Telemedia Magazine Issue 70

monetizing connected consumers

IN THIS ISSUE

ISSUE 70

Mastering messaging

How to deliver omni-channel messaging

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play 16 Power Sports media

Winning the war

As DCB grows in global popularity, so does fraudulent use. Learn how the battle – if not the war – is being won

is becoming a key VAS. Here are six ways the game is changing BILLING & PAYMENT

DCB sees record 10% surge across UK and Europe driven by games, TV and entertainment services growth According to data from the UK, the DCB market is in rude health – even in markets where multiple payment methods are in play – while Europe is also poised for impressive growth.

Carrier billing is surging worldwide as a payment tool, with many developing markets lapping it up as a quick and easy way to monetise the unbanked. But what of the developed world?

According to predictions in the latest industry report by Analysis Mason for the Phone-Paid Services Authority (PSA) – the industry’s regulator in the UK – the UK’s phone paid services market is expected to grow to £619m in 2023 and 2024 driven by further >> 3 MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

A2P SMS set to peak in 2026, with WhatsApp, AIT and pricing undermining the business model A2P SMS traffic is set to increase from 2.52 trillion in 2022 to 2.88 trillion in 2027, with traffic peaking in 2026 at 2.93 trillion. However, the market is going to be eroded by WhatsApp, which is set to take some 601.3 billion messages away from SMS by 2027 – up from the 10.6 billion SMS lost to the service in 2022.

According to data from Mobilesquared’s Messageverse, A2P SMS accounted for more than 98% of total business messaging traffic in 2020, 96.6% of total business messaging traffic in 2022, but this will fall

to 74.7% by the end of 2027 because of the rise of WhatsApp Business.

For the period that represents traffic migration growth of 5,581.34% and a CAGR >> 8

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

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IN THIS ISSUE 06 MEA DRIVES DCB

The Middle East and Africa is a hotbed

12 MAKING THE MOST OF A2P

Next gen opportunities in A2P messaging

14 SMS UNDER THREAT

What is AIT and how can you beat it?

18 WHAT’S EATING RCS

Slow-burn or dead duck; where is RCS at?

20 CPAAS, AI AND SECURITY

Secure CPaaS with – and against – AI

22 MEET THE PEOPLE...

Lily Xenou, founder, Mobivas

23 SURPASSING CPAAS

Where CPaaS plaftorms go next

24 UNDERSTANDING G-ADS

How to properly leverage Google Ads

28 UP, UP AND AWAY

Super-bundling and what it means for DCB

30 CONTENT CORNUCOPIA

What’s wagging the content long-tail?

32 FROM TELCO TO TECHNO How MNOs can transform with AI

34 THE 5G REVOLUTION IS HERE

Unlocking what true 5G will now deliver

36 MEET THE PEOPLE...

... Naji Bou Harb, CEO, MobiMind

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COMPANIES YOU SHOULD BE DOING BUSINESS WITH! See page 37

BILLING & PAYMENT

DCB surges

<< 1 increases in consumer spending through operator billing, which will rise +9.1% year-on-year, and charity donations, which are set for +15.8%.

Across the wider European market, DCB is expected to grow by a CAGR of 10.5% between 2020 and 2027, according to Business Market Insights.

To put this in perspective, research from Mordor Intelligence predicts that DCB spending in the Middle East and Africa will grow by a staggering 30.1% CAGR between 2023 and 2028 (see page 6).

THE UK MARKET

UK consumers spent £593.7m on phone-paid services in 20222023, up a mere 0.9% on the previous year, but driven by a move away from charity donations towards a surge in spending on DCB for games, the latest data

on the UK PRS market shows.

The data goes on to reveal that spending on operator billing will reach £321m (+9.1% year-on-year), maintaining its position as the largest phonepaid services payment channel.

By 2023–2024, the report says it expects operator billing will account for more than half of all payments made on phonepaid service channels (51.9%, up from 49.6% in 2022–2023).

Premium SMS spending is expected to remain relatively steady in 2023-2024, declining at a rate of 0.1% year-on-year to £188.5m, significantly slower than in 2022–2023, when it was –3.5% year-on-year. The report forecasts that charity donations will grow by 15.8% year-on-year to reach £41.6m in 2023–2024, but consumer spending via all other payment channels will decline.

The market share of voice 09, 118 and 087 numbers combined

with voice short codes will fall from 12.6% in 2022–2023 to an estimated 11% in 2023–2024.

TV TO DRIVE DCB USE

The largest segment for DCB spend will come from TV and entertainment, just ahead of that of games, which dominated DCB spend in 2022-23. Consumer spending on TV and radio engagement will increase by £1.8m. This is because competitions will be run all year in contrast to the interruptions in fundraising during September 2022 as a result of a two-week break from competitions due to national mourning, and the subsequent halting of momentum, says the report.

However, declining TV viewership and the ongoing transition of radio and TV broadcast competitions to online platforms will slightly reduce the scale of this increase. Industry stakeholders expect this year’s trend of grow-

ing radio listenership to continue, but they also reported radio broadcasters’ plans to grow their online platforms, which will divert consumer spend away from phone-paid services and towards other payment mechanisms.

Spending on games is expected to increase by £19.9m to a total of £162.3m. The main drivers of this expected growth are the continued growth of in the number of games and the increasing acceptance of operator billing as a payment method for these services. The growth rate in 2023–2024 will be lower than in 2022–2023 when new and existing partnerships between Apple and operators (including Vodafone and Three) helped to drive growth.

However, these partnerships will remain a key contributor to the expected growth next year, as industry stakeholders expect to see an increasing number of >> 4

Driving value added services for voice and mobile

3

BILLING & PAYMENT

<< 1 consumers paying for games through Apple’s App Store using operator billing. Industry stakeholders also mentioned in interviews that one-off payments for gaming subscriptions will become a key growth area.

User spending on entertainment services will grow by £3.6m. This forecasted increase is driven by anticipated new partnerships between video-ondemand providers and operators. These agreements are likely to emerge as intensifying competition in the video streaming market will incentivise market players to expand the range of payment mechanisms that they offer subscribers.

Similarly, to games, service providers will focus on increasing the number of subscriptions that can be taken using one-off payments. One operator mentioned that they will continue to bundle streaming services in

an attempt to increase revenue.

Spending on all other services, including assistance services, betting, gambling and lotteries, sexual entertainment and personal and relationship services, will decline by £8.7m.

Within these services, assistance services are expected to decline by £4.4m, a continuation of previous trends. Betting, gambling and lotteries are expected to remain more or less static, with a £0.3m decline in end-user spending forecast.

This can be explained by the limited appetite from merchants, service providers and operators to onboard and promote gambling services due to the PSD2 spending limitation and other perceived regulatory pressures.

Personal and relationship services and sexual entertainment services are expected to decline by £0.7m each, as the use of these legacy services gradually erodes in favour of online platforms.

BEYOND 2024

The Analysis Mason and PSA study takes a look ahead to how the market in the UK may shape up beyond 2024 and offers some encouraging predictions – both for the UK and the wider European market.

The report says: “We forecast that between 2022–2023 and 2025–2026, the phone-paid services market will grow at a CAGR of 2.8% to reach £644.5m in user spending by the end of the forecast period. Steady growth in operator billing and biannual growth in charity donations will drive this overall increase, with the former due to continued increases in consumer spending on games and the latter due to growing donations following the alleviation of the cost-of-living crisis.

Spending via all other payment mechanisms will continue to decline, as legacy services reach their core user bases and TV and

What are UK consumers spending on?

UK consumer spending on games increased by £24.7m year-on-year. This significant increase is attributed to higher app store payments which were made possible following partnerships between Apple and mobile network operators. Apple’s partnership with Vodafone was forged this year and Apple previously established a partnership with Three, but take-up of its offering increased significantly in 2022– 2023.

Vodafone also removed its spending limitations on Google Play, which increased average spend per user. Finally, growth has also been driven by higher numbers of purchases for physical gaming consoles, such as on the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation stores.

Spending on entertainment increased by £5m and lifestyle services payments increased by £3m. These increases are due to higher spending via operator billing, boosted by the agreements between Apple and operators, but also because the quality of content and the number of subscriptions increased. In particular, new entertainment service providers – for example, Paramount+ – in the phone-paid service market as well as the improved quality of mer-

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chants’ lifestyle content subscriptions are key drivers of the success of these respective services.

Spending on TV and radio engagement fell by £2.7m year-on-year, mostly due to consumers reducing their spend on TV and radio broadcast competitions via phonepaid services. There was a two- week break in broadcast competitions for the period of national mourning follow the death of the Queen and consumers have also begun favouring online-based competitions that offer bigger prizes –for example the opportunity to win a house via Omaze – which do not use phone-paid service payment channels. Broadcasters have also encouraged audiences to migrate to their own online platforms, where audiences are less likely to pay via phone-paid services.

Other reasons for this decline, after years of strong growth, involve a general reduction in TV viewership as consumer habits increasingly shift towards the use of online streaming platforms via smartphones and other portable devices.

User spending on most other services, including assistance services, charity dona-

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

radio broadcast competitions move to online platforms.”

The study predicts that operator billing will remain the largest phone-paid service spending channel, growing to account for 54.4% (or £340m) of total user spending in 2024–2025 and 55.1% (£355m) of total spending in 2025– 2026. The proportion of phone-paid service spending via premium SMS will, however, decrease annually to 29.9% (£186.6m) of total spending in 2024–2025 and 28.6% (£184.6m) in 2025–2026.

All other payment channels will see reduced consumer spending between 2022–2023 and 2025–2026, except charity donations which will increase every other year. Voice-based payment channels will account for 10.0% of the phone-paid services market in 2024–2025 and 9.1% in 2025–2026. Figure 6.2 provides a breakdown of consumer spending by payment channel.

tions and personal and relationship services, declined. The main reasons for this include the increasing prevalence and use of online platforms, the growing popularity of digital payment mechanisms and the declining use of legacy services. Betting, gambling and lotteries was the only other service category in which spending did not decline, remaining flat (+£0.1m), with a stable user base but there is limited appetite within the industry to promote or grow these services.

Commenting on the findings, Joanna Cox, general manager at industry body aimm, says: “The Association for Interactive Media and Micropayments welcomes the news of a year-on-year increase in direct carrier billing. This is a testament to members in the value chain who have worked tirelessly to ensure operational excellence which has translated into increasing consumer trust and growing engagement.

“The cost-of-living crisis has created a very challenging commercial environment, but years of robust, best practice with the consumer at the heart of every purchasing journey means that this industry remains well placed to be able to offer high quality services using simple and secure methods of payment.”

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BILLING & PAYMENT

MEA: the key to DCB growth The Middle East and Africa has become a hot bed for telemedia activity as the vast population embraces the digital economy – and that has been a boon for billing and payments. Paul Skeldon reports Ecommerce has come to the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and with it has come a boom in mobile payments. This boom has also driven growing uptake of digital content and entertainment, gaming and even education services – all of which are proving to be lucrative new markets for DCB providers.

According to data from Modor Intelligence, the Middle East and Africa region is set to see a majestic 30.1% growth in mobile payments revenues between 2023 and 2028, driven by commerce, as well as the surge in use of smartphones, which now account for 80% of mobile connections across the region.

The pandemic fast-forwarded this smartphone adoption, as well as ushering in the age of widespread acceptance of mobile payments in stores and more.

With cash seen as a potential carrier of the Corona Virus, governments actively discouraged its use and so the mobile payment market got a massive boost.

But the Middle East and Africa are very distinct regions when it comes to the content and services being consumed and the way in which users want to pay.

Each region contributes heavily to the rise in mobile payments and DCB, but each does so differently.

PAYMENTS ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST

The Middle East consists of countries with contrasting internet and banking penetration rates.

The distribution is 90% in Qatar, Bahrain, and UAE, whereas

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less than 40% in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, indicating the varying internet and banking penetration rates. However, the focus on increasing penetration across countries is expected to provide impetus to the growth of the studied market.

Countries in the Middle East are in a strong position to enable further e-commerce development growth due to high GDP per capita and internet penetration. The UAE and Qatar have the strongest position, with internet penetration above 90%. Both countries have successfully implemented fiber access in homes and have the highest active mobile-broadband subscriptions in the region.

Many big retailers developed and enhanced mobile apps to increase online sales and improve customers’ access to the products. According to the latest data from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of UAE, 52% of purchasing apps in the UAE specializing in food, beverage, and pharmaceutical products.

The continuous growth of ecommerce is expected to drive the adoption of mobile payments in the region.

Saudi Arabia is also of particular interest. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) is focusing on enhancing MADA (an electronic payment network) infrastructure capabilities and encouraging banks and NBIs to develop electronic payment channels such as point of sale (PoS), smartphone payment apps, and electronic wallets.

A Mastercard study suggests the rapid growth of online shopping, with nearly three out of four Saudi consumers shopping more online than they did prepandemic. The study provides significant insights into how shoppers have rapidly moved away from cash and opted for contact-free and digital payment experiences. These insights are enabling e-retailers and businesses in Saudi and across the region to shift toward online shopping and deliver fast, convenient, and secure transactions.

PAYMENTS IN AFRICA

African nations are experiencing an explosion in digital markets.

Throughout the continent, from Egypt to South Africa, Nigeria to Kenya, there exists endless diversity — and a multitude of web- and app-based opportunities are scaling across all societal and economic sectors of each distinct region.

The numbers tell the story: internet adoption more than doubled in the seven years between 2015 and 2022, totaling some 570 million active users. If current projections hold, that figure is expected to top 760 million people by 2028.

In Nigeria and South Africa mobile subscriptions are growing at an exponential rate. In Nigeria, cash still dominates retail payments, but digital transactions, especially mobile payments, are growing strongly. The country has witnessed a surge in the adoption of electronic payment services over the last few years for conve-

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nience and ease of transactions.

According to the Evina-Telecoming DCB Index that rates markets for their direct carrier billing (DCB) potential, South Africa is the leading country in the ranking, with the highest score (3.4 out of 5). All mobile operators are deploying DCB, and there is an overall increase in fraud protection compared to last year.

Nigeria (3.1) and DR Congo (3.0) follow close behind, differentiating themselves by opening more opportunities for DCB deployment and increasing their level of protection against fraud attempts on Direct Carrier Billing.

A DYNAMIC REGION

MEA is an extraordinarily dynamic and very mature region regarding mobile payments. In fact, the average level of innovation in DCB has increased by 13% compared to 2021 with the enlargement of new uses of this payment technology, such as sports subscriptions, that has grown considerably during the last year,” says Roberto Monge, Chief Operations Officer at Telecoming. And he added, “we want to go along with operators and brands that wish to develop the market in a safe, sustainable, and profitable way. The countries analysed have demonstrated their commitment to Direct Carrier Billing as a strategic growth lever for the so-called mobile economy in the region.”

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MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

SMS to peak

<< 1 of 124.3%.Cumulatively over the forecast period from 2022 to 2027, over 1.23 trillion SMS will be lost to WhatsApp. Over the forecast period alone, WhatsApp Business traffic will experience growth of 1,572%. This will actually be overshadowed by RCS business messaging growth of over 3,000%, but that is coming from a significantly smaller base, and will only account for 1.96% of total business messaging traffic by 2027.

Part of the reason why WhatsApp is gaining ground is price.

According to the data, A2P SMS is on average 128% more expensive than WhatsApp Business.

A2P SMS is cheaper in 9 markets (Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa, the UK, and the USA).

The real battleground between SMS and WhatsApp will most likely be for international security traffic, and OTP in particular, where on average, WhatsApp OTP is 99% cheaper than SMS. A2P SMS is cheaper than WhatsApp Business for OTP traffic in eight markets.

In 2021, the average global termination rate for A2P SMS was $0.033. In 2Q 2023, the average global termination rate was $0.06495 – almost double that of 2021.

Between 2021 and 2023, just 0.6% of mobile operators kept their international rates the same, 9.4% reduced their rates; 90% of mobile operators increased their international rates.

Just 7.7% of mobile operators have increased their rates by up to 5% – the recognised upper limit of any product or service price increase that will not impact on sales or usage. 25.3% of mobile operators have increased their rates by 20%-49%, with a further 20.5% increasing their rate by 50%-100%. More than one-third of mobile operators (36.4%) have increased

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their international termination rates by over 100%; in fact, 3.9% of mobile operators have increased their rate by in excess of 500%.

High international termination rates will have a negative impact on international SMS growth for the remainder of the forecast window. The increase in international termination rates has altered the trajectory of grey route traffic over the forecast period, with the subsequent increase in grey route

traffic potentially putting the decline of the grey route market back two-to-three years.

SPEND TRENDS

According to the research, total global A2P SMS spend will increase from $30.47 billion in 2022 to $35.36 billion in 2027.

For the period that represents growth of 16.1% and a CAGR of 3.0%. Or, total global A2P SMS spend (excluding blue traffic, aka AIT) will increase from $29.9 billion in 2022 to $35.2 billion in 2027. For the period that represents growth of 17.9% and a CAGR of 3.3%.

Year-on-year incremental increase in spend by businesses reveals solid growth between 2018 and 2021, a massive leap in spend between 2021 and 2022, and a similar - albeit lower - increase in spend in 2023. Most telling of all is the

drop from 2024 onwards, with business spend going into decline from 2026.

Mobilesquared’s MD and chief ‘messagenaut’ Nick Lane, says: “From a spend perspective, the increase in international termination rates has clearly altered the trajectory of the entire market, generating a business spend peak earlier than expected, and a decline in spend when the market could, according to Mobilesquared, still be enjoying significant growth.”

the top of the list is Artificial Inflated Traffic (AIT) (see page 16), and not far behind are the price increases to international termination rates and the impact exclusive deals are having on particular markets.

Mobilesquared’s Nick Lane, believes that the industry is in a deconstructive period for SMS, based on businesses operating within the SMS environment failing to recognise the opportunity for SMS. “Mobile operators have

UNCERTAIN TIMES

long been concerned with the potential OTT traffic cannibalisation. There is a clear section of mobile operators that hold the view that A2P messaging is set on the same course as P2P messaging and has a limited shelf-life,” he avers. “Companies with this belief are the drivers implementing a pricing model to extract as much value from a dying industry.

“Our Alternative View of A2P SMS highlights what Mobilesquared believes is the true potential for A2P SMS, with the companies at the epicentre of the SMS industry needing to educate not only businesses using SMS, but mobile operators supplying SMS.”

Fraud is still an issue, and is increasingly costing the industry dear. Total harmful spend (blue traffic spend + red traffic spend + orange traffic spend) will decrease from $2.9 billion in 2022 to $2.3 billion in 2027, and this represents 9.47% of total spend in 2022, and 6.41% in 2027.

For the period that represents growth of (negative) -21.39% and a CAGR of (negative) -4.7%.

The A2P SMS marketplace is constantly evolving, and right now given industry developments over the last 18 months, a situation of uncertainty has been created in – what was previously – a very certain market.

Mobilesquared believes that there are three major elements that present considerable concern for the messaging ecosystem and A2P SMS in particular (as of Q2 2023). At

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

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MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

Mastering messaging The days of contacting a business by voice, letter or in person are gone; today messaging lies at the heart of businessto-consumer interaction. But with that comes challenges.

Fabrizio Salanitri looks at how to overcome them Today’s Business Messaging enables customers to initiate contact with brands while also allowing brands to proactively communicate with customers.

Instead of one-sided messages like advertisements or mass email campaigns, these channels facilitate interactive, two-way conversations.

It all sounds great – and it is – but it does come with challenges and, as technology such as AI advances, new challenges arise. So, what does a messaging provider need to be able to do to be ready for this brave new world?

tional business, you have to also be aware that things are different in different regions. WhatsApp, for example, is nowhere in China; WeChat is huge in China.

There is also the fact that Google Business Messaging is growing, albeit slowly, while RCS is being pushed by operators.

These have to also be on the radar as they will increasingly have users, even if RCS in particular isn’t really a transformative technology it will start to be used

by Android users, probably by default.

MESSAGING TYPES

A lot of platforms are 10 to 15 years old making them difficult to scale. And scalability is key, because the two way messaging we now see with AI driven dialogue will generate so much more traffic that the platform’s has to be ready to swallow and to be able to process reliably without downtime. It also needs to be able to connect thousands of customers and suppliers. So, from

Right now SMS is the key messaging platform used by the most people and most businesses.

Support for SMS is key, but with everyone using it, it is very hard to standout. Making sure that SMS support offers all the features and services that businesses need for both A2P and P2A messaging with SMS is the most important thing. Reliability and feature-richness are what will attract users.

Of course, support for other messaging types is also increasingly important. While SMS is ubiquitous, we are seeing growing use of other messaging channels in the business-to-consumer space. WhatsApp and social media messaging – typically Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Telegram right now – are seeing very strong growth and businesses are very interested in supporting these.

However, if you are an interna-

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SCALABILITY

an engineering point of view, this is no piece of cake.

Then, if we talk about the basic technology, what is very important is that this platform has to be driven by someone; it needs a pilot and the pilot needs a cockpit.

The user which works with this platform needs a user interface that makes even complicated processes look easy. This is something we see as fundamental and where we at HORISEN put a lot of effort to make things look easy for our customers optimise a lot of processes, so that they can focus really on the important stuff.

BETTER AI

AI like ChatGPT will also become fundamental. AI is totally disruptive as it gives users the impression they are talking to a real human and the AI can help manage their message and route them correctly to the answer.

MORE THAN CHATGPT

But it is more than just ChatGPT. In many ways ChatGPT is only the

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beginning. I think in the very near future we will see companies that produce AI driven chat that is sector or business specific, let’s say only for making restaurant appointment, booking a car test drive, or an appointment at the doctors – and they know every single thing about the specific dialogue.

Right now, it still looks like text with a text reply, but I think the next evolution will be that the consumer speaks its question into the phone and the AI will turn it into text, analyse it and reply, either with a voice message or a text-based message, probably with images, video, links and so on.

There aren’t too many companies that can do this and so I think a few big players will develop this kind of technology and it will then be worked into comms platforms and messaging services.

Either way, AI text and chat are going to be a huge boon for our industry – it will generate thousands, millions, more messages and engagements and that can only be good for business.

Fabrizio Salanitri is CEO of HORISEN www.horisen.com MEET HORISEN AT WORLD TELEMEDIA MARBELLA 9-10 OCTOBER 2023

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MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

Getting the business message across Business messaging is growing on a global scale, with an increasing number of enterprises using SMS and OTT messaging apps like WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook Messenger to communicate with customers. Ellen Velickovska takes a look at how to make the most from this A2P messaging market While businesses have traditionally defined the channel in which consumers can contact them, in today’s digital world, consumers want to be able to use their preferred channel and communicate across multiple platforms such as SMS, messaging apps, chatbots and email.

Due to this demand, we are seeing a huge growth in omnichannel communications – predicted by Research and Markets to grow from $66.84bn in 2022 to $96.73bn by 2030.

Omnichannel enables businesses to provide a seamless customer journey and experience across platforms, rather than losing customers along the way.

On top of the seamless customer communications and success that business messaging can bring, another key driver is down to regulations and compliance.

Many enterprises are now moving internal communications away from private chats and into channels like Microsoft Teams or Slack, and it will only be a matter of time before the same goes for all customer communications.

Companies cannot afford to have staff communicating with customers via private chats on channels like WhatsApp, without meeting the necessary recordkeeping obligations which are offered in WhatsApp Business or alternative OTT channels.

There is a huge opportunity for businesses like Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Value-Added Resellers (VARs), Systems Integrators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to create new revenue

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streams and monetise business messaging, while serving existing enterprise customers’ demands.

For service providers without any knowledge or experience in business messaging, it can be a challenge to successfully enter the market. However, with the right platform and partner, it is simple to resell messaging services and experience rapid growth.

WHAT CAN YOU RESELL?

Business messaging covers a wide range of use cases, with some key categories including transactional A2P SMS, two-way messaging and marketing campaigns/customer engagement.

These can all be added to existing product portfolios to resell onto enterprise customers.

• Transactional SMS – Transactional Application-to-Person SMS refers to messages that are sent to customers to pro-

vide important information, such as two-factor authentication (2FA) for accessing data and applications. It also covers areas like tracked parcel deliveries, appointment reminders, traffic updates, alerts and weather warnings, to name a few.

• Messaging for Marketing Campaigns – A2P SMS has become a popular choice for marketing campaigns due to the much higher open rate of texts, 98%, when compared to emails, just 20%, according to Gartner. This can yield a far higher return on investment and is a great selling point for service providers entering the market.

• Two-Way Messaging – Twoway messaging can be used by enterprises to build relationships with their customers/end users. By offering the option for customers to reply

rather than the communication being one-way, customers can feel more valued and better engage with the business. For example, with the right platform, customer service/call centre representatives should be able to see messages from customers across different platforms including SMS, WhatsApp and Viber. This will provide a better, smoother experience for the customer and help to improve satisfaction.

CPAAS HOLDS THE KEY

All of these messaging services can often be found in a comprehensive package via Communications as a Service (CPaaS) platforms. An effective CPaaS messaging platform should provide white-label capabilities to enable service providers to easily resell the platform onto enterprise customers as their own.

Ellen Velickovska is co-founder & managing director at telXira www.telxira.com

New opportunities, new benefits There are many benefits for businesses if they are willing to take the right steps when entering the messaging market. These include but are not limited to: • Create new revenue streams – messaging has a large number of use cases, making it a popular service to resell and create new revenue streams with an existing customer base.

• Grow business globally – the right partner will enable service providers to grow their businesses globally without expensive investments in their own infrastructure or solutions.

• Serve growing enterprise demand for mes-

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saging – a comprehensive CPaaS platform makes it easy to meet growing demands for messaging from enterprise customers.

• Increase customer loyalty – by serving customers’ changing communications demands, you can boost their success and in turn increase loyalty.

• Opportunities to scale – messaging provides a great way to scale according to business demands, with additional add-on services, platforms, and destinations.

• Stay competitive in a fast-paced market – by offering messaging services to customers you can stay ahead of the game rather than getting left behind.

MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

Under attack!

Fighting artificial inflation of traf fic in one-time passcodes Ar tificial inflation of traf fic is costing businesses dearly and eroding trust in OTP and A2P messaging and even SMS itself. Tim Ward looks at what is behind the problem and how it can be tackled With more organisations now adopting A2P SMS, the profit potential of Artificial inflation of traffic (AIT) is growing increasingly attractive to fraudsters.

One such form of AIT takes place when bad actors exploit online services to create fake traffic using automated software programmes and send out a large number of message requests to generate revenue. The process is initiated by deploying a bot to request a one-time password (OTP) to a premium rate or ghost number, which then incurs costs for the organisation. This process is repeated with thousands of numbers, resulting in big losses for OTP providers.

OTPs are one rof the most relied upon authentication methods across the world. Yet, if organisations are unable to effectively validate the traffic that requests these passcodes, they will turn to other verification methods and communication channels they consider to be more reliable. This has the potential to cause irrevocable losses and reputational damage to the SMS industry.

AIT’S BIG BUSINESS LOSSES

AIT is a growing challenge within messaging services, resulting in organisations paying out for fake traffic that has no prospect of being converted into real business.

Even though requests are sent to illegitimate numbers, the organisation providing the OTPs is still charged because the messages are terminated.

Threat actors are especially using this to their advantage in

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high-cost SMS markets to reap larger pay-outs for their scams.

In a recent example, Elon Musk claimed that Twitter suffered losses of $60m a year as a result of AIT and shut down all telcos that have fraud above 10%.

AIT fraud can go completely undetected up until organisations check message volume delivery compared to projected returns. It is especially challenging for organisations to detect and therefore mitigate due to the ways that AIT imitates real user behaviour.

On top of this, many of the techniques used to generate fake messages use sophisticated tactics that are not detected by traditional security measures.

This leaves many organisations unaware that they are being targeted until it’s too late and the costs have already incurred.

Without taking action, organisations will continue to pay massive costs for OTP requests delivered from high-cost routes.

They will experience manipulated conversion statistics and an increasing number of incomplete logins. To stay ahead of evolving AIT tactics, they need to find a way to rapidly pre-validate the numbers in their systems before OTPs are sent out. This is not only to reduce fraud, but to build and retain trust to ensure the telco ecosystem can continue to grow to benefit end users.

Overcoming AIT fraud in OTP delivery requires organisations to take a proactive approach, otherwise fraudsters will continue to drain their revenues, waste precious time and resources and ex-

ploit the services that are in place to help legitimate customers.

SECURING THE THREAT

Deploying global number range (GNR) and mobile number portability (MNP) data is one of the simplest and fastest ways to verify if a number belongs to a valid number range and whether it is in the correct format (correct length, country code) and to check whether it has been recently ported.

With access to the right GNR and MNP provider, organisations can save costs, drive trust and ensure they are maximising efficiency within their messaging operations. The implementation of global numbering intelligence makes it simple to route traffic to valid and active users by helping to avoid delivery to incorrect and inactive numbers.

Organisations can ensure they are achieving the following: Validation – Organisations can use GNR and MNP data to verify numbers, reduce failures, and increase margins. With this data, organisations can pre-validate numbers before their systems respond to OTP requests. This ensures they do not face costly charges and have pre-emptive measures in place to protect margins.

GNR data can provide insights into whether a number belongs to a valid number range and is within the correct format (correct length, country code, etc.) and MNP data delivers the correct network for the number if it has been ported. For organisations looking to tackle fraudulent A2P

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traffic, this means guaranteed and rapid A2P SMS delivery that increases accuracy and security.

With no software development or large-scale integrations required, data can be deployed quickly and organisations can rapidly defend against AIT whilst realising ROI. They no longer need to manage complex data sets. Instead, organisations can rely on up-todate telecoms data to solve challenges and optimise operations.

Authentication – Organisations can increase the effectiveness of their business messaging activities with up-to-date telecoms data to solve fraud-based challenges and optimise their operations. Harnessing GNR and MNP data ensures organisations are providing their legitimate end users with a seamless service, increasing customer loyalty, trust, and revenue.

They can check number portability records to assure that they are responding to legitimate message requests in a timely manner.

Accuracy – GNR and MNP data ensures the OTP originated from an end-user that has a legitimate number. This enables organisations to execute their outbound messages with accuracy - the first time, every time.

Continuous Support – With the right data provider, organisations can benefit from immediate and knowledgeable support to get the most out of their numbering intelligence solutions.

This enables them to optimise their revenue streams and deliver a reliable A2P experience to end users.

Tim Ward is VP Number Information Services, XConnect www.xconnect.com

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CYBER SECURITY & FRAUD

Winning the war on fraud, malware and manipulation

As DCB continues to grow in popularity, so too does fraud, malware and manipulation. Here experts from Evina outline what the latest threats are, where they come from and how to counteract them The increasingly popularity of carrier billing (DCB) and messaging continues to drive a host of cyber security risks worldwide, that carriers, aggregators and service providers all need to tackle.

WHICH DCB FRAUD AND SECURITY THREATS?

One of the largest threats to DCB continues to come in the form of hacking and manipulation attempts increasingly powered

by AI. When it comes to hacking, where users are subscribed against their will to DCB services usually by a malware-infected app downloaded from official app stores, AI is helping auto-

mate the creation of these attacks and to complexify them.

There is also a rise in malware capable of reading confirmation codes (OTP codes), while Autolycos – a family of malware

Remote physical fraud is on the rise, while cyber attacks grow globally The greatest merchant losses to fraud are likely to be to remote physical goods purchases, with losses reaching $5.1bn across emerging markets in 2028, up from $1bn in 2023, writes Paul Skeldon.

Juniper Research data anticipates fraud losses in Africa & Middle East to reach $1.1bn in 2028; growing 643% from $150m this year. This is largely due to limited adoption of effective fraud prevention tools in the region. Such tools are needed to keep pace with the rapidly increasing number of transactions, evolving payment methods and growing threats.

The research recommended merchants in the region adopt fraud detection and prevention systems as a priority, or rapid eCommerce growth will translate into massive fraud growth; damaging merchant profitability.

The research urged players to implement

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AI for analysing trends in fraudster behaviour. This is important in emerging regions, as smartphone adoption causes mcommerce to grow at a rapid rate.

Therefore, fraud detection and prevention vendors must utilise data collected throughout the whole eCommerce process to further train and develop their AI fraud detection and prevention models.

Research author Cara Malone comments: “With the growing use of AI, it is increasingly important for fraud detection and prevention providers to educate their clients, as AI utilises a variety of data to examine patterns within fraud. AI is extremely advantageous in a space where fraudsters attack at scale, rather than attacking a specific customer.”

Meanwhile, Effective Board Governance of Cyber Security: A source of competitive advantage, published by Savanti, a leading UK cyber security consultancy – highlights

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how global cyberattacks increased by 38% in 2022, compared to 2021 High-profile recent incidents include the cyberattack on the Electoral Commission, where a breach undetected for 14 months resulted in access to voters’ personal data including home addresses, images, email addresses, names and telephone numbers, as well as cyberattacks on companies including British Airways and Boots where employees’ personal data, including bank and contact details, were accessible.

The report says that although boards are increasingly concerned about cyber security, ranking it as one of their top priorities, many struggle to understand what to do, with the majority (59%) of directors saying their board is not very effective in understanding the drivers and impacts of cyber risks for their organisation.

discovered by Evina in mid2022 – continues to be a major driver of fraud attempts, along with four other malware families known as Joker, Darkup, Harly and Fleckpe.

Meanwhile there is also a rise in manipulation fraud, where cybercriminals deceive users into subscribing to DCB services.

A growing type of manipulation fraud is misleading flows, more specifically a type known as ‘brand passing off’. This is a technique where misleading campaigns on social media that promise free items, such as get a free iphone, are set up and deceive the user into subscribing to a premium service.

WHERE DOES THE FRAUD COME FROM?

For hacking, Evina has detected the highest malware activity in Saudi Arabia with the majority of the malware families active in

this region. In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates follows close behind.

In Asia, China has recorded the highest malware intensity, while in Europe, Poland is the country most targeted by malware families. In the Americas, Chile is the most targeted.

For manipulation, we have seen the highest peak of manipulation attempts identified in the Middle East this year, more specifically in Turkey and Oman.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THESE ATTACKS?

For hacking, the technological challenge its growing sophistication requires is the implementation of innovative technological solutions, capable of adapting in real time to new threats: This is what DCBProtect does, blocking 99.94% of fraud attempts on the operator’s payment page thanks to the use of artificial intelligence.

When a growing number of players – merchants, operators, payment aggregators – protect themselves against this type of attack, the whole market becomes protected, which exhausts the hackers who give up because the cost of attempted fraud is too high.

For manipulation, all parties involved need to address this issue by making sure they adhere to regulations that prohibit manipulation techniques on publisher landing pages.

The introduction of a code of conduct and rules governing the payment process is important in this respect.

Seeing the increase in manipulation fraud, players operating in the carrier billing field need to make sure they have a trustworthy cybersecurity partner by their side and an effective ad monitoring solution such as BrandProtect, an Evina ad

monitoring solution designed specifically to fight manipulation fraud and strengthen the brand image of businesses.

As in the case of hacking, the increase in the number and sophistication of manipulation attempts requires greater use of automation, which is why Evina uses, for example, a web crawler that automatically scans our partners’ DCB payment paths, on the web as well as in the context of in-app purchases or on social networks, looking for infringements.

As carrier billing and content services continue to proliferate, so too will the fraud. However, the industry is better placed than ever, thanks to AI, to win. www.evina.com EVINA WILL BE AT WORLD TELEMEDIA MARBELLA 9-10 OCTOBER WWW.WTEVENT.COM

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MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

What’s eating RCS? The global rich communication ser vice (RCS) market is expected to hit $5.55bn this year and could reach more than $18bn by 2027, according to the latest research data. But it has been the slowest of slow burns. Paul Skeldon repor ts RCS has been bubbling away for more than a decade, promising to become SMS 2.0, a WhatsApp killer and the messaging protocol of choice for businesses looking to deliver slick, transactional messages to consumers.

Indeed, research from ReportLinker out in June indicates that, globally, it is likely to generate some $5.55bn of revenues in 2023 and may even reach $20bn towards the end of the decade. Yet so far, it remains woefully under-used.

There are a range of reasons why RCS languishes. It hasn’t by any means failed, but it hasn’t really captured the imagination of many businesses. Consumers, thanks to the seamless nature of how it shows up on their phones, remain largely oblivious to its presence – many often using it unknowingly.

The lack of Apple support has also hindered its uptake, with many businesses simply not bothering to take a punt on a messaging tech that misses a large chunk of the world’s mobile user base.

However, the main reason why it may not have garnered

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as much attention as perhaps it warrants is that it isn’t transformational. If you believe the hype that it is SMS 2.0 then you see the problem: it doesn’t disrupt anything, it just embellishes something that already works perfectly well – SMS. In fact, in many ways SMS works better as everyone with a phone can use it.

RCS SUCCESS

However, we are not here to rubbish RCS. The tech may not be a game changer, but it does iteratively improve SMS and adds a richness to messaging that does have some distinct commercial advantages to those companies that use it.

In the UK, supermarket chain Asda has become perhaps the most high-profile business to start using RCS – and its reasons for doing so, along with its strategy for implementation make perfect sense.

Martin Coates, who runs ASDA’s RCS programme, says that the messaging tech has been added alongside all the others that it uses to give shoppers the most engaging experience possible when the company

messages them. For iOS users they simply get an SMS, for RCS signed up customers, they get a more graphical and rich message.

“The look and feel offers great overall engagement and it was easy to implement,” he says. “It has also yielded a 66% read rate, some 20% higher than SMS.” Infobip, which implemented the Asda RCS solution, sees RCS growing, but admits that it has been slow. It also now refers to the technology as Rich Business Messaging (RBM), perhaps an indicator that it needs to be better explained to businesses if they are to use it.

“As an industry we can be guilty of pushing beyond where customers are and so we need to explain not only what the technology can bring, but what problems it solves.

Everyone is happy with SMS, so why use RBM? The answer is ‘why not?’,” says Dave Babbington from Infobip. “The killer app for RBM isn’t upgrading messaging, but attracting new customers and new traffic.”

RCS does have other uses. It offers a more secure way to de-

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liver OTP messages and increasingly businesses are starting to look at the messaging technology to help them overcome the problems they are seeing SMS-based OTP fraud (see page 19). RCS makes it easier for companies to deliver OTPs, essential for secure transactions and account verification.

IN CONVERSATION

There are also opportunities for RCS in conversational commerce. In September 2021, Gupshup, a US-based platform for conversational messaging, acquired Dotgo for an undisclosed sum.This acquisition broadens, diversifies, and enriches Gupshu’s portfolio by adding conversational messaging, which allows organizations and developers to construct customer experiences.

Gupshup will also use Dotgo to expand its footprint in the African market. Dotgo is a US-based platform for mobile publishing that operates in the rich communication services (RCS) market.

There is still a long way to go until RCS is everywhere, but it will come – maybe not in a big bang, but in more slowly but surely and we will find ourselves using it without really knowing.

FROM THE EDITOR

THE BIG GUY Paul Skeldon paul@telemedia-news.com ART DIRECTOR Victoria Wren victoria@wr3n.com CONTRIBUTORS & CONSULTANTS Nick Lane Elson Sutanto Jarvis Todd Tim Green SALES & MARKETING info@Telemedia-news.com PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Annika Micheli annika@Telemedia-news.com PUBLISHER Jarvis Todd jarvis@Telemedia-news.com TO SUBSCRIBE www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk CIRCULATION ENQUIRIES Geraldine Lawton - O’Sullivan Geraldine@Telemedia-news.com WHAT WE’VE BEEN LISTENING TO Abbey Road, The Beatles Phone Sex, Viki Vortex & the Cumshots WHAT WE HAVE BEEN READING Echoes, Will Sargeant WHAT WE HAVE BEEN AMUSED BY Daughter’s first party with alcohol WHO WE’VE BEEN FOLLOWING @BrownCardigan AUTUMN 2023 WILL BRING… The biggest World Telemedia yet TELEMEDIA MAGAZINE is published five times a year and circulated in print to qualified readers and downloaded in digital format to 12,000+ requested readers.

BUSINESS ADDRESS: Ground Floor, Virginia Cottage, Nash Lane, Scaynes Hill, West Sussex, RH17 7NJ, UK. Web: www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk Overseas subscriptions and non qualified readers can obtain Telemedia Magazine with an annual subscription rate of £15 / 20. Refunds on cancelled subscriptions will be provided at the publisher’s discretion, unless specifically guaranteed within the term of subscription. © World Telemedia Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of Telemedia Magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording on any information storage or retrieval system without the written consent of the publisher. The contents of Telemedia Magazine are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems.

Print by Borpi, S.L. (Borpisa).

World Telemedia: at the nexus of AI, messaging, content and payments This year’s World Telemedia Marbella, 9 to 10 October, comes as the business sectors that make up Telemedia are both booming and at a crossroads.

Carrier billing has gone from a niche payment tool to a mainstream engine for driving growth in content and services (see page 1) that even the likes of Netflix and Amazon use.

And while much of the growth in DCB comes from developing markets that have alighted upon it as the most ubiquitous way to pay for the exploding VAS market, it is also doing very well in the developing world – again driven by a surge in new content services (see page 30).

In the UK, DCB is growing at 10% a year and already makes around $700m in this market.

This has become a boon for telcos, with not only DCB revenues rising, but also with the added benefit that they come to table to negotiate super bundling deals with content and subscription service providers with a much stronger hand, offering distribution and an easy way to pay (see page 28).

This golden age for MNOs is also the result in a surge in use of messaging. While RCS may still be a slow burn (see page 18), SMS is growing rapidly – because of, rather than in spite of, the surge in use of OTT and social messaging (see pages 1 and 9).

This messaging explosion has been driven by increased use of A2P business messaging services (see page 12), with companies large and small seeking to rapidly add the comms channels preferred by their customers to their contact offerings.

But the growth here is potentially minor compared with what is to come. The rise in use of AI to power chatbots is going to drive an explosion in messaging (see page 10), which is going to be a further fillip for MNOs, as well as CPaaS providers (see page 23).

The rise of 5G is only going to make this more interesting (see page 36). telemediaonline.co.uk @telemediaTweets Paul Skeldon. editor

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MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

CPaaS and AI is a power ful combination for business messaging, but with great power comes great responsibility. Nate MacLeitch outlines how AI has improved CPaaS and outlines the care that needs to be taken when looking to secure AI-powere CPaaS ser vices

Striking the right balance

AI innovation meets security in CPaaS The Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) market has significantly evolved from a simple SMS offering. In fact, Gartner estimates that 90% of enterprises will use CPaaS by 2026. Already, CPaaS enables businesses to orchestrate seamless multichannel customer engagement across SMS, voice, video, chat, and social messaging apps. But introducing artificial intelligence (AI) generates a whole new range of functionality.

Use of AI chatbots, in particular, are setting records as the fastest-growing communication channels, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT reaching 100 million users in just two months. Following a prompt-and-response approach, algorithms instantly provide users with the most relevant content.

With generative AI integrated into CPaaS, businesses can access AI assistants that translate chat messages, transcribe audio and video calls, provide app users with answers to questions, summarize documents, and more.

Consumers have increasingly grown to expect more seamless and personalised experiences 24x7 and companies, from logistics providers to HR firms, are

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looking for ways to implement these tools into their existing CPaaS applications to keep up.

However, with accelerated innovation and adoption of new tools that relies on custom and proprietary data comes heightened scrutiny to ensure top-notch security. Let’s take a closer look at the latest CPaaS AI innovations and their implications.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE CPAAS MARKET

CPaaS software development kits and user interface (UI) kits with built-in AI features can help businesses compete in growing markets. Rather than coding from scratch, developers can find CPaaS tools that enable them to add AI features within chat and video calling applications.

As a result, the Acceleration Alliance State of CPaaS reports in 2023 expectations that the industry will increase from $16 billion in 2022 to $100 billion by 2030.

However, while AI-driven CPaaS opens the door to new markets, breaks down language barriers, and boosts productivity, these AI algorithms also introduce new complexities and security challenges. Ensuring data privacy,

security, control of AI, and maintaining the integrity of AI models are critical concerns that cannot be ignored.

AI ADD-ONS COME WITH CONCERNS – WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT AI BEFORE YOU USE IT?

As CPaaS providers begin to incorporate third-party AI features into their offerings, businesses must be mindful of how those services operate and be aware of potential privacy risks.

When you enter data into an application integrated with an LLM, that data is stored on another company’s server. So, you need to know who has access to this data.

While app developers can take measures to anonymize user data, removing personally identifiable information, there’s always a risk of re-identification, especially if a user shares a lot of personal or specific information during interactions. And, of course, a security breach is possible when private user data is deliberately targeted.

Furthermore, businesses need to be mindful of the integrity of the AI models they employ—

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biased systems create biased results. When algorithms are trained using biased or incomplete datasets, they can further amplify disparities in outcomes.

So what can businesses do if they want to take advantage of CPaaS AI offerings to build cutting-edge apps, while still ensuring the security, privacy, and correct use of this technology to meet the needs of their app users?

• Check the fine print – Firstly, regarding privacy issues, business organizations using CPaaS AI services need to be informed.

They must carefully review the terms of service, privacy policies, and data usage agreements of both CPaaS companies and any integrated AI providers to clarify data ownership, usage, sharing, retention, and user rights.

Ultimately, business organizations are accountable for understanding their business requirements, data sensitivity, and the data journey, ensuring each stage—including those managed by third parties—is secure.

• Define consumer-facing privacy policies and agree terms with third parties – Second, app users should be educated to use AI-

enhanced applications with care.

These businesses need to update their own privacy policy to clearly communicate with customers how their data will be stored and used. They can also provide clear guidelines if personal data should not be shared.

Similarly, concerning the issue of the AI model’s integrity, organizations should establish ethical guidelines and regulatory measures that guarantee transparency, equity, and responsibility within AI systems. Every company, application developer, CPaaS provider, and third party included, must establish its own regulatory framework. And they must check their partners are complying with what was agreed.

Everything from algorithmic impact assessments to mandating diverse training data to explainability—the reasoning behind an AI-made decision—must be checked, especially for regulated and data-sensitive industries like finance or healthcare.

• Align regulations with the use case – Third, businesses using CPaaS and AI to build communication tools must be mindful of their application’s use case. How will it be used, and by whom? Highly regulated industries like finance need to think twice before they use communication apps integrated with LLMs, and US healthcare

What has AI ever done for CPaaS? CPaaS has done much for business and now AI is adding even more sophistication, efficiency and versatility to these platforms. Here are some of the potential benefits of AI enhancing CPaaS: • Language barrier support: AI ability to process language creates opportunities for businesses to expand globally. Businesses have historically sought English-speaking proficiency and the hiring of translators to communicate; however, using AI-powered transcription and translation features can expose companies to both new pools of talent and new consumers for their products. Companies can integrate tools that provide real-time messaging and incall language translation into their CPaaS tools to communicate with colleagues and customers across the globe.

• Video call summaries: Roughly 80% of the internet’s data is video. Yet until very recently, the most effective way to search the content in a specific video was to hope someone had already summarized the information—or organizations need to ensure that they use a HIPAA-compliant versions of generative AI tools.

The technical landscape is changing rapidly, and new software is being developed to facilitate the safe use of AI. For example, software that can anonymize personal details, or alert you when these details are about to be shared, may offer a partial solution to protect highly regulated data. There are also efforts

you’d have no choice but to watch the video in full. Now, generative AI features can digest and summarize live calls or recorded videos into bullet points in seconds. And by providing timestamps next to each point, it is easy for users to verify the information.

• Real-time agent recommendations: In the same way people around the world are asking ChatGPT everything, from what to have for dinner and how to cook it, support agents can receive AI-assisted text prompts to assist with their work and productivity.

With the addition of pre-trained generative AI add-ons, customer queries that were previously too tricky for standard menubased chatbots can now be directed to more advanced AI models such as ChatGPT-4.

Adding this functionality to your CPaaS can provide agents with potential responses, allowing the agent to simply validate chatbot proposals and share the desired information with consumers.

to create closed LLMs that block the company providing the LLM from accessing chat histories & customer data used to retrain their model.

Undoubtedly, positive innovations such as these will continue to develop, given the enormous pull from different communities to integrate AI technology into their platforms.

AI-powered CPaaS holds significant promise for businesses,

allowing them to maximize efficiency and scale to global markets. However, providing clear data privacy policies and upholding the integrity of AI models with regular auditing of security measures, bias, and technological advancements for using AI securely are paramount for success.

Nate MacLeitch is founder and CEO of QuickBlox quickblox.com

AI: the people’s choice?

While there are obvious business benefits to using AI in conjunction with CPaaS, do consumers actually prefer it?

Data suggests that they do. According to Capterra’s 2023 Retail Chatbots Survey, 56% of respondents who have used ChatGPT say they’re more likely to shop from a brand offering a similar tool.

However, we are not there yet. According to the study, traditional chatbots fail to meet customer expectations and lack sales prowess. Only 17% of retail chatbot users have used a bot to search for products, and just 7% have used it to receive product recommendations.

With greater capacity to handle cus-

tomers nuanced and complex queries, ChatGPT-like integrations can improve the most common issues with retail chatbots. In fact, 67% of ChatGPT users feel understood by the bot often or always, versus 25% of traditional chatbot users.

“Most retail chatbots are rule-based bots and are best used for basic functions, like order shipping status or inventory checks,” says Molly Burke, senior retail analyst at Capterra. “With natural language processing, better handling of nuance, and a greater ability to personalise responses, conversational AI has the potential to improve chatbot experiences by simulating the personalisation and

creativity provided by human agents.”

One likely solution is that companies will spring up offering sector or industry specific AI-powered chatbots that are designed to handle the specific and nuanced requests from specific industries. The needs of, say, a chat bot for an airline is very different from that of a fashion retailer, which is markedly different again from that of a doctor’s surgery.

Focusing on the right kind of specific generative chat is likely to see businesses not only spending more wisely on tech that is fit for purpose, but also offering much more tailored customer experience.

Driving value added services for voice and mobile

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MEET THE PEOPLE

Meet the

PEOPLE

Lily Xenou, founder, Mobivas What does your company do?

Mobivas is a local aggregator based in Athens. We offer PSMS and DCB connectivity in the Greek Territory covering 100% of the Market.

What sectors does your business operate in?

PSMS and DCB payments; Value added services; Aggregation Which countries or regions do you feel represent the greatest opportunity for your telemedia services in 2023?

We are targeting, monitoring, and offering the territory of Greece in full. Telemedia for us was always the hot place to be while it is uniquely targeting our clientele. I am happy to be present since the very first one.

To what extent has the pandemic affected your customer’s behaviour and have you been able to explore new opportunities as a result?

While PSMS and DCB payments are based on internet engagement and promotion we are fortunate to say that the pandemic has not affected the audience’s behaviour at all. Business was run as per usual whereas working from home was something that we adjusted to excellently quickly.

How do you balance payment flows, operator relationships and customer satisfaction?

Keeping those relationships

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balanced is a result of longterm engagement. By now I have been in the PSMS business since 2000 which gives us a big competitive advantage with regards to the local relationships we need to handle in Greece. Also, my personal engagement with customers for years have built the relevant trust needed to be able to operate remotely. You need to bear in mind that for all our international customers it sounds “all Greek to them”!

What are the key drivers and inhibitors for growth?

In my experience growth can be achieved while you are in full collaboration with your business environment.

Meaning aligned with the Mobile Network Operators and equally importantly with the Regulatory Body. If a country is balanced then growth is for sure to materialize. Greece is now after the recent elections of June 2023 entering into a continuous growing phase. We are very confident and looking forward to the future ready to welcome innovation.

Do you see affiliate marketing being a primary, trusted channel for telemedia propositions or do you think alternative routes to market will become more popular?

Affiliate marketing is for all us in the Mobile Payment Business the elephant in the room. In my experience in so many years it has been the key

parameter of growth and pain while I am still considering it a black box (which to a certain extent it is). For me if affiliate marketers do not come into a close cooperation with the Aggregator, it might be that their role will become obsolete. In many countries affiliation marketing has been banned because of their operational model while still I think there is a great room for progress there. I do welcome any affiliate to sit on the table with us at the show so we can exchange fruitful and long term operating strategies.

What are they likely to be?

Google marketing and social media content has already started taking a big portion of the Marketing expenditure already.

Is the industry doing enough to combat fraud and tackle cyber security?

It is true that fraud is on of the elements that each of us has been called upon to resolve on several occasions. I think the last years we have been fortunate to have companies that have addressed this matter and have offered solutions to our Partners while systems continue to evolve and mature.

It will be an ongoing process in the business.

What action has your business taken to maintain / improve consumer / partner trust?

Several customers of ours while operating in several territories have already embedded antifraud solutions from our echo system. Mobivas has taken the initiative last year to cooperate with one of them with regards to a general monitoring of the Country.

We have decided strategically to undertake this cost solely on our own trying to keep a balance not only across our customers but also the rest of the players that operate in Greece. I think we are doing an excellent job while, as I quoted above, this will be an ongoing evolving process.

PEOPLE?ople’, E H T T E E M O T t the pe WANT mpany to ‘mee e your co nnaire, If you would lik simple questio r ou in l fil is do all you have to more details send it in. For d an ot sh ad take a he om ine@w tevent.c contac t: gerald

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MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

Surpassing CPaaS CPaaS is already a power ful way to manage interaction with consumers – but it is about to get a whole lot more power ful. Paul Skeldon takes a look While CPaaS is still very much a ‘new’ concept – certainly to businesses that are signing up to use these platforms – where it goes next is already a subject many are wrestling with.

Tthe next stage of development for CPaaS is going to be building in customer data platforms (CDPs), which open up the use of CPaaS from customer service applications up to playing a more central role in ecommerce.

Data from Juniper Research suggests that together CDPs, ecommerce and media consumption will account for $1.5bn of global spend in 2023, exceeding

70% of the global market value, and forecast to rise to $5.2bn by 2028.

CDPs have historically been positioned as additional services that sit alongside CPaaS platforms; however, the report urges CPaaS vendors to fully integrate CDPs into their platforms.

This will enable enterprises to centralise the management of outbound communications and marketing campaigns and so increase return on messaging spend. It will also allow these enterprises to offer much more personalised recommendations for services, goods and content –

all driving e- and m-commerce.

Juniper analyst Elisha SudlowPoole explains: “Enterprises will not be able to fully realise the benefits of a CDP unless it has full access to user traffic data provided by CPaaS platforms.

“The retail and media spaces are prime examples, as CDPs provide targeted communication and personalised recommendations; a key differentiator in these highly competitive markets.”

But be warned, it may not be a simple process. If a CPaaS platform chooses to buy a prebuilt CDP solution, it is unlikely that this solution will be able to meet all business requirements, as each CPaaS platform has unique data inputs. Instead, the

report recommends that CPaaS players build their own bespoke CDP solution to ensure that it can adhere to the exact specifications of the CPaaS platform.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Bringing the message management power of CPaaS platforms together with CDPs promises quite a potent force to interact with consumers and customers.

When combined with generative AI-powered bots, the combination could be quite staggeringly powerful.

With access to the comms channels of choice through CPaaS, the personal data of the consumers from the CDP and bots that can tailor messaging to meet those tastes is likely to revolutionise how businesses talk to their customers.

This isn’t a question of ‘if’, rather ‘when’ it will happen. The question is anyone going to be ready for what it can unleash?

TeleShield ™ TARGETS TELCO FRAUD GLOBALLY

Telecommunications fraud is a longstanding problem for operators globally.

No operator is immune. It costs communications service providers and their customers $40bn annually and is a constant threat that can have a signifi cant impact on a company’s profi tability.

Fraud Identifi cation Maximized TeleShield™ protects companies from being the victim of fraud scams by determining the validity of a phone number globally.

It also includes additional optional attributes that go beyond typical fraud solutions.

Eliminate surcharges from Origin Based Rating fraud Prevent domestic and international call-back fraud costs Seamlessly access real-time data when needed Identify and prevent IRSF fraud damages e.g. Wangiri Fraud TeleShield™ can identify if a number has been: Assigned by the service provider to a customer e.g. active Recently ported

Proven Solution TeleShield™ can be easily integrated into your business processes. It utilizes the existing TMT infrastructure which provides: Robust solution with extensible options e.g. call-path solution Access to up-to-date numbering information Intelligent routing fabric that enables real-time number query that strengthens authentications and evaluation of fraud risks.

TeleShield™ is the fastest and most accurate global service of its kind currently on the market tackling fraud via voice and messaging.

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MARKETING & PROMOTION

Why are you falling foul of Google Ads policies?

There could be 27 reasons, but there are some key things that mVAS and DCB players need to know. Thomas Tinker explains

Unlocking Google Ads for mVAS Many marketers in the mVAS space have had their Google Ads campaigns disapproved at one time or another. It’s frustrating when this happens and you think you’ve done everything possible to ensure your ad is compliant with Google Ads policies,and you need to get your campaign live and convert customers fast.

With 27 policies in place and with updates released on a regular basis, it’s not surprising that occasionally you may fall foul of Google Ads policies.

However, when it becomes a more regular occurrence, it can significantly impact your marketing efforts and overall success in the mVAS space.

Repeated disapprovals not only waste valuable time and resources but can also harm your ad account’s reputation. If you continually violate certain Google Ads policies, you risk “account strikes”, where your account is put on hold and even compliant campaigns are paused.

For egregious violations and repeat offenders you risk “account suspensions”, where your account is permanently suspended unless you successfully appeal.

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4 MVAS THINGS GOOGLE AD POLICIES DON’T LIKE

Against this backdrop, it’s important that mVAS marketers and their advertising partners understand Google Ads policies, especially the policies that specifically relate to your services or target customers. Many of these policies reflect regulations in the mVAS/DCB space. However, there are also differences so it’s important to have a clear view of all policies and legislation that impact your ads.

Google Ad policies fall into four categories: 1. Prohibited content: Content you can’t advertise on the Google Network such as content that enables dishonest behaviour, like services designed to artificially inflate ad or website traffic; inappropriate content, including ads using profane language; and dangerous products and services or counterfeit goods.

2. Prohibited practice: This includes policies that prohibit the promotion of content containing malware; misrepresentation in ad content, including ads that aren’t transparent about pricing or the payment model, the use of false endorsements or ads that aren’t relevant to the landing page (destination); as well as “cloaking” or hiding the destination landing page.

3. Restricted content and features: Content you can advertise but with limitations, such as gambling and gaming services, sexual content, or content for kids. These ads may only be allowed in certain geos or served to a limited group of users.

4. Editorial & technical requirements: These policies cover the quality of your ad content such as barring the use of words like “free”; clickbait ads that use sensationalist tactics to drive traffic; or misleading ad design where it’s not clear whether the user is interacting with an advert or not.

GOOGLE ADS POLICIES VERSUS MVAS/DCB REGULATIONS

Complying with Google Ads policies doesn’t automatically mean your ads are compliant with industry regulations or a mobile carrier’s Code of Conduct. While Google Ads policies serve as a foundational framework for ad compliance, they don’t encompass all the nuances of the mVAS/ DCB sector.

For instance, some regions or countries may have stricter rules regarding the types of services that can be billed through carrier billing, or they may require additional transparency and consent mechanisms for certain transactions. These local variations in regulations can create a chal-

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

lenge for advertisers operating in multiple markets.

Just as the consequences of non-compliance with Google Ad policies can result in financial losses, through account strikes and suspensions, so too can non-compliance with regulatory requirements or a carrier’s code of conduct. Services may be stopped and significant fines imposed.

To ensure full compliance and mitigate potential losses, it’s essential for mVAS marketers to not only adhere to Google Ads policies but also conduct thorough research into the specific regulations and guidelines governing their target markets.

Collaborating closely with compliance experts, like MCP Insight, and staying updated on industry changes can help strike the right balance between Google Ads policies and local regulatory requirements, ultimately leading to a successful and compliant advertising strategy.

Thomas Tinker is Head of Account Management, MCP Insight THE MCP TEAM IS AT WORLD TELEMEDIA MARBELLA 9-10 OCTOBER WWW.WTEVENT.COM

MEDIA & CONTENT

LIVE STREAMING: BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS

The power play Six dominant trends in sports media and broadcasting How we watch spor ts has changed: now it is an interactive, engagement driven content business that combines media, content and engagement into an exciting new way to not only watch spor ts, but to get to know its stats and stars. Jean-Pierre du Toit explains In the rapidly evolving landscape of sports media and broadcasting, where technology and innovation take centre stage, a new era has emerged.

Gone are the days of traditional coverage; we are now witnessing a captivating revolution that is reshaping how we consume sports content. From immer-

sive experiences to fan-driven narratives, here are six powerful trends driving the future of sports media.

The rise of live streaming has been a game-changer, offering fans unprecedented access to sporting events. With platforms like SportLocker.com, Twitch, YouTube, and social media networks embracing live sports streaming, the barriers between the fans and the action are being shattered. Gone are the limitations of geographical location and cable subscriptions. Today, fans can catch their favourite teams in action anytime, anywhere, on any device, amplifying the global reach of sports.

IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES: STEPPING INTO THE ARENA

Immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are redefining how we experience sports. Fans

THE DESTINATION FOR SPORTS NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

A 24/7 on demand service, showcasing highlights, news, real-time data, live scores and exclusive content.

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MEDIA & CONTENT

can now step into the shoes of their favourite athletes, virtually sitting courtside or ringside, enhancing the sense of presence and connection. From immersive live broadcasts to interactive gaming experiences, these technologies are transforming the spectator experience, making it more engaging and intimate than ever before.

DATA ANALYTICS: DECODING THE GAME

Data analytics has become an indispensable part of sports media and broadcasting. From player performance analysis to in-depth match statistics, datadriven storytelling has gained immense popularity. Advanced metrics and artificial intelligence algorithms enable broadcasters to provide deeper insights into the game, unravelling the complexities that lie beneath the surface. By empowering fans and commentators with meaningful data, analytics has become the key to unlocking the mysteries of sports.

FAN-DRIVEN CONTENT: THE RISE OF UGC MEDIA

The power of fan engagement cannot be underestimated. With the advent of social media and the rise of user-generated content (UGC), fans have become a significant force in shaping sports narratives. From viral reactions to behind-the-scenes clips, fans now have the ability to create and share content that resonates with their fellow enthusiasts. This shift has enabled a more inclusive, diverse, and authentic portrayal of sports, fostering a sense of community and sparking conversations like never before.

ESPORTS: A DIGITAL SPORTING REVOLUTION

Esports, once considered a niche subculture, has now become a global phenomenon (see page 32). Blending technology, gaming, and competitive sports, esports has captured the imagination of millions. Major broadcasters and platforms have recognized its potential, dedicating airtime and resources to

cover these digital battles. The rise of esports has not only expanded the definition of sports but also created new opportunities for athletes, broadcasters, and fans alike.

PERSONALISED VIEWING: TAILORED TO PERFECTION

Gone are the days of one-sizefits-all broadcasts. The era of personalised viewing experiences is upon us. Streaming services and platforms are now offering tailored content recommendations, allowing fans to curate their own sports experiences. Whether it’s choosing specific camera angles, accessing highlight reels, or following favourite players, the power is in the hands of the fans.

From live streaming breaking down barriers to immersive technologies, data analytics, fan-driven content, esports, and personalised viewing experiences, the sports media and broadcasting industry is undergoing a powerful transformation.

This article explores these six

dominant trends that are shaping the future of sports coverage, offering insightful information on how fans can engage with sports in innovative ways.

With the sports media landscape evolving rapidly, it’s essential to find a reliable streaming platform that caters to your needs. Look no further than SportLocker – your ultimate destination for seamless, highquality sports streaming. Join us today and immerse yourself in a world of captivating sports content, personalised experiences and endless excitement.

Don’t miss out on the revolution happening in sports media—unlock the power of SportLocker and elevate your sports streaming experience to new heights.

Jean-Pierre du Toit is General Manager at SportLocker www.sportlocker.com MEET SPORTLOCKER AT WORLD TELEMEDIA MARBELLA 9-10 OCTOBER WWW.WTEVENT.COM

Live sports betting: another level in real-time engagement In today’s fast-paced digital world, sports enthusiasts are increasingly turning to mobile devices for an immersive and interactive sports betting experience, writes Paul Skeldon – and the evolution of live betting on mobile platforms has revolutionised the way fans engage with their favourite sports events, offering real-time engagement and heightened excitement. With a simple tap of their fingertips, users can now participate in dynamic wagering opportunities, all while staying connected to the pulse of the game.

One of the key factors driving the evolution of live betting on mobile is the availability of real-time data. Sports betting platforms now provide users with up-to-the-second information, including live scores, player statistics, and dynamic odds. This influx of real-time data allows users to make informed decisions during the game, adjusting their bets based on the unfolding events. Bet builders have also played a significant role in enhancing the live sports betting experience on mobile devices. These innovative tools allow users

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to create personalised bets by placing a multiple-leg bet on a single event, combining various elements of a game, such as player performance, team statistics, and specific events. With bet builders, sports enthusiasts can tailor their wagers to their preferences, providing a unique and engaging experience while analysing live stats.

Bet builders have also played a significant role in enhancing the live betting experience on mobile devices. These innovative tools allow users to create personalised bets by combining various elements of a game, such as player performance, team statistics, and specific events. With bet builders, sports enthusiasts can tailor their wagers to their preferences, providing a unique and engaging experience. The ability to create custom bets adds an extra layer of excitement, enabling users to showcase their sports knowledge and analytical skills while participating in live betting.

Furthermore, the integration of live streaming within mobile sports betting platforms has

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

transformed the way fans engage with sports events. Users can now watch the game unfold in real time while placing their bets simultaneously. This real-time engagement allows enthusiasts to witness the action first-hand, making informed decisions based on the flow of the game. The combination of live streaming and live betting creates a seamless and immersive experience that brings users closer to the sports they love.

Mobile sports betting has also benefited from advancements in mobile technology, such as faster internet connections and improved device capabilities. With smoother and more responsive interfaces, users can navigate through betting markets swiftly and efficiently. Additionally, push notifications and alerts keep users updated on game developments, ensuring they never miss a crucial moment for their bets. The continuous advancements in mobile technology have elevated the live betting experience, making it more accessible and enjoyable for sports enthusiasts.

TELECOMS & NETWORK OPERATORS

Up, up and away Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Super Bundling and its swooping in to give MNOs a much-needed new revenue stream – although it does come with some challenges.

Paul Skeldon repor ts Carriers worldwide are set to reap a $9.3bn bonanza from carrier billing in 2023 – rising to almost $14bn by 2027, thanks to, among other things, super bundling.

According to the latest study

by Juniper Research, this rise of 47% off the back of content and gaming (see page 1) is also being accelerated by super bundling’s ability to attract new customers and revenue streams.

Super bundling is the combining of multiple different subscriptions into one bill. Content included within super bundling frequently comprises digital gaming, music, news, video and fitness subscriptions. Carrier billing allows these subscriptions to be charged to the end user’s phone bill; rolling them into one single expense.

THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Super bundling allows MNOs to generate revenue from subscriptions, by taking a cut of the

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subscription cost. Consumers benefit from this, as they are able to consolidate a range of subscription payments with one bill, which is more convenient.

These bundles are often discounted compared to the sum of the individual services.

Additionally, a user is less likely to cancel a subscription, which is part of a larger bundle within a single bill. This will result in less churn for individual services, which will be a major benefit for subscription businesses.

Report author Michael Greenwood says: “As traditional revenue, including texts and minutes, has been declining over time, MNOs have been keen to identify and leverage new sources of revenue. The introduction of super bundling allows MNOs to monetise third-party subscription services, creating a more profitable model, and lowering the risk of subscriber churn, by tying users

more deeply within the MNOs’ ecosystem.”

Carrier billing is well positioned for this, as it is already a proven recurring billing mechanism. Via carrier billing, subscription services can also access MNO customers, representing large addressable markets, which will be highly appealing to subscription services looking to accelerate their growth.

According to a separate study

by Juniper in conjunction with billing company Bango, the global subscription economy is set to grow by 81% in the next three years, reaching a global market value of $599 billion by 2026. Reflecting the ongoing demand for subscription services in the UK, the number of subscriptions per adult is also forecast to double, rising to 5.2, from 2.6 in 2018.

The research identified the top three categories for subscriptions in 2023: digital video, with a current global market

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

value of $60bn; digital music, currently worth $41bn and; physical goods boxes – such as food & recipe boxes, or regular hygienic products – currently worth $102bn.

By 2026, it is expected that there will be more than 790 million subscriptions to digital video, over 810 million digital music subscriptions, and more than 920 million subscriptions to physical goods boxes.

Driven by the continued migration of services from one-off fees to a subscription model, the report has found that this market growth is offering service providers a more efficient model for managing cash flow in the short term. This is fuelling a new market for ‘Super Bundles’, in which the management of several subscription services is centralized into a single hub for consumers.

In the context of the challenges faced by the telecoms industry — declining ARPU (Average Revenue per User) and increasing customer acquisition costs — the report finds that Super Bundling represents a

clear opportunity for telcos to boost both customer acquisition and retention.

Commenting on the growth projections for subscriptions, Sam Barker, Head of Analytics & Forecasting at Juniper Research, said: “There is one evident takeaway [from the research]: there are obvious and immediate opportunities for telcos to capitalise on this growth. This will be done by offering Super Bundling services to mobile subscribers.”

SUPER CHALLENGING

Though the need to create new revenue streams has been revealed as a ‘high priority’ for 68% of telcos, streaming partnerships alone may not be enough to get providers out of the woods. As it currently stands, the situation is challenging. Telcos face saturated markets, declining revenue per user and non-stop churn. While network traffic will grow by 219%

How bundling will pan out across the world As much as 20% of all streaming video subscriptions are now sold through bundling partnerships with telco companies, reaching 25% by 2028.

In certain regions such as Latin America, close to 50% of streaming video subscriptions will come from telco bundles within the next five years.

Global revenue from video, music and other subscription-based services sold via telcos will total $24.8bn this year and grow to $42.8bn in 2027.

That’s according to a new analyst-led report ‘Super Bundling: What Telco Leadership Needs in 5 years, revenues are only projected to grow by 14.6%.

‘Super Bundling’ has emerged as a new revenue stream for telcos — aggregating hardto-manage subscriptions into single platforms. It also enables content providers to reach new audiences at much greater scale than through one-to-one partnerships.

to Know About Securing a Wider Role in the Subscriptions Market’, released this Summer by Omdia and Bango.

The report finds that the global subscription streaming market is maintaining its upward trajectory. By bundling streaming subscriptions with their core offerings, Omdia suggests that telcos can position themselves at the centre of this high-growth, high-value market.

Earlier this year, Juniper Research similarly found the market is expected to grow by a sizable $268 billion within the next 3 years alone.

Bango’s Malhotra adds: “Streaming is only one aspect of the Super Bundling phenomenon that Omdia has highlighted.

Super Bundling content hubs like Verizon +play and Optus SubHub go well beyond video, offering subscriptions for music, health, productivity and more.

“There are compelling market drivers at work here, not least

consumer subscription fatigue and telcos’ urgent need to differentiate and boost revenue.

Super Bundling is not only a churn buster — the more services telcos get customers to subscribe to, the more stickiness they create — but can also turn into a revenue stream in its own right, something that carriers and content providers all need.

Gaming & Esports content on mobile

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MEDIA & CONTENT

Hot content What do the world’s eyeballs want to see?

While spor ts are a major content stream for VAS, there is a long tail of other content types from games to niche edutainment ser vices. Paul Skeldon takes a look at what some of the hottest content trends are today As the pandemic recedes from view (hopefully!), the content market has changed again. So, what has taken the place of these services and where do the telemedia opportunities lie?

GAMES

Naturally, gaming is the content type that beats all others and continues to grow apace. According to Newzoo, global player numbers will reach 3.38 billion this year and generate revenues of $187.7bn – and is tipped to reach $212.4bn by 2026.

The largest growth is set to come from Middle East and Africa (MEA), with 6.9% uplift, followed

by Latin America (LatAm), which will grow by 4.3% in 2023. Both are being drive by better mobile internet infrastructure that is more affordable, more smartphones and a rising middle class.

North America’s games revenues will grow by +3.8% to hit $51.6bn, while Europe’s will grow by +3.2% to reach

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$34.4bn. These regions will account for 46% of 2023’s global games market revenues. The biggest country globally by games revenues is the US, which accounts for 25% of all games market revenues worldwide.

Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific is 2023’s biggest games region overall. It accounts for 46% of global revenues, but with just +1.2% year-on-year revenue growth, it has the slowest growth compared to other regions. The Chinese market’s considerable slowdown may account for this growth slump.

GAMBLING

Allied to the gaming market, the online gambling market is set to grow by more than 11% yearon-year between now and 2028 driven by technology, virtual reality, blockchain, and mobile platforms.

According to research by Research and Markets, the rising adoption of mobile and

online payment gateways made payment options convenient for consumers and online players.

The online sports betting segment (see page 28) is predominantly rising with the online sports category, especially in football events, such as the FIFA World Cup and the European championships. Many online sports betting companies are sponsoring different teams as a part of their marketing initiatives by acquiring or merging with several companies for strategic expansions.

Data from Reportlinker published in August 2023suggests the mobile gambling market is expected to grow from $141.7bn in 2023 to $300.47bn by 2028.

ESPORTS

One of the largest ‘new’ markets for content and engagement continues to be esports. Defined as multiplayer video games played competitively for specta-

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

tors, esports has moved from being a niche online phenomenon to being something that generates vast revenues worldwide from both online and live events – which themselves are also live streamed.

According to data from Fortune Business Insights, the global eSports market was valued at $1.45bn in 2022 and is set to hit $1.72bn this year and could well rise to more than $6.75bn by 2030 at the current CAGR of 21.%.

The market earns its revenues from ad content aimed squarely at the viewers. This can take the form of physical advertising and promotion at live events, as well as digital content ads in live streams on online TV, gaming platforms and services such as YouTube, Twitch and SportLocker (see page 27).

Media rights accounts for a growing proportion of revenues, as the popularity of esports continues to rise and could well overtake advertising as the main revenue stream for esports in the coming years.

The US accounted for the largest market share in 2022 and is likely to continue to drive the market. However, Asia Pacific is expected to see the largest growth, with China, Japan and India all anticipated to see explosive growth. South Korea, too, is a market to watch, according to the data as its already healthy esports market is set for more growth.

LatAm, which as a keen interest in sports, is also set to be a significant growth market in the late 2020s, while MENA has seen significant new investment in sports across the past five years – hosting the football World Cup among other things – and this is likely to translate into gaming and esports too. The Saudi government, for instance, invested $3.3bn in the gaming industry in the region, which will also help fuel esports in the area.

WELLNESS

The wellness industry has been booming for more than a decade, with millennials searching for meaning and how to ‘live their best lives’. The pandemic cemented this and today the global wellness market is valued at over $5.3trn in 2023, and is predicted to grow at 10% each year for the next two years at least.

This has translated into a digital wellness content market that is expected to grow revenues to $1.1trn by 2028 from $335bn in 2022, growing at a staggering CAGR of 21.97% according to Research and Markets. Factors such as growth in the adoption of smartphones, developments in coverage networks, and the increasing prevalence of health conditions impacting physical and mental wellness are driving the North American digital health and wellness market, the largest in the world.

EDUCATION

Digital learning also received a fillip from the pandemic. Cue a boom in digital education and edutainment content in 20202022, which continues through to today.

Data from Research and Markets shows that the Global Digital Education Market size to grow from $19.4bn in 2023 to $66.7bn by 2028, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 28.0% between now and 2028.

A major advantage of digital learning over traditional learning is its affordability. With online learning, learners/ students only need to pay for university credits, broadband bills, thereby saving a lot of money which would have been spent otherwise on textbooks, student transportation, meals, formal attire, availability of a wide range of payment op-

tions that let learners pay in instalments or on a per class basis, real estate (those who are non-local, seeking accommodation). Moreover, all study materials are available online, thus creating a paperless learning environment that is more affordable while also being eco-friendly.

The more fun global edutainment market grew from $5.42bn in 2022 to $6.22bn in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7%.

The edutainment market is expected to grow to $11.12bn in 2027 at a CAGR of 15.6%.

North America was the largest region in the edutainment market in 2022. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastestgrowing region in the forecast period.

The regions covered in the edutainment market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe,

Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.

There are of course many other forms of content – it’s a very long tail – but most continue to grow as consumers show no sign of letting up on wanting to gaze at and engagement with pretty much everything.

Even with the cost of living crisis gripping many nations, low-cost, quick and easy entertainment continues to drive sales – and as those sales grow, so to does carrier billing, content aggregation and even messaging and engagement services – and that is all good news for telemedia in 2023 and beyond.

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TELECOMS & NETWORK OPERATORS

From Telco to Techno

Why AI is at the centre of telco success Shashank Shekhar explores how, using AI, telcos and CSPs can become technology driven companies that do so much more than just carr y telecoms traf fic Leveraging AI to drive business value requires a carefully designed approach that encompasses the identification of appropriate success metrics and the utilisation of relevant data.

However, many communications service providers (CSPs) face challenges in terms of lacking the necessary processes and resources to facilitate this transition effectively.

To overcome these obstacles, it is crucial to establish data pipelines that are tailored to address the current problem(s) before embarking on the AI transformation journey.

Achieving a successful transformation entails revisiting and re-evaluating the entire landscape of your business problem statements, rather than focusing solely on individual components.

The race is on Propelled by the emergence of transformative technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, and the metaverse, coupled with the advent of 5G, telecommunication companies (telcos) find themselves in an enviable position to not only push the boundaries of technology but also unleash their imagination.

Moving beyond traditional connectivity offerings necessitates a fundamental business transformation for operators. This entails developing new revenue streams, reducing costs through network modernisation, embracing AI-driven automation, and delivering innovative digital services.

However, the transition from a telco to a techno is fraught with complexities, requiring not only the introduction of new technology-based services but also the

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It is important to analyse the following key questions at the outset: • Identifying redundancies: Where are the redundancies present within your processes, and which of these redundancies can be eliminated? By understanding and streamlining redundant processes, CSPs can improve operational efficiency and reduce unnecessary complexities.

• Assessing cost implications: How much are the inefficiencies resulting from these redundancies costing the company?

Identifying the financial impact of redundant processes helps prioritise areas for improvement and provides a clear understanding of the potential cost savings

modernisation of infrastructure.

While AI serves as the linchpin of this transformation journey, the future success of communication service providers (CSPs) hinges on the approach they adopt. CSPs can choose to take an assertive approach, crafting new customer journeys and curating novel revenue streams, or they can opt for a more conservative methodology that yields only incremental benefits.

Those operators who embrace an aggressive approach will emerge as the techno pioneers of tomorrow, securing a leadership position in the AI revolution. Their success will primarily stem from becoming enablers across various domains, such as smart cities, healthcare, industrial transformation 4.0, agriculture, digital governance, and the artificial reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) industries.

By leveraging their advanced infrastructure, expansive networks, and AI capabili-

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that can be achieved through AI implementation.

• Optimising productivity: How can productivity be optimised across various aspects of the business? By leveraging AI technologies, CSPs can automate repetitive tasks, streamline workflows, and enable employees to focus on higher-value activities. This optimisation leads to increased productivity and improved overall business performance.

• Identifying cost drivers: What are the main drivers of operational costs, and how can AI be leveraged to reduce these costs? By identifying the key factors contributing to high operational expenses, CSPs can

ties, these forward-thinking telcos will drive innovation and shape the future of multiple sectors. They will play a pivotal role in building smart cities, revolutionising healthcare with telemedicine and remote monitoring, powering industrial transformations through automation and data analytics, optimising agricultural practices with precision farming, enabling digital governance for efficient public services, and shaping immersive experiences in the AR/VR space.

Ultimately, telcos that seize the opportunities presented by AI and emerging technologies will position themselves as leaders in the digital era, transforming not only their own businesses but also the industries they serve.

Their proactive approach to embracing the techno revolution will unlock new frontiers of growth and cement their position at the forefront of the ever-evolving technological landscape.

explore AI-driven solutions that mitigate or eliminate these cost drivers. This could involve using AI for predictive maintenance, intelligent resource allocation, or demand forecasting to optimise resource utilisation and minimise expenses.

Thorough analysis of the aforementioned questions and the incorporation of AI into the identified areas empower CSPs to develop targeted strategies that generate significant business value. This approach ensures that the AI transformation journey is rooted in addressing existing challenges and maximising the potential for positive impacts on operations, efficiency, and costeffectiveness.

The responses to these questions provide CSPs with the opportunity to explore the use of AI beyond the digitisation of workflows and automation of processes. Integrating AI into the

core of business operations and processes involves considering five key components: 1. Making AI Pervasive in Networks: Software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV) enable telcos to dynamically reconfigure their networks, but AI takes this further. AI plays a critical role in managing AI networks, with its algorithms optimising resource allocation, orchestrating virtual network functions (VNFs), and automating network provisioning and scaling.

2. Creating AI-Centric Business Models: Telcos need to develop new partnership models that extend beyond providing infrastructure. Success in the future relies on operators expanding their reach to capture new markets and revenue streams. This involves forging strategic partnerships to deliver innovative services and exploring new business models.

3. Staying Agile with Open Architecture: Embracing open architecture allows CSPs to move away from proprietary software and connect seamlessly with a larger ecosystem. This opens up opportunities for innovative monetisation methods, such as partnering with financial institutions or healthcare providers. Open infrastructure and architecture also facilitate rapid adoption of advancements like open RAN and open application programming interfaces (APIs), streamlining collaborations between vendors and enabling quick development of innovative bundles and packages.

4. Monetising Indirect Channels: AI enables cost-effective and seamless onboarding, enabling CSPs to tap into new subscriber channels. Similarly, AI can enhance supply chain operations by incorporating intelligent sourcing practices that intuitively

respond to unpredictable market forces.

5. Delivering Frictionless Customer Experiences: Placing AI at the core of telco operations allows for adjustments and improvements in models, infrastructure, and services, resulting in a game-changing impact on customer experiences.

This creates a win-win situation, satisfying subscriber desires while enabling CSPs to cultivate profitable customer loyalty and gain a competitive edge.

By embracing these components, CSPs can unlock the full potential of AI and leverage it to transform their operations, elevate customer experiences, and drive business growth across the telecommunications industry.

Shashank Shekhar is Head – AI Labs, at Subex www.subex.com

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You say you want

a revolution… … well, you are about to get one. As Europe’s first pure 5G network rolls out in the UK and Vodafone and Three UK plan to merge, true 5G and all that it can bring is about to be unleashed – and it is going to change the world, says Paul Skeldon 5G-enabled technologies will be a boon to creating and delivering new telemedia services, but they are also likely to deliver significant improvements across society – across healthcare, transport and even streetlighting – according to new economic modelling.

The findings were published hot on the heels of the announce-

ment of the planned merger of Vodafone UK and Three UK, as well as the launch of Vodafone’s 5G Standalone connectivity service which will create the most technologically advanced telecommunications network in the UK back in late June.

The initial launch of Vodafone’s 5G Standalone network offers a glimpse of what is pos-

sible in the digital future, while the merger will give the two companies the scale required to invest £11bn over the next decade. Altogether, this will create Europe’s leading 5G network, support the Government’s 5G ambitions, drive digital transformation and create jobs.

It comes as new polling reveals that the public is realising

the role tech can play in improving society for consumers and businesses alike. Despite the AI boom dominating headlines, the research found people believe 5G can improve their day-to-day life more than AI or other innovative technologies like drones.

People see the green shoots of change across public services – with booking medical appointments online, cashless payments on public transport and smart meters now the norm. Vodafone’s Digital Society Blueprint demonstrates how 5Genabled technologies are also making a big impact in areas of society that people may not see, as well as what more is to come in the future.

However, some of the older generation still haven’t made their mind up on 5G. Less than a third (31%) of 55-to-64-year-olds see how 5G has the potential to improve their day-to-day life, compared with nearly three quarters (73%) of younger tech natives (18-to-34 year olds) – highlighting the need for more education around its potential.

BENEFITS FOR BUSINESS

The bold claim that 5G has the power to revolutionise society may well have been made by Vodafone in the UK to sweeten

What else 5G can do for society?

A survey of 2,000 UK adults, commissioned by Vodafone, found healthcare (31%), utilities like energy and water (21%) and railways (20%) were identified as key sectors that people think will benefit most from 5G. Unsurprisingly, those were also the areas people say they have been most frustrated with in the last 12 months.

The new modelling, commissioned by Vodafone and conducted by WPI Economics, shows that higher quality remote 5Genabled check-ups and real-time patient monitoring through Internet of Things (IoT) technology will reduce the need for GP and hospital visits. This, an example of a shift to a preventative healthcare approach, could result in £1bn of NHS sav-

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ings per year – savings which could cover the equivalent of 15,400 new full time nursing posts.

It also points to installing 5G-enabled sensors, which detect problems on railways and trains, could reduce delays and cancellations – saving passengers more than 25 million hours over five years.

That time saved for passengers is worth £326 million in productivity and wellbeing benefits.

5G-powered smart city lights, which detect movement to turn on or dim street lighting, could save local councils £700 million over the next five years, says the data. They could also reduce emissions by one million tonnes of CO2 – the equiva-

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

lent of replacing 250,000 petrol or diesel cars with electric alternatives.

Ahmed Essam, CEO of Vodafone UK, explains: “Our research shows half of the population think that technology could make their lives easier, for the other half it’s up to us to bring to life the difference technologies like 5G Ultra can make to everyday life – the streets we walk down, the trains we travel on and how we look after one another.

“Our proposed combination with Three UK will give us the scale to accelerate investment in the UK’s digital future. The launch of Vodafone 5G Ultra gives a taste of what life could be like. Together we can deliver innovation further and faster.”

its proposed merger with Three, but the claim has some veracity. Better comms, faster video, more interaction, along with the potential to create even more compelling and engaging services are all big pluses and 5G could well be something that makes life if not better, then certainly better connected.

But it won’t just be ‘the people’ that benefit, MNOs themselves have much to gain from 5G finally becoming ubiquitous – as do telemedia companies for that matter.

5G could well be the thing that prevents MNOs becoming just dumb pipes – although, to be fair, it could also be the technology that finally makes them just dumb pipes – giving them the network that is fit to play in the modern world of content and engagement services.

To date, 2, 3 and 4G have really not been up to the task

of video streaming, live streaming and anything that requires ultra-low latency. Current 5G networks that piggyback on 4G are also not up to it.

Proper 5G can fix that – and in doing so suddenly makes mobile networks fit for purpose in the 2020s and 2030s, allowing people to do all the stuff they want to do, largely with streamed video, wherever and whenever they want to do it.

This could be a massive boon for network operators as their networks suddenly do rival those of fixed line broadband, but with the added advantage that you can use them wherever you are.

This is a game changer and, played right, could see MNOs become big players in streamed media services, live streaming, live shopping and more. Or it could see them slip to become just the pipe that delivers all

that for all the massive media brands that are already out there doing their thing.

The move towards super-bundling increasingly looks like the tack that MNOs need to take, placing themselves at the heart not only of the content delivery, but also sitting in a place that adds value to the end-user… a place that allows consumers to better manage their subscriptions to the digital services that MNOs can better deliver over 5G. This places MNOs front and centre in terms of where consumers see them in the streaming mix and offers carriers the chance to own the space. It also offers a potential $14bn boost to revenues (see page 30) through the increased use of carrier billing to pay for these super-bundled services.

This is where it gets interesting for telemedia companies

as they too will benefit. Not only will there be this projected $14bn DCB market in five short years globally, but also it will push carrier billing very much into the mainstream of consumer payments.

This will offer MNOs, aggregators and VAS providers a chance to cement DCB as a proper payment tool that can be widely used for everything from mainstream streaming services and super-bundling to video tarot and all the things that have always underpinned the valueadded services and telemedia markets.

So, will 5G save humanity and propel MNOs centre stage in the world of digital entertainment and engagement? Who knows for sure, but with Vodafone rolling out the first 5G Ultra network in Europe in the UK this Summer, those claims are about to be put to the test.

Driving value added services for voice and mobile

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MEET THE PEOPLE

Meet the

PEOPLE

Naji Bou Harb, chairman and CEO, MobiMind What does your company do?

MobiMind is a leading Carrier Billing, Digital Payment and Master Aggregator in the MENA region since 2011. MobiMind also manages the VAS/DCB environment and acts as a Master Aggregator with the Mobile Operators for local and International Service Merchants, Billing Partners and Content Providers.

To what extent has the pandemic affected your customer’s behaviour and have you been able to explore new opportunities as a result?

It has increased the time the customer spends online and thus new services were generated to cater to their specific needs.

What new opportunities have arisen as a result of the pandemic?

Customers, by spending more time on their screens, gave us a big challenge to provide them with more valuable, rich and attractive content. This meant and resulted in an evolution in the Content Production industry.

Which content and/or applications do you see being the most likely to benefit from telemedia billing technologies?

Every content and applications’ provider should find their needs in such a central event.

Do you think that Direct Carrier Billing can become mainstream and in which markets?

It already is. Worldwide, definitely, but MENA certainly is one of the fastest growing markets.

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How do you balance payment flows, operator relationships and customer satisfaction?

It’s a complete ecosystem whereas each factor has it relevant value and its respective impact on the other factors. By having a well-established balance among the 3 factors, you can then talk about a beneficial and profiting business.

What major factors do you think will impact the future development of mobile payments and which other payment options represent the biggest threat?

Higher payouts and shorter payment terms are definitely the biggest impacting factors that allow even a higher penetration of DCB in the market. Other micro payment options, like mobile money, can be a competitor. Nonetheless, till the present moment, they are not fully optimized as they expected it in most of the markets.

Do you consider yourself a CPaaS provider or any other variant of the “XXaaS” service provider model?

Definitely. By being a Master Aggregator, our goal is to be an all-encompassing CPaaS provider.

What are the biggest challenges of offering CPaaS? Being always ahead of the competition and up to, if not exceed our partners’ expectations.

Which specific VAS verticals are you expecting to have a great year and why?

Gaming, streaming, eVouchers,

eSports, and OTT. How might you answer that same question in 5 years time?

We’ve been in this industry since 2011, and we will keep responding to the markets’ needs by evolving our work and expertise with a special focus on AI and the promises it offers.

What’s the most effective business model for an mVAS customer acquisition strategy?

Micro billing charging/ Subscription.

Do you see affiliate marketing being a primary, trusted channel for telemedia propositions or do you think alternative routes to market will become more popular?

From a Master Aggregator’s perspective, Affiliate marketing has never been and will certainly never be a primary and trusted channel as long as other more reliable and trustworthy options are proving themselves in the market.

Is the industry doing enough to combat fraud and tackle cyber security?

Since a couple of years, a big improvement on the cyber security business has been implemented by dedicated and specialised companies, aggregators and operators alike, to fight fraud. Not to forget to mention that this improvement should be always a relentless and ongoing effort.

What action has your business taken to maintain / improve consumer / partner trust?

We’ve applied significantly enhanced efforts on our platform by implementing/integrating antifraud and online monitoring solutions in order to ensure a bullet-proof and fully secured ecosystem for our partners, our customers, and our business.

In the next 12 months what key technical developments or innovations do you feel will have the most positive impact on mCommerce (VAS / mobile payments / marketing)?

Our focus for the forthcoming period will be on 2 key verticals: strengthening the relationship with our partners and onboard new potential ones with whom we share the same vision and business interests; continuously enhancing our platform to meet the market needs and changes across all levels: technical, operational, marketing, and communications.

PEOPLE?ople’, E H T T E E M O T t the pe WANT mpany to ‘mee e your co nnaire, If you would lik simple questio r ou in l fil is do all you have to more details send it in. For d an ot sh ad take a he om ine@w tevent.c contac t: gerald

More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

#BILLING

PM Connect specialises in bringing major brands’ OTT services to MNO portfolios and driving revenue through DCB payments - powered by digital marketing partnerships.

Founded in 2012, PM Connect now processes over 50 million payments per month and holds a global reach of 300 million consumers in 20+ territories.

Gaming & Esports content on mobile

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#SUPPORT SERVICES

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B2B content solution provider. We build fully managed digital entertainment and content services for you to market D2C. Services in 65+ countries across 20+ languages. www.melodimedia.co.uk | sales@melodimedia.co.uk

#SP & AGGREGATOR

www.globtel.de Business opportunity provider

Send

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clipfeed is a global gaming and esports entertainment company that powers communities with our award-winning technology.

We provide world-class gaming and esports entertainment to hundreds of millions of consumers. clipfeed works with telecom operators, DTH, ISP and OEM partners to create innovative and engaging gaming destinations for consumers.

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The go-to payment gateway for your mobile payment needs Pay via Carrier Billing

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Driving value added services for voice and mobile

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#MEDIA & MARKETING

www.cookies.digital

SL_D_Entry.pdf 1 24/01/2023 10:40:03

C

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The Destination for sports news and highlights

CM

MY

CY

CMY

sales@sportlocker.com

K

www.sportlocker.com

Graphic design, publication design & stunning websites

Traffic Company is a CPA network/Agency with worldwide (mobile) CPA traffic available. We have our own in-house media buying team with google traffic. Next to this we work with extern media buyers, affiliates and all kind of publishers. Most of our traffic sources are: Push, social, pops, banners. We promote campaigns by PIN API and by s2s postback.

Hendrik Tjerkstra

Creative, efficient, professional and just a little bit quirky

www.wr3n.com

hendrik@trafficcompany.com

Meet us at Telemedia 8.1 or contact info+ams@sam-media.com

WORLDWIDE MOBILE TRAFFIC

#CONTENT PROVIDER

As a leader in innovation we make the next generation of digital content accessible to everyone, on any device. We develop, design and source a variety of content, products and services to fulfill the entertainment needs of millions of users worldwide.

GET THE VOLUMES YOU NEED One-time access to 10 000 publishers all over the world, with their target audience suiting mVAS services perfectly

WITH CLEANEST TRAFFIC Embedded anti-fraud system & direct contacts with managers of the largest advertiser networks guarantees highest performance results

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We are the leading specialist in premium rate and virtual services Looking for a solution for staffing and customer service, then look no further.

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sales@telefuture.com

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Mobile content done right

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More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk

Lorna@text121.com 0844 4483121

Helen@text121.com 0844 4482121

#NETWORK OPERATOR

Est. 2002

UK TELECOMS NETWORK OPERATOR All UK Number Ranges / Hosted IVR / SIP Working with Channel Partners

24seven.co.uk · info@24seven.co.uk · +44 (0)8000 247 247

„LINKING TELECOMS AND MEDIA THROUGH INTERNATIONAL PREMIUM RATE SERVICES“

kwak.

www.kwak-telecom.com e-mail: sales@kwak-telecom.com phone: +357 220 223 18

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callc m SWISS PRECISION OF TELECOM SERVICES

The leading supplier in domestic numbers in Switzerland

• Premium rate 090X • Toll free • Shared cost

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info@callcom.ch | www.callcom.ch | +41 91 225 8330 Gcore is a European leader in public cloud and edge computing, content delivery, hosting, and security solutions

150 points of presence worldwide 11,000 peering partners 110 Tbps total network capacity 20−30 ms average response time worldwide Try low-latency services around the world, trusted by the largest online businesses

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Make sure you can be found.

Advertise in the leading directory for the telemedia industry. Contact Jarvis for rates on +44 (0)7711 92 70 92

WE ARE YOUR MESSAGING PLATFORM www.horisen.com

Information on any mobile number globally TMT is a leading provider of Mobile Number Intelligence™ globally.

Trusted by the worlds leading e-commerce sites, messaging companies, banking and financial services companies to reduce fraud, improve onboarding and authenticate customers.

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Driving value added services for voice and mobile

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