When Neil Papworth sent the first text message almost 20 years ago (03.12.1992), which read – “Merry Christmas” – it didn’t seem like a big deal. Yet it was this 22 year-old engineer that helped kick-start a new mega-trend in communication via 160 characters.
In 1993, the first commercial Short Message Service (SMS) was sent, which came from the first short message service centre, installed by Aldiscon, now known as Acision.
Jorgen Nilsson, CEO Acision, comments: “The text message has been on a staggering journey over the last twenty years and the elegant simplicity of the platform has grown to become a cornerstone of communication in the 21st century. Latest figures from Informa suggest that 5.9 trillion SMS messages were sent in 2011 with SMS traffic expected to reach 9.4 trillion messages by 2016. Text has certainly evolved from how it was initially perceived, a clever way for an operators' employees to send simple messages to one another, and today it maintains a reach of more than 5 billion people across the globe, with 98% of sent messages being read by the end user.”
Since its inception 20 years ago, the humble text message has touched the lives of billions across the globe, changing the very nature in which we communicate today and growing to become the most popular form of communication capable of connecting all corners of the globe.
Relevant industry research:
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92% of Smartphone owners communicate with SMS, despite access to Instant Messaging (IM) services, from Acision’s research with Vanson Bourne.
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55 per cent of Britons respond faster to SMS messages than any other form of communication, according to research from digital marketing provider Pure360 and YouGov.
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3 out of 4 Smartphone owners (74%) said they need SMS, of which 69% state they still need text or would be lost without it, from Acision’s research with Vanson Bourne.
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Mobile messaging traffic to grow from 14.7 trillion messages per year in 2012 to 28.2 trillion in 2017, according to Juniper Research.
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18-25 year olds send more texts – on average 133 text messages per week – almost double any other age group. Texting helps development – young adults used to talk on the phone now they text more, from Acision’s research with Vanson Bourne.
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According to Ofcom, the average UK consumer now sends 50 texts per week – which has more doubled in four years – with over 150 billion text messages sent in 2011.
Additional content:
We have a 20 Years of SMS and Beyond Infographic available on request
About Acision:
Acision is the global leader in mobile messaging. Key facts:
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#1 in SMS with 35% market share
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Over 1,100 employees worldwide
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230 customers in 100 countries across six continents
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2000 deployments with 230 customers globally
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Customers include eight out of the top 10 global mobile operators