DUBLIN, Ireland—Some trends are beginning to emerge in the European multimedia messaging service (MMS) market following the launch of services by several operators. However, there is still a distinct split between those charging per message and operators adopting volume pricing models similar to those used for General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) services.
The general industry view is that billing per message is expected to dominate in the initial stages, albeit at different pricing levels, given the variations in message size. MMS messages are likely to be charged at between two and four times more than the current price for SMS.
Telenor Mobil in Norway, Vodafone D2 in Germany, Westel in Hungary, Vodafone Telecel and TMN in Portugal and TIM in Italy have all launched multimedia messaging applications, and Swisscom Mobile is about to follow suit.
According to Devine Kofiloto, senior research analyst at EMC, Vodafone D2 and Telenor Mobil have opted for an initial period of no charges. Thereafter, Vodafone D2 subscribers will be charged for each MMS picture message with a maximum size of 30 kilobits costing 0.39 euro (US$0.37), while Telenor subscribers will pay a flat fee of 1.29 euros (US$1.21) per picture message sent—about 10 times as much as for a text message—from a mobile phone, irrespective of the amount of data in each message.
In contrast, Westel’s MMS charges are based on a three-tiered tariff type differentiated by message size.
