According a study by Tyntec and GigaOM Research, global internet protocol (IP)-based mobile message traffic is expected to be at par with SMS traffic this year, at nearly 10 trillion each.
Moreover, IP mobile messages using over-the-top technologies such as WhatsApp and Facebook Chat are projected to overtake SMSs in 2014 and reach 15 trillion units by 2016, compared to 11 trillion SMSs in the same year. The study further states that owing to the lack of interoperability and inconsistent delivery of IP messaging, users require to switch between IP-based messaging and SMSs.
Meanwhile, SMS is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5 per cent until 2016, partly owing to its ubiquity, interoperability and global reach for application-to-person messaging.
In conclusion, the report states that the growth of IP-based messaging and SMS solutions have reached an impasse and will converge as the demand for streamlined messaging services continues to grow. In this context, virtual phone numbers are a viable solution, as these provide a universal identifier to seamlessly converge the two technologies.
