Smartphone owners under the age of 35 are much more avid fans of OTT messaging than older smartphone users, while VoIP usage remains relatively limited across all age groups, according to a report released by Analysys Mason today (20 June).

The report, which surveyed consumers in France, Germany, Poland, Spain, the UK and the US, revealed that 18-34 year olds are by far the heaviest users of OTT messaging. More than 40 per cent of this group were found to consume IP-based messaging, while only 20 per cent of those aged 65 and over do so.

SMS usage is still popular, however. Just over 90 per cent of 18-34 year olds use the texting service, but only 67 per cent of those aged 65 and over use the service.

A surprise finding of the report, perhaps, is that VoIP usage remains relatively limited. Moreover, the even distribution of VoIP usage across countries leads Analysys Mason to conclude that the conditions for mass-market VoIP adoption on smartphones do not currently exist.

However, broken down by age, the report finds that VoIP services are most popular with the youngest age group – more than one in ten of those under the age of 35 use a VoIP service.

“Operators will note that despite the high penetration levels of IP-based alternatives, full messaging service substitution has not yet occurred,” said Stephen Sale, author of the report. “Operators should continue to embed the use of SMS in customers’ behaviour, particularly with younger users, by offering unlimited messaging plans. However, such initiatives should be undertaken alongside a review of the messaging feature set and any related initiatives, such as RCS or telco OTT services.”

Sale adds that although the low penetration rates of VoIP services favour operators, they cannot afford to be complacent.

“Following on from Skype, Facebook and Google are making advances in this area, and Microsoft is also expected to make aggressive moves later this year,” he said. “Operators must ensure they are proactive with changes to pricing structures and the core feature set.”

The research firm highlights that the respondents’ criteria for choosing their next mobile service indicates sharp contrast in attitudes according to age. ‘More data’ is a bigger factor than ‘more messaging’ or ‘more voice’ in the 18-34 age-group, says Analysys Mason, but ‘more voice’ is a bigger factor than ‘more data’ in every other age segment.

The report goes on to contend that the demarcations of value within mobile contracts will change during the next few years, as the customer experience becomes more data-centric.

“Most importantly, this report’s results indicate that an operator’s next-generation communication strategies need to be much more focused on segmentation, with commercial and technical decisions taking into account differentiation in various customer segments,” said Sale. “If not, then operators run the risk of becoming relegated to secondary providers of communication services for some user groups.”

Coinciding with the Analysys Mason report, Chetan Sharma Consulting says that OTT player WhatsApp has “moved around” more messages than all mobile operators combined in any country – including the US and China – during the last 12 months.

And while the US and China, collectively, have approximately 1.5 billion subscriptions, WhatsApp – with its 200 million base – has moved more messages in the last 12 months than all the operators in both countries combined.

Analysts at Chetan Sharma Consulting argue that once you have an IP connection, consumers will gravitate towards innovative solutions and be willing to fragment their communication behaviour across multiple apps. SMS will stay relevant for the foreseeable future, says the consultancy firm, but growth is in IP communication.

“We will also see more cooperation between the IP app players and the operators as they find common strategic grounds,” says the firm.