TORONTO—Canadians are not getting too excited about the possibilities for short message service (SMS), according to a report released by the Yankee Group in Canada. Its research claims only 5 percent of Canadian cellular users are very interested in SMS, while 42 percent have no interest at all in the service.
As well, less than 15 percent of Canadian cellular users are willing to pay as little as C$5 (US$3.14) monthly for text messaging. Currently, 9 percent of Canadian cellular users subscribe to text messaging.
Last November, Canada’s four major wireless carriers, Rogers AT&T Wireless, Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility and Microcell Telecommunications, agreed to a cross-carrier plan to allow SMS. The carriers went live with the interoperability plan, a North American first, this week.
“Despite the anticipation, it is still unclear as what role SMS messaging will play in the lives of Canadians,” said Jeremy Depow, the Yankee Group senior analyst who authored the firm’s SMS report.
The four Canadian carriers are all using SMS interoperability technology from CMG Wireless Data Solutions. All the national U.S. operators except Nextel Communications have announced inter-operator SMS offerings, although they each plan to use different vendors for their SMS interoperability technology.
Each carrier will route out-of-network SMS messages to the CMG Inter-Short Message Service Center Router, which will then instantly route the message to the appropriate carrier and then to the recipient’s wireless handset.
Each carrier will offer different bill plans. Plans range from per-message charges to unlimited use.
