Revenues from mobile dating and
chatroom services are expected to pass $1bn by 2010, according to a new
report from Juniper Research.

Globally, the number of users of such services is expected to rise from
just over 40m in 2007 to 260m in 2012, driven by strong demand in both
developed and emerging markets, including more than 60m users in the
Indian sub-continent.

According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, \"Major brands such as
Match.com and Webdate have recognised that customers are willing to pay
a mobility premium for 24/7 access to these services and are increasing
deploying mobile applications to complement and enhance their existing
offerings.\"

Holden added that the sector was also becoming increasingly attractive
to start-ups seeking to launch cross-platform services from the outset.

\"The increasing proliferation of 3G handsets and a mean that companies
are increasing confident of introducing converged services at the
outset. Furthermore, those companies which embrace such a strategy -
such as Flirtomatic - are experiencing significantly higher levels of
traffic from their WAP users than from their users on the fixed
internet.\"

The report  cautions, however, that usage was being retarded in many
territories by excessive and confusing data pricing, stating that the
high costs of data - particularly for prepaid customers - were
continuing to act as a disincentive for regular usage and more
widespread adoption.

Other findings from the report include:
*        At the present time, the largest mobile dating markets by user
numbers are Japan and India.
*        The low level of fixed penetration in India, and the increasing
tendency in the country to use mobile services directly as an aide not
merely for dating, but for marriage, suggests that overall penetration
here will be significantly higher than elsewhere in the world
*        Many customers will use mobile dating as an adjunct to, rather
than instead of, their fixed internet dating services

Juniper Research assesses the current and future status of mobile
user-generated content based on interviews, case studies and analysis
from representatives of some of the leading organisations in the growing
mobile user-generated content industry.