Despite the economic downturn and the "harsh realities"
the International Telecommunication Union recently said the mobile
industry faces, most mobile operators are optimistic about
investing in new technologies and services.
Airwide Solutions, a provider of mobile messaging and web
systems, commissioned analyst research among the main operators,
and found that all of them said the current downturn would not
impact upon their spending.
They also all said they would be investing in next generation
services such as mobile social networking, mobile applications and
mobile broadband.
Of all the services cited, mobile social networking and mobile
applications lead the way, with 75% of mobile operators expecting
to invest in them over the next 12 months.
Mobile broadband is not far behind, with 65% of operators
expecting to make investments over the next 12 months.
These main services were closely followed by location-based
services, IM/presence-based services and the mobile internet, which
50% of operators stated would be a priority for the 12 months
ahead.
Jay Seaton, CMO at
Airwide Solutions
said, "Revenues from SMS have become a substantial and strategic
income stream for mobile operators worldwide. However, recent
market changes are placing an ever greater pressure on operators to
deliver new and richer services that will not only complement voice
and text services, but also boost average revenue per user and help
improve market share."