Wireless firms to ease picture messaging

On buses, in the street, and in cafes, people love to chat on their cellphones, but they don't often use them to take pictures.

Canada's wireless companies want to change that. They will soon let their customers send pictures and video clips to clients of rival carriers. Now, people can send picture and video messages only to subscribers who are on the same network or to an e-mail address.

The wireless carriers expect the coming accord will lead to more picture messages as people go about their day-to-day activities. They point to the explosion in text messages that occurred after inter-carrier messaging was introduced three years ago.

In 2002, Canadians sent 174 million person-to-person text messages, dubbed SMS (short message service).

That surged to 352 million in 2003 and reached more than 710 million last year, according to figures released recently by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.

Upinder Saini, senior director of wireless Internet marketing at Rogers Communications Inc., says an inter-carrier agreement is "critical" to the growth of picture and video messaging.

Figures for picture and video messaging, known as multimedia messaging service (MMS), aren't available for the industry as a whole. However, the carriers will reveal certain details.

Telus Corp. says its clients send several hundreds of thousands of MMS messages each month. Bell Mobility Inc. says it had 200-percent growth in MMS in January, 2005, compared with January, 2004.

Camera phones are attractive because users don't need to carry two devices to make calls and take snapshots.

The convenience factor is turning them into a hot trend worldwide. They already outsell digital cameras, and market research firm IDC predicts their sales will triple to 300 million units in 2007.

Some consumers remain reluctant to buy a camera phone because they generally have lower resolution than digital cameras, so the pictures don't turn out as well. But the quality is improving as equipment makers bring out more advanced versions. And people understand there is a tradeoff with camera phones, industry observers say.

It will take some time before there is a mass market ability to take pictures with phones, says Mark Quigley of consultancy Yankee Group Canada. That's because most Canadians have long-term contracts for wireless service and only replace their cellphones every few years.

He added that, while SMS is almost like a conversation, with people sending messages back and forth, wireless subscribers are unlikely to do the same with pictures. "The inclination is likely going to be to send a text message back," Mr. Quigley said. "So I don't think we're going to have growth that's as explosive" with MMS messaging.

The cost to send an MMS message is pricier than an SMS message. Wireless carriers charge up to 15 cents for each SMS, compared with 25 cents to 75 cents for video and picture messages.

Rogers was the first out with a camera phone in 2002, while Telus and Bell Mobility entered the market in 2003. Video phones followed.

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