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Do you use mobile instant messaging? According to a study conducted from TNS Technology, if you do you probably use it as your primary form of text-based communication. Mobile instant message (MIM) users send fewer SMS than their non-MIM counterparts, and less fixed email as well. MIM users also seem more addicted to their chosen medium. Of those who use MIM, 61 percent use it daily, while only 55 percent use SMS daily. Just 12 percent use email on a daily basis.

Matthew Froggatt, Managing Director of Global Technology for TNS states that “Once a mobile phone user has access to the internet from their handset, the cost of instant messaging is next to nothing, as the only cost is a very small data transfer fee. With consumers being accustomed to instant messaging from their PC from companies like Yahoo and MSN, and more mobile operators offering unlimited use of web browsers, the take up of MIM is going to increase significantly - leaving SMS and fixed email from PC behind.”

This, of course, is not good news for carriers. I wonder if it will cause them to try regulating the mobile IM platforms. Froggatt asks a question of mobile carriers: “Do they try and keep consumers focused on SMS to maintain their revenue base, or offer consumers more choice in messaging?” While the former might bring them short-term revenue, I have a feeling that the latter, while bringing less revenue in the short haul, might be the best choice over the next few years.

Just eight percent of mobile users worldwide have adopted MIM, so there’s plenty of room for growth. The choice will be a critical one moving forward.

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