China's telecom industry suffers as SMS plunges  

一季度点对点短信降11% 中国传统电信业遇袭

在移动互联网冲击下，短信、通话等中国电信业传统业务显出颓势，尤其是被微信所替代的短信业务，一季度同比仅增0.5%，其中点对点短信一季度同比下降了10.9%。

Beijing (CNS) -- As Chinese mobile users move in droves to more affordable Internet-based messaging services like WeChat, traditional telecom businesses such as text messaging and voice call services saw sharp declines in the first quarter this year.

The volume of SMS stands at 232.1 billion, registering a year-on-year growth of merely 0.5 percent, with SMS growth down by 10.9 percent from the same period last year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Thursday.

The number of mobile users making voice calls also saw a sharp decrease. The dial-out call duration in the first quarter reached 693.8 billion minutes, up merely 6.3 percent.

The number of mobile Internet users, which accounts for 70 percent of all mobile users, delivered stellar growth, registering a net growth of 53 million to reach 817 million in the first quarter.

Tencent's WeChat has become one of the primary and most popular SMS replacements for mobile users in China, with its cheaper and more convenient text and voice messaging services.