ABI Research predict that by 2013 there will be in excess of 140 million subscribers to mobile online networking and this will generate subscription revenues in the region of $410 million.

Research director Michael Wolf, says: “Subscriber numbers for mobile social networking will climb at a relatively modest rate for the next three or four years, but will then start to accelerate sharply. That uptick is based on assumed acceptance levels in the giant emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Those countries are wildcards, very difficult to estimate, so we are quite conservative in our forecasts.”

Several mobile versions of social networks will remain the same model as today’s internet based MySpace and FaceBook which pose a problem to mobile phone operators by limiting their cut of the revenue for data traffic.

Source — slashphone