The secret profit of camera phones, MMS

Mar 16 2004 - 10:25 PM ET | Camera

Forbes is running a piece on the profitability of sending pictures across multiple carriers (normally done via a MMS). Not only do the cellular providers profit, but the middleman companies that make it all happen get another piece of the action. Currently, most picture messages in the US are sent intra-carrier. Industry watchdogs are speculating that third parties will do the grunt work, and simple bill the wireless companies which will then in turn bill you (albeit bill you more). bq. "By the end of 2004, consumers will have sent 3.8 billion multimedia messages, which are mostly photographs, according to research outfit IDC. That's astounding considering that camera phones didn't even hit the U.S. market in a meaningful way until 2003..." We recently noted that a few Chinese companies have reached the same conclusion, and have bet big on MMS.

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