A report from In-Stat finds the most profitable data service is still text messaging.  Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS) technologies provide potentially endless revenue streams for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). In-Stat found the following:

•  Users are sending more than 2 trillion mobile messages per day globally as of the end of 2008.
•  In-Stat consumer survey showed that consumers that use mobile messaging also use significantly more voice minutes than overall survey respondents.
• US mobile messengers are also more likely to pay up to 25% more for their handsets than all survey respondents.
  

"SMS may be a basic, cheap technology, but it still has much life as a MNO cash cow," says Frank Dickson, In-Stat analyst. "The keys to SMS profitability are its ease-of-use, inexpensive price tag, global reach, and increased reliability as infrastructure development increases in more rural global regions. In developed areas, however, it has become increasingly important for mobile operators to find ways to enhance and personalize the SMS service offering.