Ireland is a nation of texters and has the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) in Europe at €47 per month compared to the €31 European average, said one of the world’s leading mobile messaging transmission and billing specialists mBlox, which has just moved into the Irish market.
The company is planning to launch cross-carrier premium billing services targeting Irish carriers, content providers, application service providers and enterprises.
The company said it was inspired by market statistics from the Commission for Communications Regulation that illustrates the Irish as a nation of texters, sending on average of 89 SMS messages per user per month. As well as this some 76pc of all mobile phone users are prepaid.
And despite the fact that the country now has reached a mobile penetration of 94pc of the population, the local mobile market is still growing. The number of SMS messages sent in 2004 increased by 22pc in 2004.
“It was a very logical step for mBlox to extend its Premium SMS service in Ireland in order to round out our strong presence across Europe and the US,” said Brandon Trollip, mBlox product marketing manager for Ireland and UK. “A number of our clients, especially those based in the UK, were interested in expanding their own businesses to Ireland. With the mBlox Ireland Premium SMS service we will provide both our customers and the operators with significant new revenue potential.”
According to the company, it is the only major messaging service provider in Ireland and around the world to focus exclusively on the commercial and technical complexities of application-to-person messaging. The result of this focus is that mBlox has developed what it claims is the most trusted and resilient messaging network for SMS delivery and billing.
Irish mobile content providers, application service providers and enterprises will now be able to access mBlox’s Mobile Transaction Platform for reliable local and international Premium SMS services, as well as mBlox’s suite of global, carrier-grade, SMS delivery services.
Andrew Bud, executive chairman of mBlox, said: “Ireland was an important market for mBlox to service, both for in terms of the development of the local market and the extra value it brings to our existing clients. Its Premium SMS service is just the latest demonstration of our commitment to serve the needs of the international market for mobile content and services.”
By John Kennedy
