They didn't lose that much money - they never had it to begin with. What the egghead analysts at Ovum fail to realize is that words have meaning.
A more accurate analysis would be that IF people were inclined to pay per text, or IF there was no other method of sending text messages, then people would have paid billions of dollars, IF they chose to use texting under those conditions. Personally, I only use text messages because they are unlimited on my phone plan - no fee other than what they built into the basic charge.
If you offer a service and nobody buys it, then you didn't lose any money on what you didn't sell, especially an intangible product.