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Tag: A2P

  • Protecting A2P SMS Revenue Streams Amidst CPaaS and OTT Disruption: Strategies for Retail Success

    Protecting A2P SMS Revenue Streams Amidst CPaaS and OTT Disruption: Strategies for Retail Success

    As the Asia Pacific (APAC) region accelerates through its digital evolution, mobile network operators (MNOs) find themselves grappling with an urgent challenge: the protection of Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS, a crucial communication channel. Despite its reliability and security as a mode of enterprise communication, A2P SMS is increasingly undermined by revenue loss through gray routes, fraud, and fierce competition from communication-platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) providers and over-the-top (OTT) messaging options like WhatsApp and Flash Calls.

    Addressing these concerns is VOX Solutions, a company focused on A2P monetization, messaging security, and fraud prevention. The firm collaborates closely with operators, providing platforms and analytical tools designed to ensure revenue assurance while preserving the trust of both enterprises and subscribers.

    In an exclusive dialogue with Telecom Review Asia, John White, VP of Strategic Partnerships for APAC at VOX Solutions, provided insights into how MNOs can defend their messaging revenues, adapt to evolving market dynamics, and reinforce trust within the A2P SMS ecosystem.

    Navigating a Complex Landscape

    White identified the most pressing issue facing MNOs as the decline in A2P SMS traffic and revenue. This downturn stems from numerous factors, including budget-conscious enterprises opting for cheaper, unauthorized channels offered by CPaaS providers, along with widespread adoption of OTT messaging alternatives.

    Compounding these issues are ongoing threats from fraud and gray routes that continually chip away at revenue assurance. Some aggregators, who also operate as CPaaS providers, create conflicts of interest by simultaneously monetizing channels that compete directly with SMS. The outcome is a notable contraction in traffic, squeezed profit margins, and diminishing trust from enterprises and subscribers alike.

    The Future of A2P SMS: A Balancing Act

    Despite the pressures, A2P SMS holds a unique value proposition: it remains universal, reliable, and secure, with no app download required for users. Enterprises will continue to depend on A2P SMS for essential communications such as authentication, alerts, and consumer engagement.

    Ultimately, the future of A2P SMS rests in the hands of MNOs and how effectively they manage and safeguard this channel. Those that implement best-in-class monetization and fraud prevention strategies, alongside transparent partnerships, will stabilize revenues and reinforce SMS as the reliable communication avenue for enterprises.

    As new technologies like Flash Calls and Rich Communication Services (RCS) emerge, MNOs that cultivate robust partnerships can capture revenue across multiple channels, rather than allowing it to seep away through unregulated routes. It’s a classic case of adapt or be left behind—almost like a game of musical chairs, but instead of seeking a seat, it’s all about claiming the traffic!

    Strategic Priorities for MNOs

    To navigate this shifting landscape and protect their revenues, MNOs should focus on a comprehensive monetization strategy built on four cornerstones. First, they must achieve direct control over traffic by eliminating reliance on opportunistic aggregators and gray routes. Second, transparent commercial models are critical; fair and sustainable pricing helps retain the trust of enterprises. Third, robust fraud prevention is essential; leveraging analytics and AI can significantly reduce financial leakages. Finally, strategic partnerships are key. By working with dedicated providers like VOX Solutions, whose commitment lies with long-term alignment rather than opportunistic traffic deals, MNOs can position themselves favorably.

    Innovations from VOX Solutions

    VOX Solutions was founded with a sole mission: to prioritize the interests of MNOs fully. Eschewing competition with operators by not diverting traffic to cheaper OTT channels, VOX ensures that A2P messaging is conducted exclusively through direct, secure SMS pathways, promoting revenue assurance and brand credibility.

    Among their innovative offerings, the award-winning VOX360 platform stands out as a real-time SMS and Voice firewall that detects and blocks fraud. Additionally, their advanced analytics capabilities provide operators with clear visibility into gray-route traffic and fraud patterns. As a trailblazer in combating Flash Calls and Artificial Inflation of Traffic (AIT), VOX has set industry benchmarks and delivered the first AIT mitigation implementations worldwide. Their transparent, flexible commercial models aim to balance immediate risks with long-term revenue growth, making them a trusted partner for tier-one operators, regulators, and governments around the globe.

    Questions & Answers

    What are the primary challenges MNOs face regarding A2P SMS?
    The biggest challenges include declining traffic and revenue due to price-sensitive enterprises opting for cheaper alternatives, growing competition from CPaaS providers and OTT services, as well as ongoing threats from fraud and gray routes.

    How can MNOs protect their A2P SMS revenues in the future?
    MNOs can safeguard their revenues by implementing robust monetization strategies that enhance traffic control, enforce transparent pricing, improve fraud prevention, and build strategic partnerships with aligned providers.

    What innovations is VOX Solutions bringing to the A2P SMS ecosystem?
    VOX Solutions offers the VOX360 firewall for real-time fraud detection, advanced analytics for traffic visibility, and pioneering efforts against Flash Calls and traffic inflation, all while maintaining a long-term partnership model with MNOs.

  • GMS selected as an international A2P SMS partner

    GMS selected as an international A2P SMS partner

    Global Message Services (GMS) has been chosen as an international application-to-person (A2P) messaging hub and managed services partner with the UAE’s du.

    The partnership will see the global messaging provider, which since 2006 has expanded globally with a current reach of 900 mobile operators, secure du’s network and manage its inbound international A2P SMS traffic.

    “Connectivity and communication are core pillars of our operations and we are always in a constant drive to explore ways to improve the quality of service delivery for our end customers,” said Hany Aly, executive vice president of enterprise business at du.

    “We are happy to partner with GMS in effective monetisation of international A2P traffic. Ultimately, the benefits will be plentiful for both du and GMS with the monetisation of our SMS channels and we look forward to building our expertise and trusted solutions in this field as our partnership ensues.”

    du’s intention to improve service quality and unlock new revenue streams was perfectly in line with GMS’s ambition to extend its global monetisation footprint.

    Successful achievement is preceded by conducting a deep analysis of the legal, technical and commercial environments, identifying weak spots which need to be eliminated and implementing the necessary steps to secure the network. In line with this, du and GMS have established direct connectivity over Signalling System No.7 (SS7).

    SS7 connectivity offers an edge over other technologies in that it is of very high quality, speedy and most importantly, offers complete transparency, providing correct delivery reports to the traffic generator (enterprise) for all messages and thereby giving the full picture to both the enterprise and the MNO.

    “du stands out for its approach and attention to detail, and GMS has the exact same vision on doing business. We believe that GMS’ expertise will enable du to maximise its messaging business and achieve steady revenue growth,” added Iurii Makarenko, managing director of GMS (pictured).

    GMS multi-channel messaging platform, Hyber, allows enterprises to deliver messages across different channels worldwide: SMS, Push, OTT messengers, email, etc. GMS is Viber’s official partner.

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  • Telcos to use AI to fight SMS fraud and drive A2P messaging revenue

    Telcos to use AI to fight SMS fraud and drive A2P messaging revenue

    Juniper Research is forecasting that total operator revenues from A2P (Application-to-Person) messaging services will reach $62 billion by 2023, up from $43 billion in 2019.  This represents a growth of 42% over the next 4 years.

    The research firm also claimed that revenue growth will be driven by operator efforts in mitigating messaging fraud over grey routes, alongside the emergence of rich-media messaging technologies including RCS (Rich Communications Suite).

    The Juniper research, A2P Messaging: SMS, RCS & OTT Business Messaging 2019-2023, also found that increased investment in SMS firewalls and AI (Artificial Intelligence) will drive down operator loss due to grey route SMS messages to $4 billion by 2023. This represents a fall from $10 billion in 2019, further contributing to operators’ messaging revenue growth over the next four years.

    Grey route SMS includes A2P messages disguised as P2P (Peer-to-Peer) traffic to exploit the lower costs compared to directly connected A2P SMS. Juniper estimates that 24% of A2P SMS messages will be delivered via grey routes in 2019, however efforts in improving SMS firewall capabilities will drive this down to below 10% by 2023.

    Meanwhile, RCS business messaging will account for under 10% of operators’ A2P messaging revenue by 2023. However, the research claimed that RCS business users will continue to use SMS for simple notifications, such as OTPs (One Time Passwords) owing to the low cost and simplicity. The research identified the integration of mobile payment capabilities directly into the RCS client to provide a differentiation point to SMS and increase RCS traffic.

    Research author Sam Barker added “RCS will provide operators with additional revenue opportunities beyond simple message termination. Operators must explore the advertising ecosystem and mobile payments over RCS to exploit their substantial subscriber bases to generate fresh revenue streams.”

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  • A2P SMS to bring new life to aging messaging market

    A2P SMS to bring new life to aging messaging market

    SMS is not dead – not yet anyway. Ovum’s Mobile Messaging Traffic and Revenue Forecast: 2017-22 forecasts global revenues from application-to-person (A2P) SMS will finally exceed revenues from person-to-person (P2P) SMS by 2022, totalling $43 billion, even though A2P SMS traffic will be less than half of P2P SMS traffic by that time.

    P2P SMS revenues will generate just $40.2 billion in revenues by the end of the forecast period, but P2P SMS traffic will total 3.4 trillion messages in 2022, by comparison to 1.5 trillion A2P SMS.

    Figure 1: Global P2P and A2P SMS revenue, 2017-2022

    Figure 1: Global P2P and A2P sms revenue, 2017-2022Source: Ovum 2018

    The bulk of P2P and A2P SMS traffic and revenues will come mainly from the mobile-first, powerhouse markets of China, India and Indonesia.

    “Unfortunately for most telcos, P2P SMS has become essentially value-less, since they have had to bundle unlimited SMS into mobile tariffs to remain relevant to their customers, an increasing number of whom use chat apps such as WhatsApp, WeChat and Facebook Messenger. However, telcos can still charge a per-message termination rate for A2P SMS, which means it remains a more valuable source of revenues, since enterprises still value SMS for its global reach, affordability and mature ecosystem,” said Pamela Clark-Dickson, practice leader of Ovum’s communications and social team.

    Ovum forecasts chat apps will have 3.2 billion unique monthly active users (MAUs) by 2020, connecting enterprises with consumers via their platforms. Telcos and the wider ecosystem are therefore under pressure to protect their A2P revenues, driving them to upgrade from SMS to Rich Communication Services (RCS).

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  • Telkom picks HAUD for A2P SMS monetization

    Telkom picks HAUD for A2P SMS monetization

    Telkom Indonesia has adopted HAUD’s A2P SMS monetization and SS7 security managed services to create new sources of revenue and improve subscriber experience for the operator.

    The managed service agreement with HAUD will help Telkom Indonesia mitigate any lost A2P revenue, and its subscribers are protected from spam and fraudulent SMS traffic.

    Through its Revenue-as-a-Service approach, HAUD will manage the entire A2P monetization process, from traffic identification and blocking, to redirection of traffic to monetizable channels, without requiring any initial investment from the MNO.

    HAUD’s mobile network firewall provides modular protection against SS7 security vulnerabilities, fraud and spam SMS, while preventing grey route traffic that bypasses network termination fees. Its range of packages effectively ring-fence networks from malicious messages, while improving customer experience and revenue assurances.

    Mårten Björkman, SVP for Asia Pacific at HAUD, said Revenue-as-a-Service is a new approach to helping operators to make the most of all possible income streams available to them.

    Björkman said the global A2P SMS market is worth billions, but many operators are not equipped to claim their fair share, and routinely lose out on large amounts of revenue due to the ongoing use of grey routes.

    “HAUD’s knowledge and experience of the global A2P and fraud landscape can help MNOs like Telkom Indonesia stay in control of their networks with a minimal outlay of resources,” he said.

    Michael Adiguna, AVP of sales strategy at Telkom Indonesia, said the agreement with HAUD was particularly attractive, and the ability to deliver results almost instantly “was impressive.”

    “With our revenues maximized and network utilization improved, we can focus on delivering the quality of service that modern mobile users demand,” said Adiguna. “HAUD’s solution makes sure that the messages our subscribers receive are from genuine, trustworthy sources.”

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