VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Numbers
Continue to Shatter Records
Company Handled Single-Quarter Record 43 Billion Messages from January-March;
Annual Worldwide Record Almost Certain to Be Broken As Well
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – May 20, 2008 – Wireless subscribers continue to flood networks
with record numbers of mobile messages each day, according to numbers
released by VeriSign’s Mobile Messaging and Media division today.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the leading provider
of digital infrastructure for the networked world, announced that its
Mobile Messaging Index for Q1 2008 indicates single-day and quarterly
mobile messaging records have been broken. In addition, the numbers
strongly suggest that the annual mobile messaging record will be shattered
in 2008.
VeriSign’s combined mobile messaging networks enabled
more than 43 billion messages in Q1 2008, up more than 34 percent from
Q4 2007 and an increase of approximately 154 percent from Q1 2007. That
total includes a single-day record 538 million SMS messages on Valentine’s
Day handled by VeriSign’s network alone. Based on that number, VeriSign
estimates roughly 2.12 billion mobile messages were exchanged across
all networks on Valentine’s Day.
Annual mobile messaging records for totals and revenue,
set in 2007, are almost certain to be eclipsed. As the use of mobile
messaging continues to skyrocket, the annual record VeriSign set in
2007 – over 96 billion mobile messages handled – could be surpassed
by the end of Q3 2008. As of March 31, VeriSign already had handled
45 percent as many mobile messages this year as it did in all of 2007.
In doing so, VeriSign enabled more than $1.6 billion in revenue in Q1
2008 for mobile messaging customers worldwide – one-third the total
revenue enabled by VeriSign in this market in all of 2007.
To view the full Index, please visit http://www.verisign.com/static/043711.pdf.
“Wireless subscribers continue to adopt mobile messaging
in remarkable numbers as their preferred method for all types of instant
communication,” said Charles Landry, vice president of global messaging
services, VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media division. “While the
marked rise in message volume on holidays such as Valentine’s Day illustrate
how consumers increasingly rely on their mobile device to communicate
instantly on special days, the continued growth of messaging overall
reveals that consumers’ ongoing transition to digital solutions is just
as revolutionary on an average day.”
Landry said he expects future growth in traffic volume
to be fueled by a range of factors, including migration towards the
unlimited voice and data plans by the operators and expansions in both
global enterprises and mobile banking services.
Aside from the holiday spikes, VeriSign figures revealed:
- In Q1 2008, the
number of SMS, or text messages, enabled by VeriSign’s combined mobile
messaging networks was approximately 476 million per day, on average.
This compares to approximately 352 million messages per day in Q4 2007
and approximately 189 million messages per day in Q1 2007.
- While SMS messages
remain the single-most popular form of messaging, other forms are gaining
popularity as well. In Q1 2008, approximately 272 million MMS messages,
multimedia messages capable of delivering audio, video or images, were
handled by VeriSign. This number represents an increase from approximately
232 million messages in Q4 2007 and 122 million messages in Q1 2007,
respectively. MMS-related revenue enabled to carriers by VeriSign rose
from approximately $31 million in Q1 2007 to more than $68 million in
Q1 2008.
- A2P messages, or
application-to-person messages that include news alerts, ring tones,
video clips and related content, rose from approximately 155 million
messages in Q4 2007 to approximately 187 million in Q1 2008. Contributing
to this growth were increases in SMS search, innovative A2P messaging
campaigns such as “My GRAMMY® Moment,” and the addition of new mobile
banking customers. VeriSign now serves six of the 10 largest banks in
the U.S.
VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media division boasts
a unique view to mobile messaging statistics. By powering inter-carrier
mobile messaging for seven of the top 10 wireless carriers in North
America and delivering messages and content for global content providers,
brands, and enterprises, VeriSign’s combined mobile messaging networks
(P2P and A2P) connect to more than 500 carriers and reach more than
2 billion wireless subscribers.
###
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure
services for the networked world. Billions of times each day, VeriSign
helps companies and consumers all over the world engage in communications
and commerce with confidence. Additional news and information about
the company is available at www.verisign.com.
Contacts
Media Relations: Marianna Vyridi, mvyridi@webershandwick.com,
415-248-3412
Investor Relations: Nancy Fazioli, ir@verisign.com,
650-426-5146
Trademarks
VeriSign, and other trademarks, service marks, and logos are registered
or unregistered trademarks of VeriSign and its subsidiaries in the United
States and in foreign countries.
Copyright © 2008 VeriSign, Inc. All rights reserved.
Statements in this announcement other than historical
data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ
materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements.
The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainty
of future revenue and profitability; potential fluctuations in quarterly
operating results due to such factors as the risk that VeriSign's announcements
may not result in additional products, services, customers, profits
or revenues; and increased competition and pricing pressures. More information
about potential factors that could affect the company's business and
financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including in the company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and quarterly reports
on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the
forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
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