China Telecoms Sign SMS Pact

China’s four top phone carriers have agreed to make short messaging services (SMS) between mobile and fixed-line phones interoperable, which is expected to boost the revenues of phone and SMS operators. China Unicom Ltd. said Thursday that its parent had signed an interclearing and interconnection agreement with China Telecom Corp. and China Netcom Group to allow the exchange of SMS between mobile and fixed-line users.

Such interoperability would benefit the phone companies and SMS operators, in a nation where SMS messaging has boomed as it has grown into the world’s largest wireless market with nearly 300 million users. Chinese mobile phone users sent an estimated 120 billion SMS messages last year, up 50 percent from 2002. The value of the SMS market was estimated at US$750 million last year against US$234 million in 2002. Continue >>