Priority at a price

SMS text messages have become as pervasive as cell phones themselves. Once reserved for younger users keen on digital shorthand, it is now an accepted mode of communication for parents, businesspeople and users of all ages. In the past two days alone, SMS text has been making headlines for its growth potential, new applications and ability to unveil a scandal.

In the Philippines, dubbed one of the most prolific text messaging centers of the world, Filipinos sent more than one billion texts each day in 2007. Even the governor does policy work over his mobile phone. Across the seas in China and increasingly in the U.S., text messages have become a popular form of voting for reality TV shows like American Idol. Chinese mobile phone users sent an average of 455 messages per person last year. Text messages were even the cause of scandal this week in Detroit, where the mayor stands accused of lying about an illicit affair. The proof was in the texts.

Text messaging has clearly become a legitimate and ubiquitous use of mobile devices. And a potentially lucrative one for mobile carriers, most of which charge extra for SMS plans. Especially when you throw mobile search and advertising into the mix, the SMS text market is poised to grow even larger in the coming years.

As text messages grow in popularity, the bandwidth for these services shrinks in comparison. Mobile operators are working to address this issue, especially in emergency situations as Sprint’s Bruce Lee discussed today. But there seems to be more that can be done in non-emergency situations as well. CEO of TeleChoice Danny Briere pointed out that there is a business case for marketing priority text messages as a premium service to any user -- not just those legally obliged to spread the word of emergencies.

If a user is willing to spend the extra money to ensure that his or her text is first in line for routing, a carrier should be ready and willing to capitalize on this. It could be a subscription or pay-per-use type of service with a significant mark-up to make it truly premium. This would be especially feasible on dates such as New Year’s Eve right around midnight or events like the Super Bowl or Olympics. The congestion of an SMS network, which is separate, although equally as jammed up as voice networks, spikes whenever a large group of people is gathered in close proximity. Moving from a first in, first out basis to one based on priority seems logical, especially if consumers are willing to pay.

Right now, while this kind of priority service is in place for calls of an emergency nature, no carrier has a system for priority SMS. That doesn’t mean that a viable business model doesn’t still exist at a consumer level. Even if the market for this is just a niche group of premium users who want the service a few nights of the year, it still makes sense to at least offer the service as option. It is not much different than the dynamic at a nightclub. Everyone waits in line to get in, but those willing to slip the doorman a few extra bucks have a better chance of getting through first. Those of us in line don’t always like it, but that’s only because we’re not the ones cutting the line.

Email me at sreedy@telephonyonline.com.