North America and Western Europe.

It is expected that by 2017, the income of operators in North America will be reduced by 38%from these services, and in Western Europe - by almost 28%.

Meanwhile, experts believe that at a loss operators of communication will still not remain. "By income from SMS, we will see negative dynamics, but from the point of view of the company's financial results, this reduction will be fully compensated by the income of operators from Internet services - traffic transmission, growth rate on mobile Internet, revenue from the services related to mobile Internet," the RAY analyst, Man & Gor Secures told Kommersant FM Ksenia Harutyunova.