SMS is here to stay and its use will continue growing, according to a recent study of mobile phone use.

A report by Portio Research, entitled Mobile Messaging Futures 2007-2012, found that SMS generated $47.5bn worldwide in 2006, and is predicted to reach $52.5bn in 2007.

A projected 3.7 trillion messages being sent annually by 2012 will push this revenue to $67bn.

John White, business development manager at Portio Research, told vnunet.com that the growth in SMS will be significantly higher than the revenue increases owing to declining prices.

The report predicts a bright future for other mobile messaging technologies, including instant messaging and mobile email. But it noted that these technologies are still completely eclipsed by SMS.

Against some expectations, SMS traffic has not flattened out in mature markets but has continued to boom. Traffic has grown much faster than expected in the US and continues to be fuelled by new subscribers.

The report predicts that in Asia alone, in every five-minute period for the next six years, 2,267 people will have bought their first mobile phone.

For the majority, these new handsets will offer little affordable functionality apart from basic voice and SMS. This translates into an additional 1.4 billion new mobile subscribers with a consequent boom in SMS traffic in the region.

By 2011 the research predicts a possible decline in SMS volumes and revenues as other messaging systems, such as mobile instant messaging and mobile email become more popular.