Imagine how popular e-mail would be if digital correspondence could not travel beyond the bounds of local Internet service providers. But not being able to send it across different networks kind of defeats the whole purpose. Mobile text-messaging is exploding globally. The GSM Association, an international industry trade group, predicts 200 billion SMS messages will be transmitted worldwide this year. In the Philippines, where sending a 160-character message is cheaper than making a voice call, citizens exchange about a billion SMS messages every month.
Competition keeps a lid on service fees.
Per-message prices in the SAR are already falling toward uneconomic levels. Some companies are charging just one cent per message, down from 12 cents last year. Hong Kong is slated to issue licenses for 3G networks later this year. Some carriers are seeking salvation elsewhere. NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile phone operator and a stakeholder in Hong Kong's Hutchinson cellular carrier, is expected to bring its successful iMode service to the SAR in the next few months.