Picture messaging still too expensive

The relatively high prices charged by network operators for MMS messages is holding back market growth, according to new research from analyst firm Informa Telecoms & Media.

Operators are currently charging four times as much to send an MMS compared to a text message.

"Pricing is fundamental to the success of MMS. Subscribers are still unwilling to pay the comparatively higher tariffs for MMS and, until the price ratio with SMS narrows, traffic volumes will remain low," said Kester Mann, senior research analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.

"Interoperability, ease of use, handset penetration and service development are other important factors, but pricing will remain key in the long term."

Although MMS traffic quadrupled in 2005, only three operators recorded more than 100 million MMS messages sent. This compares to 30 billion text messages in the UK alone last year.

China Mobile, the world's largest operator, recorded total SMS traffic of 62.8 billion in the third quarter of 2005, 800 times higher than its MMS traffic of 78.6 million messages.