The number of multimedia messages (MMS) sent in the first half of his year by the clients of the local mobile telephony operators went down by almost 60% compared with the same time last year. As a result, companies lost more than one million euros, according to the data in a report published by the National Authority for Communications (ANC).

The number of MMS messages sent in the first half of 2008 was 6.9 million, compared with 16.3 million euros in the same time of last year. If calculating at an average rate of 0.14 euros/MMS, the operators did not bill services worth approximately 1.3 million euros, as a result of the market decline. A user can send pictures or audio files attached to a text in an MMS.

On the other hand, the number of text messages sent by the clients of the local mobile telephony operators continued to go up, reaching 1,789 million in the first half of this year, almost 20% more than in the same time of last year. Revenues from SMS messages invoiced by operators in the first half of the year amounted to almost 90 million euros, if we take into account a 0.05 euro/SMS rate. Text messages are considered the most successful application of the mobile telephony second only to voice services.

After a time of stagnation, the video calls between users of 3G services provided by Orange and Vodafone have witnessed growth to 1.1 million minutes of video calls in the first half of this year. The video call service is currently available only inside and between Orange and Vodafone networks. The revenues from this service are modest compared with those generated by SMS messages. If considering a medium rate of 0.17 euros/minute of video call, the two operators got approximately 0.2 million euros from this service in the first half. The service is only available to Orange and Vodafone customers who own mobile phones that are compatible wi