News
Love is over-the-air
Stuart O'Brien Sep 17 2007, 10:15am
Mobile dating services to have 260 million users generating $1 billion by 2012.
Juniper Research predicts the number of people looking for love through their phones will surge from 40 million this year, with the 2012 figure including 60 million users from the Indian sub-continent.
The company says the increasing number of online dating companies extending their offering to mobile combined with increased 3G penetration (making video calls etc a viable service proposition) are driving the market.
Juniper says the largest markets for mobile dating right now are Japan and India, with the latter posting significant growth due to the lack of fixed line internet services.
However, the report cautions that excessive and confusing data pricing is an ongoing barrier to mobile dating usage in many markets, particularly for pre-paid customers.
