On August the 3rd 1985 SMS (short messaging service) was developed in Germany and France by Friedhelm Hillebrand, Bernard Ghillebaert and Oculy Silaban – making the popular service 25 years old today!

Despite being developed in 1985, SMS was slow to take off as wireless operators had to develop a system to charge mobile subscribers.

One of the main reasons behind the success of SMS has been attributed to the fact that it was initially offered to mobile subscribers free of charge! An early model of social trysumerism, perhaps!

The use of SMS then fell by up to 40% when operators began to charge…but slowly climbed back up again.

25 years later and SMS has become the preferred method of communication for many – mainly because it is fast, easy and simple to use. It is even being adopted by the social sector as a way of campaigning, raising funds and communicating with supporters…Long may this continue!

Happy birthday SMS – and Happy texting everyone!

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