Many Still Use Mobile Phones Only to Text, Make Voice Calls, GSMA Finds

Nearly half of mobile phone users worldwide still use their devices only to make voice calls or send SMS text messages, said research by GSMA Intelligence, based on 2016 data from 56 global markets, the association said. South Korea, Qatar and the U.S. scored the highest on mobile engagement, according to the survey. Traditional SMS is still used more frequently than IP messaging in a number of mature markets, including France and the U.S., and millennials aren't necessarily more engaged mobile users than other age groups. “There are some markets, such as Myanmar, where smartphone ownership is relatively high but user engagement is low, due to digital illiteracy and a lack of locally relevant content,” the survey found. “There are several African countries with high mobile user engagement in financial services; for instance, in Kenya and Tanzania, around four in every five adult mobile phone owners use their phones for mobile money services.”