Mobile ticketing users to treble by 2015

The number of people redeeming travel and entertainment tickets via their mobile phones is set to treble by 2015, according to a report by Juniper Research.

The study says that mobile ticketing will grow from 4.5% of mobile phone users worldwide in 2011 to 12.7% by 2015.

"The key years will be 2011-2013 when we expect to see significant growth year-on-year, fuelled by the availability of commercial mobile ticketing services and the early stages of NFC (near-field communication) commercialisation in other countries than Japan," said the report.

Sign up to Computer Weekly to download Juniper Research's report entitled 'Mobile Ticketing Markets: Analysis, Strategic Opportunities & Forecasts 2011-2015' published in March 2011.

The technologies behind mobile ticketing include SMS, bar codes and near-field communication used for transport services, sports events and other entertainment events, such as live music concerts.

Howard Wilcox, senior analyst at Juniper Research, says SMS is the key technology for mass adoption of mobile ticketing.

"If mobile ticketing is going to achieve critical mass, SMS is essential due to its ubiquity. SMS is the common technology," he said.

"Convenience is the driving force from users' perspective."