Gartner has revealed that short messaging services (SMS) continue to grow in popularity in developing markets across the Asia Pacific region.
Madhusudan Gupta, senior research analyst at the company, pointed out that the mature markets in the same area are also seeing "healthy growth" due to a gradual fall in prices.
But he stressed that in emerging markets there is a trend for marginal subscribers to use such messages as an entry level service.
Research by Gartner indicated that SMS usage in the Asia Pacific region, including Japan, could reach 1.9 trillion messages for the year.
Predictions for next year suggest that this number could increase by 12.7 per cent to stand at 2.1 trillion.
Mr Gupta added: "'Big bucket' or large inclusive SMS and MMS bundles will also increase traffic by lowering the price barriers to usage."
Tim Dunn from MIG told UTalkMarketing that while SMS usage has retained its popularity, there are many more possibilities in technology such as the mobile internet and viral applications.