The downward trend that has been under way in the messaging industry since 1998 is unfortunately continuing in most markets around the world. The good news is that subscriber numbers are decreasing at a slower rate than in 1999. In some countries, the number of paging users has even stayed steady or increased, albeit only slightly.
Thailand is one such market. Thailand had 1.4 million messaging users in 1999 and ranked 11th in a list of the top 20 international paging markets. This year, Thailand is number nine on the list and has 1.64 million paging subscribers.
Mexico is another growing paging market. In 1999, Mexico was the 16th-largest paging market in the world with about 585,000 subscribers. Its ranking remained the same in 2000, and subscriber numbers increased to 825,000.
In Thailand, Mexico and other countries, those paging operators that are surviving have refocused their efforts in the face of increased competition. Those that did not adjust, did not survive.
Japanese carriers are targeting corporate users, a higher-revenue market than consumers. Others are offering new services, such as two-way messaging and calling party pays, to attract and retain users.
Although two-way messaging might not be a significant revenue source for a few years, carriers are recognizing its potential and getting a head start.
Small U.S. carriers that are maintaining profits are targeting users between ages 18 and 24. They are merging Internet applications with messaging, such as wireless chat sessions, to target younger demographics.
In a few instances, regulators are even helping messaging operators stay afloat. In India, paging companies will be allowed to migrate to a revenue-sharing arrangement from the present fixed license fees through a revival package announced by the government. The revenue-sharing model has been fixed at 5 percent and takes effect retroactively from August 1999. Also, basic telephony companies will have to share revenue with paging companies for calls terminating with pagers. A monthly fee has been waived.
The pressures facing carriers have not been reduced. The opposite, in fact, is true. More countries are opening up telecommunications markets to competition, more players are launching services and cellular prices continue to decrease, at least in Europe and Asia. As 3G services roll out around the globe, messaging companies will have an additional challenge to overcome.
But the fact is some companies have had continued success in an industry that has seen sharp declines in user numbers. And those operators have been successful by knowing their current and future users, focusing their marketing and offering innovation. Hats off to them.
