Mobile instant messaging (MIM) is the latest value-added service offering within the mobile industry that allows subscribers to enjoy real-time instant messaging with presence information capabilities. However, mobile operators need to understand that subscribers give greater priority to convenience of using the service over the technology and capabilities it offers. Therefore, more efforts must be placed on creating user-friendly client interfaces that integrate effectively with the handset features. It must also indicate the presence information of any contact in the phonebook irrespective of the mobile network or the community the contact belongs to. In addition, there is a need for a centralised presence server that not only indicates the presence information for all multimedia applications that are integrated with MIM, but also reduces the network traffic that results from presence updates.

This research evaluates the potential of MIM to increase mobile operators’ data revenues in the Western European market. It examines the current market trends with respect to technology, business and pricing model. The study also provides strategic recommendations to mobile operators on how to best leverage the capabilities of MIM in the future.

Presence in MIM will be the Catalyst for Mobile Communications

Presence is MIM’s unique selling proposition that will allow carriers to supplement falling voice revenues. Although some carriers regard presence as a service that diminishes operator’s voice revenues, their viewpoint is not adequately justified. This is because presence helps users to "pull" an application rather than enabling them to "push" it through. For example, if a user is aware that their contact is in a meeting, by viewing the presence information, rather than making a call (push), the user sends an instant message requesting the contact to call later.

"Presence information can bring about emotional triggers that stimulate users to call or message, thereby bringing in additional revenues to operators," says the analyst. For instance, an SMS user would send double the number of messages while using MIM due to the real-time conversational experience which stimulates communication. Presence capabilities also indicate if the user is capable of sending multimedia messages or possesses a ‘push to talk’ (PTT) device.

MIM to be a ‘Killer Combination’ Rather than a ‘Killer Application’

In the future, MIM is expected to transition from its status as a stand-alone application into integrating with messaging applications such as MMS, e-mail and SMS. "Through session initiated protocol (SIP) based application phones, subscribers will enjoy unified conversational communications with seamless switching between different applications by accessing a common presence enabled converged address book," explains the analyst.

However, indicating the presence information for all multimedia applications onto a common address book is difficult given the current protocol standard. For successful deployment of MIM, operators must address server-server protocol (SSP) interoperability issues. Since most multimedia applications are based on SIP, the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is integrating SIP and SIMPLE (SIP for instant messaging and presence leveraging extensions) based protocols into their standards, thereby making MIM a ubiquitous service.