Instant messaging on chat apps overtakes SMS

Instant messaging on chat apps, such as WhatsApp, has overtaken the traditional SMS text message for the first time, according to research firm Informa.
Informa said almost 19 billion messages were sent per day on chat apps in 2012, compared with 17.6 billion SMS texts.
The shift is likely to have a big impact on mobile operators, for whom texts have been a key revenue source.
Pamela Clark-Dickson of Informa said some operators were already "seeing a decline in their messaging revenues".
According to estimates by research firm Ovum, more than £ 15 billion of SMS revenue was lost in 2012 due to popularity of chat apps.
Informa said nearly 50 billion messages will be sent per day using these apps by 2014, compared with just over 21 billion SMSs.
However, it said despite the growing gap between the two, SMS will continue to remain a key player.
Informa said most of chat apps were used by smartphones users.
However, a large number of consumers use normal mobile phones and rely on SMS as the messaging tool.