<p>Analyst group Ovum forecasts that by 2016 telecommunications carriers around the world will lost US$54 billion in SMS revenues due to the increasing popularity of social messaging services - messaging within social networks - on smartphones.</p><p>This is more than double the US$23 billion they are expected to have lost by the end of 2012. Ovum says that collaboration with handset manufacturers is imperative if operators are to remain relevant and competitive in the instant messaging industry.</p><p>In a new report addressing how operators can counteract the social messaging threat from over-the-top (OTT) players, Ovum highlights the rapid increase in the number of such players, and demonstrates that social messaging is not a short-term trend, but a shift in communication patterns. Operators in Europe and Asia-Pacific will be affected the most, and should be vigilant with respect to OTT messaging activity.</p><p>"Social messaging is becoming more pervasive, and operators are coming under increased pressure to drive revenues from the messaging component of their communications businesses," says Ovum's Neha Dharia.</p><p><a href="http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/mobility/56982-telcos-to-lose-billions-as-sms-gives-way-to-social-messaging">Keep reading...</a></p>