OMG! We're eating n sleeping SMS!

MUMBAI, INDIA: A teenage dame immersed in an SMSing game lying on a park bench. As the camera zooms out, we realize that she is having the game with her boyfriend on whose lap she is lying. A clear reflection of the generation that lives on SMS. From news to gossip to love to sex... everything is centered around this three-letter word!

The kind of explosion that is happening in the SMS space is evident from the recent report from VeriSign, Inc., a provider in Internet infrastructure services.

According to the latest quarterly index of mobile messaging statistics compiled by VeriSign's messaging and mobile media division, text messaging is one of the simplest and most useful means of mobile communication, allowing people to provide nearly real-time updates and alerts on the latest happenings to friends and family.

The VeriSign report says that it delivered a total of 224 billion SMS in 2008. And on a single day (you guessed it right – the recent Valentine’s Day on February 14) 1.06 billion messages were delivered.

"Mobile messaging continues to play an even greater role in how the world communicate. Record usage growth requires a reliable, scalable network to ensure messages reach their intended destination – and as 2008 showed, VeriSign continues to deliver with ease,” said Qi Li, vice president of Asia Pacific, for VeriSign's messaging and mobile media division.

Asia Pacific has traditionally led the growth of mobile messaging worldwide, and VeriSign has continued investing in and growing its reach in Asia, said a press release.

“Asia represents the single largest investment for VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media division and we are expecting a growth rate of 20-25 per cent in the next three years,” Qi added.

He said that they have a long and successful track record in mobile messaging in the communications and enterprise segments, and intend to continue to address the rapidly emerging needs of mobile communications and enterprise customers throughout Asia.

Delivering 224 billion SMS not only shattered its original estimates of 200 billion messages, but it also saw a 134 per cent increase in its total messages delivered from 2007, the release added.

VeriSign facilitated an average of 772 million messages per day in Q4 2008, compared to 634 million messages per day in Q3 2008 and 352 million messages per day in Q4 2007, the release added.

Its combined mobile messaging networks achieved new milestones when VeriSign, together with RealNetworks, successfully delivered more than 1.1 billion inter-carrier SMS messages on Christmas Day.

At 6.89 billion and still counting, it is said that the world population is on the verge of an explosion. Do you think the kind of 'explosion' that is happening in the SMS space is even more severe, reflecting kind of addiction to the world of gadgets rather than dependence?