Studie - Blended messaging: straddling the silos

Although the range of mobile messaging services available has become richer and more diverse during the 2000s, ‘messaging’ is still overwhelmingly dominated by a single, 15-year old service: SMS. Blended messaging refers to platforms and technologies that allow operators to evolve mobile messaging by presenting users with a single environment for all messaging — the handset and network transparently decide which technologies should be used to transport the message, according to its payload and the properties of its destination. We examine what blended messaging means, how it has developed so far, and analyse the pros and cons of blended messaging from the perspective of operators and end-users. We also consider the likely role of blended messaging in the development of mobile messaging during the next few years.

Table of contents



Key messages



Various blended messaging solutions, but limited uptake so far



Blended messaging: what and why?



Away from ‘the next big thing’ and towards ‘making this big thing bigger’

Mobile messaging development: standards and silos

Couldn’t this all just be ‘messaging’?

The potential benefits of blended messaging

Obstacles to blended messaging

End users and blended messaging



Cross-industry initiatives in blended messaging



Common concepts, but multiple competing platforms



Case studies: blended messaging in platform vendors’ product ranges



724 Solutions: Seamless Messaging

Acision: Intuitive Texting and Converged Messaging

Airwide: Mobile Messaging 2.0

Comverse: Converged Messaging and Instant SMS

Ericsson: Enriched Messaging

Openwave: Converged Communications Solution



Mobile operators’ messaging concerns



Various operator needs to meet



Mobile operators and blended messaging



Blended messaging has achieved limited traction so far

SMS maturity has not provided much impetus for blended messaging

O2: looking for ways to sustain a leading position in messaging

Blended messaging and fixed-mobile convergence



Table of figures



Figure 1 Mobile messaging takes place in silos

Figure 2 Mobile messaging silos: some unique strengths and some overlap

Figure 3 Blended messaging hides the distinction between messaging types

Figure 4 Growth rates in SMS have been sustained over seven years in the UK

• Global Mobile Phones
• Global Premium A2P (MT) and P2A (MO) SMS/MMS Messaging Market Size and Forecast, 2010 – 2015
• Mobile Phones in Asia-Pacific
• Mobile Phones in Australia
• Mobile Phones in Belgium
• Mobile Phones in Brazil
• Mobile Phones in Canada
• Mobile Phones in China
• Mobile Phones in Europe
• Mobile Phones in France
• Mobile Phones in Germany
• Mobile Phones in India
• Mobile Phones in Italy
• Mobile Phones in Japan
• Mobile Phones in Mexico
• Mobile Phones in Singapore
• Mobile Phones in South Africa
• Mobile Phones in Spain
• Mobile Phones in the Netherlands
• Mobile Phones in the United Kingdom