As a result, global SMS revenues fell from USD 82 billion in 2015 to USD 75 billion in 2016, and analysts expect that global SMS revenues will continue to decline in the next few years. Investments in developing economies are largely driving this growth, with capex increasing by USD 23.5 billion during this period, compared to a USD 10 billion reduction in the developed world. Growth of the Internet of Things (loT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications is creating revenue opportunities for service providers operating in mature markets, which may help to offset declining revenue trends in core business segments.