Hi Gerard and Rich, I share the curiosity. The Mobile Data Association in the UK ( http://www.themda.org and http://www.text.it) has been releasing global figures for a few years. But in the non-paying section I can access, I cannot find information on their methods of counting. If any member of this list know, please share and that'll be much appreciated.
I'm most interested in the counting of system-generated SMS like the welcome messages you get after landing in a new city. Since the telcos are mostly listed in the stock market, my guess is that all these will be included as well to boost user end estimations. But how about mobile spam? Are they counted too? JLQ On 1/4/07, Gerard Goggin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi Rich, You've raised a really interesting question here, and one that I have wondered about too. I'd like to hear more about the definitional issues and methodology of counting here -- i.e. starting from first principles. Presumably mobile carriers have various ways of estimating SMS/MMS traffic, for their own network design and construction purposes, but also for the purposes of interconnection with other carriers & service providers. So I wonder: 1) what order of accuracy is possible from such systems, and whether this underlies the various, loose figures that circulate (which really seem only hyperbolic, or at best very indicative); 2) to what extent national and international mobile companies and industry associations, as well as policymakers, would seek to produce better, publicly available and comparable figures on messaging. I'm happy to explore this further with the Australian mobiles industry and regulators, and put this into the mix. Best wishes, Gerard Goggin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hello all, > > In response to my question yesterday on the number of text messages > being sent on a global basis, I came across some statistics. In > Wikipedia there is some discussion of the number of text messages being > sent (it is unclear if they also include, for example CDMA messaging and > iMode messages). They write "In 2000, just 17 billion SMS messages were > sent; in 2001 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001> , the number was up to > 250 billion, and 500 billion SMS messages in 2004." > According to a company called Logica CMG (who produce SMS servers for > industry), there were 1.2 trillion messages sent in 2005. The GSM > Association reports, "It is estimated that a worldwide total of 1 > trillion text messages were sent in 2005." > > I am not quite sure which source to believe. Wikipedia seems somewhat > conservative and I am never quite sure whether to believe what is > written there. The Logica CMG numbers might be high and since they have > commercial interest, they might over estimate. The GSM association is > probably only GSM texting and not iMode/CDMA. As several people have > indicated, the numbers are pretty loose since there are different > reporting standards in the various countries and there are also > definitional issues. With the introduction of IM to mobile platforms > the counting will become more difficult I would suspect. > > The Britannica has a somewhat "U.K.-centric" article that does not > really include worldwide stats and mangles the history/use of texting. > > > Rich L. > > > > _____________________________________________ > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ling Richard > Seyler (R&I) > Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 11:17 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: How many SMS/text messages are being sent? > > Hello all, > > I have a quick question. I have been looking around the net and I can > not find a place that will tell me the number of SMS and text messages > (Japan ect.) that are being sent worldwide. I have looked, for example > at the 3GPP site and the site of the ITU etc. They do not seem to have > this statistic. > > Do any of you have any clues where I can look? > > Rich L. > > > -- //////////////////////////////////////// Dr Gerard Goggin ARC Australian Research Fellow Editor, 'Media International Australia' Department of Media and Communications The University of Sydney NSW 2006 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] p: +61 2 9036 6424 f: 61 2 9351 5444 m: 0428 66 88 24 http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/media/?page=staff&id=gerard.goggin >
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