monetizing connected consumers

ISSUE 57 | £4.99

IPRN weathers the storm Messaging mad Mobility 14 International Premium Rate Messaging is Using mobile to Services (IPRN) are on the starting to become travel – what up as new markets look for a monetisable could be more ways to pay for content and delivery channel. mobile. As the apps – despite coronavirus Take a look at how world opens up find hitting call centres it is developing out how it works IN THIS ISSUE 16 20 TELECOMS & NETWORK PROVIDERS IN THIS ISSUE Voice and IPRN 06 GAMING: LET US PLAY The world has gone content crazy traffic: how during lockdown and games lead the coronavirus has way. What are the opportunities? 08 AFFILIATES DRIVE RETAIL shifted telecoms More peopel than ever are shopping on line and on mobile – and this is proving to be aboon to affilaites 10 PAYMENTS BOOM Payments are top of the agenda across ecomemrce and - we take a look at who is winning 10 GOES GLOBAL With our white paper on DCB for The coronavirus pandemic and the CONTENT gambling going live, we assess how attendant lockdown around the world Content services – particularly games, gam- gambling has exploded in 2020 has had a profound impact on telemedia bling, eSports and chat services – have all markets: content services and the billing had a huge boost over the lockdown, with a 22 FRAUD IN A TIME OF CRISIS that goes with it have rocketed, while a study by Bango into what people in coun- We take an in depth look at how the voice traffic has gone up. International tries where Corona has surged and, hopeful- lockdown-induced boom in services is driving fraud, how to combat it and ly, peaked shows that they are using mobile premium rate services, however, have what it means long term taken a hit – but there may be better to shop for food, shop for other items, play times ahead (see page 5). >> 3

MEDIA & CONTENT COMPANIES YOU One of the early winners in the sudden SHOULD BE DOING eSports: winning shift in consumer behaviour worldwide has been the rise of eSports. From BUSINESS WITH!

30 #BILLING in lockdown – and simple entertainment through to driving enterprise red gaming and gambling, esports has

CELESTATEL Celestatel is a leading global scoring beyond provider of International Premium rate numbers. We become a key form of entertainment are directly interconnected with major voice carriers worldwide as well as most of the IPRN Supports + Direct Carrier Billing resellers. Celestatel offers wide range of IPRN numbers worldwide + Credit Cards with various payouts from USD 0.05 up to USD 0.43 and different various payment terms from 7/7 to 30/30. + Online Banking (FPX) channels + E-Wallets content for millions of people. + Over-The-Counter For more info kindly contact: [email protected] #NETWORK OPERATOR

UK numbers Call centre grade PBX for resellers

VoIP, PBX outbound dialler International premium rate numbers

PRS/IVR & call handling Payment & number hosting solutions A UK VOICE NETWORK [email protected] The lack of live sports is being keenly felt by +44 (0)207 058 1000 [email protected] WWW.TELECOM2.NET kwak. „LINKING TELECOMS AND MEDIA THROUGH INTERNATIONAL many people worldwide. They rely on it for PREMIUM RATE SERVICES“ www.kwak-telecom.com e-mail: [email protected] entertainment, engagement and more. And phone: +357 220 223 18 CORE TELECOM #SUPPORT SERVICES Core Telecom is the UK’s leading provider of UK Numbering solutions. A fully independent network operator since 2005, we offer unprecedented carrier network accessibility across the this is not going to change any time soon – in globe. With over 35 years of industry experience we can find the right solution for you. t: 0344 504 0000 Seee: [email protected] page 29 w: www.coretelecom.co.uk

>> 4 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk 30

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

TELECOMS & NETWORK PROVIDERS Content & Voice << 1 12, the volume of speech in resulting from the move to re- “The nine carriers currently games and use social media. the network thus increased mote working and ‘stay at home’ using the platform have gener- Games and gambling as we by 24% compared to the day orders, have had an immediate ated more than 1,200 logins to see on pages 6 and 12 are before. Over the weekend 50% impact on the international the platform per month,” adds already surging, while ecom- more was spoken - obviously voice market,” explains Philippe Millet. “This demonstrates that merce is also heavily in play (see due to a need to gain status on Millet, Chairman of i3forum. despite the companies operating page 8). family and friends in the new “i3forum Insights has seen an remotely, i3forum Insights is be- But there have been a raft situation. In the past working initial spike in traffic in March ing well embedded into opera- of other developments across week, about 60% more has been then a return to regular traffic tional processes. Users connect telemedia in domestic and spoken on the phone than on a volumes in April, albeit with dif- frequently with an average of international voice traffic levels. normal week in March.” ferent patterns as people have 10 logins per user per month, And it isn’t just the quantity of adapted to new social and work- showing the platform’s intensive VOICE voice that is going up, but also ing situations,” he says. “What use and support for carriers’ Voice traffic on mobile and fixed the quality time spent chatting is striking is the growth in call day-to-day businesses. Users of line telecoms networks, which the old-fashioned way. duration. Calls are longer and i3forum Insights are seeing these has been on the wane for at GlobalData has identified that, that compensated for the de- trends and are able to use this least five years, is growing. A re- while the number of mobile cline in number of calls.” Millet intelligence to optimise their cent study by Global Data points calls remains roughly constant, continues: “The first half of 2020 businesses and better serve their to how these voice calls have mobile call length has risen has really shown the value that customers.” seen more growth in the past substantially. traditional voice delivers in chal- i3forum Insights works by two months than in the same This is backed up by O2. “This lenging times. It remains critical carriers uploading their voice number of years. shift shows that as a country we for businesses and consumers.” traffic data into the system and According to the study, in both are talking much more,” says The comprehensive market comparing data with the rest of the US and Spain – countries CTO O’Reilly. “On average database for international voice the market. All data provided is at either end of the lockdown customers are speaking to each services provides participat- fully anonymised and remains spectrum, Spain tight, US not so other for approximately 40% ing carriers with new visibility, 100% confidential. The platform, much – there has been a marked longer. In these worrying times, insights and data from across based on i3forum requirements, uptick in mobile voice calls. it’s comforting to know that a the industry. Contributors to was developed and is operated AT&T reports that mobile medium that was becoming less the database include BICS, BTS, by TeleGeography, experts in voice minutes are up anywhere popular with the huge prolifera- iBasis, Orange, PCCW Global, managing large data sets in the from 25 to 41% compared to an tion of data services, is actually Tata Communications, Sparkle, carrier industry. Users can check average – pre-COVID-19 – day, as important as ever.” Telefónica International Whole- new data against the latest while in Spain, mobile operators And traffic patterns are sale Services, and Telstra. The figures from other anonymous banded together to ask custom- changing as well, O’Reilly says. database provides intelligence participants and pull data to cre- ers to shift their calls to landlines “Previously our voice traffic on more than 17,400 destina- ate custom reports. after a 50% rise in mobile calls. peak has been at 6pm, but over tions. Meanwhile, UK operator O2 the last few days, we are seeing reported on 27 March that it had a shift to around 11am-12pm, seen, since 16 March, 57% more possibly as children connect and voice calls at the busiest point of learn in new ways online and the day. Typically, it says, voice people work from home during traffic increases 5% year on year, the day.” “and in a week we have experi- enced an increase of voice traffic THE GLOBAL VIEW comparable to nine years of International voice traffic has regular demand,” says Brendan also seen a surge. Resaerch from O’Reilly, CTO, O2. i3forum Insights, powered by Similarly, on 24 March, Telenor TeleGeography, showed a 20% in Norway tweeted: “Traffic has increase in international voice increased sharply since the coro- traffic in March 2020, compared navirus was seriously registered to the same month in 2019, in this country. 50% increase while traffic dropped in mobile voice, 25% increase by 30%. in mobile data and 30-40% in- The average length of calls crease in fixed broadband”. increased by more than 30% Neighbouring Telia in Denmark in March and over 60% in April also reported that (translated 2020 compared to 2019. from original): “Thursday, March “Changing user behaviours,

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 3 MEDIA & CONTENT eSports << 1 iRacing Pro Invitational Series, a ed for 85% of the total esports which also hosts a Watch&Earn fact, as with many things in the SIM race/esports event mod- betting volume in that segment. program and several B2B tools. Corona era, a sudden and immu- elled after the motorsport. Publishers use Verasity’s reward- table shift in consumer behav- Before the Covid-19 outbreak LET’S PLAY ing-technology to improve as- iour has been ushered in. struck, analysts expected the es- The other side of esports that pects such as engagement and And what an opportunity it is. ports betting market to generate is going to be just as important monetization. For starters, using sports clips to anything between $12 billion to the telemedia sector is that This sort of idea is going to entertain is going to be a market between $15 billion in terms of of live gaming and ‘Let’s play’ rapidly gain ground and is an that carrier billing is all but total wagers. content. Live games – where ideal play for telemedia compa- designed for – as we have said There would also have been players play video games against nies to tap into. before – and with the lack of live half a billion esports enthusi- each other – has been a growing Let’s play – tutorials and content right now, turning to asts, a term used by Newzoo sector for some time, with tour- talk-throughs of game content ‘classics’ like best goals and more to describe individuals who are naments attracting thousands – meanwhile is also becoming is going to fill the gap before live actively participating in esports – of live visitors and many millions hugely popular even without the sports return. whether as competitors, audi- more online. Corona bounce. According to Even when sports are back on, ences, consumers or other. These And getting people paying to Juniper Research, it is set to help there will still be a huge market numbers have now changed. play, to watch and rewarding drive the whole eSports segment for using sliced and diced con- In analysing the market, them for doing so is going be- to reach 858 million unique tent to drive engagement and EveryMatrix considers two main yond ad funding and starting to views by 2022, up from 630 mil- extra revenues around existing types of esports competitions, become an interesting merging lion this year. subs services. taking into account the growing of carrier billing and cryptocur- These are big numbers and we Virtual horse and dog racing interest in eNASCAR, NBA2K and rency tokenisation. are going to see a whole raft of was already becoming a key area FIFA 20. The report differentiates For example, attention-fo- innovations around esports in for igaming over the past few between simulation of rea-life cused tech company Verasity has the coming months as those of years – up from 63% of punt- sports games and classic games. launched a new game store that us stuck at home for an unprec- ers in the UK in 2016 to 66% in EveryMatrix has collated data rewards its users for playing edented length of time look for 2018. from 10 bookmakers, showing games. For every minute of gam- new ways to be entertained. However, lockdown has ush- that esports betting activities ing, players will receive digital This is a business about to ered in a huge new interest in have grown 40-fold between tokens that are exchangeable really take off and we certainly watching virtual events and bet- 9 March and 19 April 2020. to Amazon vouchers and many think the opportunities are ting on them – not only among Generating an estimated 80% of other rewards. There are already huge and will shortly be prepar- the core of the igaming public, the total betting volume can be thousands of games available ing a white paper designed to but also amongst a whole new attributed to FIFA and NBA2K. from more than 550 game pub- make the case for deploying far cohort of players. As to traditional or classic lishers, ensuring a wide variety more carrier billing and mobile For example, in the US NAS- games, the report notes that of genres. engagement technology across a CAR drew an audience of 1.3 League of Legends (38%), CS: GO The platform is part of range of key verticals – including million to its virtual eNASCAR (29%) and Dota 2 (18%) account- the Verasity.tv online portal, games, gambling and sports.

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

MEDIA & CONTENT Games without frontiers

The rise of mobile gaming has been given a massive games segment is expected to been described as a ‘pay to win’ boost by the global lockdown – however m-gaming was hit 1.4 billion this year. By 2024, system. These products have already shifting. And the rise of loot boxes and other micro- more than 1.7 billion people their origins in MMOs (Mas- billed offerings in essentially free to play games offers worldwide will be playing mo- sively Multiplayer Online) or carrier billing a huge opportunity. Paul Skeldon reports bile games. MMORPG (Massively Multiplay- er Online Role Playing games) Mobile games have long been Chinese market is expected to LOOT BOXES AND titles, where players would one of the major mobile content reach $19.9bn profit in 2020, or MICROBILLING group together to complete tropes that drive the business. nearly 40% of the entire mobile One emerging trend in mobile particularly difficult boss battles In this time of lockdown, like gaming revenue this year. games that is set to be a boon to or raids. all content, they have become The ranked the telemedia industry are loot Their reward was then not only an increased revenue as the second-largest market boxes. Found in video games, presented as ‘loot’, a collection driver, but also increasingly a globally, with $10.1bn income in loot boxes are in-game packs of items, often rare or highly test bed for carrier billing in the 2020. Japan represents the third often gifted to players as a result sought-after by other players mainstream market. leading mobile gaming industry, of completing in-game tasks and and, in many cases, these could In 2017 mobile games gener- with $6.4bn in revenue this year. achievements. be traded or sold for in-game ated $44.2bn profit, revealed South Korea and the United Increasingly, these are made currency. the Statista survey. Over the Kingdom follow with $2.2bn and available to purchase with According to Juniper Re- next two years, this figure $1.4bn income, respectively. real-world currency to provide a search, the use of loot boxes jumped to $49bn globally. Recent years have witnessed boost to in-game progression, or has extended to top notch ‘AAA The statistics indicate that the a massive growth in the number to enhance character abilities. games’, where micro-transac- entire mobile gaming market of mobile gamers all around the Loot boxes work on the ele- tions are now commonplace in is forecast to show an annual world. In 2017, 1.1bn people ment of ‘chance’ they provide popular game titles. growth rate of 2.1% in the next were playing mobile games a random selection of items, AAA video games are the four years. The average revenue globally. The figure continued giving players a chance of win- equivalent of movie blockbust- per user currently amounts to growing by more than 100 mil- ning a rare or highly sought-after ers; games are often years in US$35.16, and this figure is ex- lion per year, reaching 1.3bn in good. development, expensive to pro- pected to fall to $32.66 by 2024. 2019. More than 36% of mobile However, most games do not duce and promote and offer rich Analysed by geography, gamers in 2019 were aged be- report odds and often will pro- worlds and environments. Their is set to remain the leading tween 25 and 36 years old. vide the best items and goods target is to be among the highest mobile gaming industry in the The statistics indicate the via paid loot boxes. selling and thus most profitable world. The statistics show the number of users in the mobile In many instances this has games produced by studios.

6 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk MEDIA & CONTENT

However, these titles are ex- too are in-game micro-trans- will scrutinise their approach to tions on the practice,” Foye adds. pensive to produce and involve actions, for loot boxes, where the introduction of such mon- However, there is a note of huge teams to pull the game to- users pay for either cosmetic etisation; likely dropping prices caution. Due to the fact that gether. As new technologies and items, or packs which could and increasing odds of winning most console titles remain at a standards come into play, costs offer rare or legendary items to rarer items.” high price point, Juniper expects are ever-growing – similar to the help progression. However, this rise of micro- gamers will be reluctant to situation in the movie industry “We believe that the use of billed loot boxes has further pay for full-titles (often priced – yet game prices are relatively micro-transactions and in-game potential. While Juniper sees in excess of $50) and then be flat, leading to developers seek- loot boxes will continue and, Free to Play (F2P) games expe- expected to purchase in-game ing new means to monetise whilst some restrictions may be riencing substantial uptake on items and add-ons. their products. put in place by government and mobile devices, their prevalence “As a result we believe there This has seen games evolve regulatory bodies, the practice is can also be credited with reviving will be an up-tick in F2P games, from paid for DLC (Downloadable unlikely to be banned out-right the PC games market. “We feels with these titles then monetised Content), where expansions, to simply due to the effect it would that their use in this segment through in-game purchases utilis- a base game are made available have on the games industry will continue to grow, especially ing loot box mechanics,” says to purchase. There has also been as a whole,” explains Lauren when we recognise the success Foye. a shift to ‘season passes’, where Foye, games analyst at Juniper that loot boxes and skins have And all this is an opportunity all DLC is bundled and made Research. had in both monetising users and for carrier billing. Micro-billing ‘in available as it is released, often “We do believe, however, that keeping them engaged with titles the moment’ is going to be key combined with special edition following the controversy sur- long term,” says Foye. to making loot boxes work – not cosmetic items or weapons. rounding Battlefront II, players “Given the fact that console just on mobile but on desktop Special and limited editions will be more critical of micro- games have not had substantial too – and once again we can see of games that are higher priced transactions and some titles disruption from loot boxes as yet, that there is plenty to play for than base versions, but include could underperform in terms Juniper feels that this industry is for carrier billing providers in the DLC or special in-game features/ of sales as a result,” adds Foye. ripe for disruption, should regula- new world of mobile games post- items, are also on the rise, as “Additionally, more developers tors not seek to impose restric- CV19.

LEADING DIGITAL MONETIZATION PLATFORM

CONVERSATIONAL PAYMENTS  DIRECT CARRIER BILLING  MOBILE MONEY  VOUCHERS AND LOCALLY POPULAR PAYMENT OPTIONS  SOLUTIONS FOR MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS

Tier 1 DCB vendor in 2018 and 2019, rated by MNOs. Global coverage, proprietary technology, in-house R&D. 10 years’ international expertise. www.centili.com

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 7 MEDIA & CONTENT

The shift in shopping

With people stuck at home and the shops shut, there has been a not wholly Online and unexpected rise in e- and m-commerce worldwide thanks to COVID-19. Paul Skeldon has long been growing – often at takes a look at how shopping has changed, what it means for telemedia and why the expense of real-world retail things will never be the same again – but the lockdown across the world has seen it surge in ways previously not thought possible. Affiliate marketing gets an ecommerce boost According to a pan-European One of the biggest winners from the coronavi- consumers will shop internationally by the start survey of 1000 consumers by As- rus switch to ecommerce is going to be affiliate of 2020, importing $994 million worth of prod- tound Commerce, online shop- marketing. Anyone who thought that it was on ucts and services – three times as much as 2015. ping has seen a 129% increase the wane needs to think again. It is back with a Increasing access to the internet and accessibility in April with online sales up by vengeance. of mobile are major drivers behind the growth in 35% in the UK alone in the third 2020 will be the year that brands expand their e-commerce spend, connecting those who can’t week of the month. affiliate programmes beyond mature markets afford a desktop or tablet, as well as growing Now some 60% of Euro- like the UK and US and complement their pro- numbers of new sellers and secondary indus- pean consumers regularly shop grammes with affiliates in emerging markets, tries, adding to market momentum. online, according to another according to CJ Affiliate. “As a result of more consumers being able to study by Eurostat, with Denmark Mexico, Malaysia and the are shop abroad, and the ability and willingness of having the highest proportion of three of the top five biggest risers for e-com- businesses to expand abroad, we’ve witnessed citizens shopping online at 84%, merce spend in 2019, with the other two spots huge demand among advertisers for local market followed by Sweden at 82% and filled by India and China. experts, offering the capabilities to recruit pub- the Netherlands at 81%. “Most retailers will be aware of the substantial lishers in emerging territories and supply granu- Italy only had 38% of citizens opportunities to be had in mature markets. Dig lar insight into the potential of each region,” says shopping online, while Portugal, a little deeper, though, and you’ll find so many Bazley. Greece and Cyprus only had hidden gems that are now generating billions in Retailers can launch in a market with little 39%. online revenue and many brands are missing out more than a single member of staff on the The countries with the small- by neglecting them,” explains Jules Bazley, Re- ground, supported by dedicated companies that est proportion of online shop- gional Vice President, Europe at affiliate market- have been set up to help them launch in some of pers were Bulgaria and Romania, ing network CJ Affiliate. the more challenging markets. with 22% and 23% respectively. “Expanding affiliate programmes in markets “Challenges do remain. Logistics remains one The UK, which nominally left such as these could have been a risk ten, or even of the biggest barriers to cross-border selling, the EU in January 2020, would five, years ago, but ecommerce growth of over but it’s not the same problem it once was,” ex- have had the highest figure at 30% compared with the year before, have made plains Bazley. “Part of the improvement has been 87%. them the logical next step for marketers.” linked to increased urbanisation within highly According to an Accenture and AliResearch populated areas of Asia and Africa, which has STICKING TO IT report, it’s expected that more than 900 million opened more customers up to home delivery.” What is perhaps most significant of all the research carried out

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

in recent weeks into shopper consumer purchasing behaviour. Chinese eRetail market as a etration in developing markets, behaviour is that many say that Almost 40% of them also major factor, as well as regions meaning that mobile access is not only have they been forced claimed that they had been such as Latin America and Africa the best way for eRetail and to switch to e- and m-com- buying goods online that they and the Middle East, as im- payments providers to reach merce, but that they like it and had not considered before, such provements in connectivity will potential users. that they will stick with it, when as pet food and shoes, which enable the rise of eRetail in new While carrier billing may things return to something ap- increased to 61% for Genera- markets. not exactly fit the bill in proaching normality. tion Z and more than half (52%) But what is holding it back is e- and m-commerce, the In early April, global com- of Millennials – good news for payments. Juniper urges pay- rise of alternative payments merce services company PFS online retailers. ment providers to seek new often powered by telemedia looked at the changes in con- revenue streams in emerging innovation, will. sumer online purchasing behav- PAYING FOR IT markets to mitigate slow growth With more people wanting to iour, as well as shopper percep- While the lockdown is driving a in developed markets. Accelerat- shop online – and many of them tions and expectations of brands spike in ecommerce, it is merely ing financial inclusion via MFS unbanked – the time is now for around the pandemic. It found accelerating a process that was (Mobile Financial Services), QR payments to shift from a raft of that three in five (60%) consum- already well underway world- code payments and carrier bill- excellent ideas to some practical ers have purchased more goods wide. A report from Juniper ing will be crucial for this. application. since the lockdown began, than Research finds that total eRe- The research found that As we shall see on the next they did before, with 53% hav- tail transaction values could hit mobile payments not requiring couple of pages, there has been ing shopped more online. $4.8 trillion by 2024, up from a linked bank account offer sig- an accompanying boom in alter- More than three quarters of $3.3 trillion in 2020, with growth nificant possibilities for eCom- native payment tools during the these went on to say that they being driven by emerging merce payments in developing virus crisis – and tapping into expect they will continue to markets – typically China, which markets. that is going to offer telemedia purchase online more once the is set to see 62% value growth The research also found that players and carriers some excel- lockdown is over - indicating a over the next four years. mobile handset penetration is lent new opportunities going potentially irreversible change in The research identifies the rising faster than banking pen- forward.

Nr 1 for Micropayments The Preferred Partner of Carriers, Content Providers and Media

• Industry leader since 1992 • Fully integrated Micropayment Platform • Covering 120 countries with PSMS and PRS • More than 25 exclusive IPRS terminations • Direct bilateral agreements to secure traffic • Unbeatable access and coverage

[email protected] or www.atlasgroup.bm

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 9 BILLING & PAYMENTS

ted that they rarely adopt new payment methods and prefer to Making variety the stay with the payment meth- ods they know. This reveals a considerable amount of UK spice of payments consumers aren’t prepared to veer away from their preferred payment methods when shop- The boom in mobile content, commerce and services that is gripping the world means that ping online. there has been renewed interest in payments tech. With a vast variety of payment tools Merchants need to realise the available, consumers are using many – and that has big consequences for how you let them importance of allowing their pay. Paul Skeldon reports customers to make a purchase with their preferred payment There are many ways to pay consumers are looking to use their favourite payment method methods. Or they run the risk these days – cards, wallets, bit- the one that suits them most at wasn’t available. of not only missing out on that coin, even good old-fashioned that particular point as the way When asked in a survey single transaction but also los- cash – and the rise in consump- to pay. by PPRO about speed and ing a potentially loyal customer. tion of digital content, ecom- And getting it wrong is now convenience, 51% of Genera- “With more than 450 sig- merce and services caused by seen as a brand killer. Some tion Z respondents agreed that nificant local payment methods the lockdown, has seen the 44% of UK consumers say that they would avoid using retailers in use across the globe, it can need for remote digital pay- they would stop a purchase of that require entering payment be a challenge for retailers to ments rocket. anything online or on mobile if credentials every time. understand which ones to offer The interesting thing, how- Older generations show a their customers,” says James ever, is that no one method of higher tolerance, with only 30% Booth, VP Head of Partnerships, payment has shone through of Baby Boomers (born 1946- EMEA at PPRO. “However, this as the winner: each has its 1964) and 25% of the Silent research shows how crucial it is own merits and, increasingly, Generation (born before to offer the payment methods 1946) expressing a prefer- the customer prefers. It proves ence to use merchants that that the payment methods you offer one-click payments. offer can make a break or a sale. Almost two thirds of Currently, 91% of UK consum- UK shoppers (58%) ers have used debit and credit would stop a cards for online purchases. 89% purchase if the also confidently use PayPal or checkout process have used it in the past. 31% is complicated are confident in using mobile – with millennials wallets, such as Apple Pay and even less tolerant of Google Pay, and the use of bank complicated checkout transfers has doubled in the processes, with 67% last 3 years. There’s a surprising agreeing they would be range merchants must consider quick to abandon their at the payment page to improve purchases. conversion rates,” While convenience is He concludes: “Merchants clearly essential to con- and retailers need to be aware sumers, retailers also that a slick user experience need to accommodate must extend to the point of the growing consumer purchase. A shop may have awareness of informa- a personalised and easy-to- tion security. In fact, navigate website, but a shopper 59% of shoppers view who isn’t satisfied with the pay- the security of their ment methods available at the data and money as final stage will quickly move on most important when to a competitor.” choosing a payment method. John Wick is Senior Vice On the topic of trust, President and General 30% of UK consumers admit- Manager, Global Product

10 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk BILLING & PAYMENTS

European mobile wallets market to be worth $111.4bn by 2023 The global shift towards a cashless society and the burgeoning wallets market increased by 175% in the last three years. wealth of ways to pay has produced a massive space for mobile Recent years have also witnessed a surge in the number of wallets as a new, safer and more convenient way of making pay- mobile wallet users across Europe. In 2017, nearly 34.5 million ments. And with the coronavirus pandemic, electronic payments Europeans had been using this method. This have become even more appealing as people started questioning number grew by more than 50% in the last three years, reaching the safety of using banknotes for fear of transmitting the virus. 51.7 million in 2020. Statistics show the upward trend is set to According to data gathered by Finanso.se, the European mobile continue in the following years, with the number of users jumping wallet market is set to reach $48.1bn transaction value this over 63 million by 2023. year, growing by 37.3% year-on-year. The strong upward trend is The average transaction value per user in the European mobile expected to continue in the following years, with the market wallets market amounts to $931 in 2020. By the end of 2023, this reaching $111.4bn value by 2023. amount is expected to increase by 90% and reach $1,768. Mobile wallets eliminated the need for carrying Analysed by geography, the represents the money while reducing the chances of theft or leading European mobile wallet market expected to reach losing currency. These conveniences had been $14.9bn transaction value in 2020. driving the impressive growth of the European With over $4bn worth mobile wal- market, in both business and consumer segment. let transactions this year, Russia In 2017, the European mobile wallets market ranked as the second-largest was worth $17.4bn, revealed the Statista survey. market in Europe. Spain, Over the next twelve months, the transaction Sweden, and France follow value increased by nearly 45% and reached with $2.6bn, $2.5bn and $25bn. The strong rising trend continued in 2019, $2.3bn worth transactions, with the value jumping to over $35bn. Statistics respectively. show transaction value in the European mobile

D I R E C T C A R R I E R B I L L I N G APIs to facilitate mobile payments for digital goods and services, safely and securely.

P S M S DRIVING Spontaneous payment solution to monetise interactions that are offline or in an interactive environment such as VALUE-ADDED SERVICES donations, chat, broadcast response and interactive services.

M E S S A G I N G & R I C H C O M M U N I C A T I O N S MONETISING CONTENT Communicate with consumers, improve and automate processes through effective, direct messaging platforms to improve campaign ROI on marketing activities.

V O I C E S E R V I C E S Premium Click-2-Call services or non-premium engagement solutions. Bespoke cross platform solutions that integrate both voice and SMS call to actions to deliver seamless, effective consumer interactions and monetisation.

#WorldTelemedia2020 GOLD SPONSORS AGAIN

W: www.dmb-uk.com T: 'sales' to 63333 E: [email protected]

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 11 MEDIA & CONTENT Gambling: betting on a better way to spend lockdown

Want to bet when lockdown will be over? Or when we will billion in four years. credit card ban across the indus- have a COVID-19 vaccine? Well, many people are – and This has all but been reversed try produced interesting results. betting on much more besides – as lockdown ushers in a – for now at least – thanks to the Unsurprisingly, Generation X had new era of iGaming. Paul Skeldon reports changing consumer habits in the an incredibly negative response. pandemic. However, perhaps more surpris- With more people than ever lockdown outcomes to bets on However, there is another ingly, each of the generations stuck in doors – not just in rainy esports game play. problem with the boom in new had a majority negative view on old Britain, but worldwide – Meanwhile, many games fea- players wanting to gamble: how the regulation, leading to more online and mobile gambling is ture ‘loot boxes’ that people pay do they pay for their play? than 50% of the respondents cit- booming. to play with in-game and these ing it to be harmful to the sector. With consumers looking for too are adding a new dimension PAY TO PLAY With regards to Genera- something to fill the hours to how people gamble. With many gambling opportuni- tion Z, they have yet to have a indoors, many have turned to Lotteries, too, are gaining a lot ties being spur-of-moment, the significant impact on the online and mobile of attention, with many people need for quick and easy ways to payments industry, primarily gambling to alleviate the bore- playing in the hope that they will pay, add credit and even to get due to their age and financial dom. win big and be able to, one day, paid is now more important than capability. However, this is set Playing simple casino games move into a big house – perhaps ever. to change as the group matures. is the obvious face of mobile ready to sit out the next pan- According to research into the And as for the perception of gambling in lockdown, however, demic in relative luxury. payment habits of different gen- retail, Millennial’s were found there is more to it than that. All in all, gambling services erations of players in the online to lean more positively towards Sports betting is already start- have boomed, like all content, gaming and betting space by PXP physical shopping, although it ing to gain traction as the rise over the lockdown. Which has Financial, the global expert in ac- was nearly an even split. Gen- of eSports sees more sporting come as good news for the sec- quiring and payment processing eration X, on the other hand, content appear online filling tor. Pre-pandemic, data gathered services, when it comes to on- vastly preferred the conve- the gap left by live sports. This and calculated by GoldenCa- line gambling, Millennials (born nience of shopping online. combination of esports content sinoNews.com indicated that 1981 – 1995) are the biggest Interestingly, the survey and the lack of live sporting the UK gambling and betting spenders and prefer to use debit found that the majority of events has been no impediment revenues will drop by 17% in payments. In contrast, Genera- respondents preferred shopping to its up-take, with bookmakers 2024. The data projects that the tion X (1965 – 1980) prefers to instore to online and preferred taking odds on everything you revenue will keep declining in play with credit instead. to spend using digital curren- can think of from Coronavirus the coming years to record $70.5 January’s announcement of a cies instead of cash. It aimed to

12 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk MEDIA & CONTENT

provide another look into this A study by PPRO reveals that opportunity may slip through than found with credit and generation and the spending 44% of UK consumers say that people’s fingers. debit card processing, however, habits of other generations in they would stop a purchase if Carrier billing is one of the it isn’t as expensive as it seems. the retail sector. their favourite payment method easiest and most secure ways to The ease-of-use for consum- wasn’t available. pay for a short, sharp hit on any ers coupled with its immense THE DCB ALTERNATIVE When asked in a survey by mobile content or gaming site. reach – basically tapping into So, what do they want instead? PPRO about speed and conve- If we can use the time we anyone who has a mobile One obvious choice has to be nience, 51% of Generation Z have now, during lockdown, to phone number anywhere in the direct carrier billing (DCB). respondents agreed that they familiarise users with its ease world – makes it a truly compel- While some in the mobile would avoid using retailers and simplicity (as well as getting ling payment tool. gambling space use it, it is far that require entering payment round its tarnished image of While the fees for using it are from ubiquitous – and that is a credentials every time. old) then it too can be a key slightly higher, the increase in mistake. Some 40% of people The need to offer the kinds way to pay to play for gamblers transactions that it can bring who would deposit money of payment methods that and everyone else. about heavily outweighs the with gambling operators if it consumers want to use is crucial Unlike other costs. was easy to do so would. That to mobile gambling, gaming and mechanisms, DCB is essentially In fact, it is becoming increas- means that if you were running all content services. a revenue-share-based payment ingly popular across Europe for a football team, 5 of your first With more people turning to tool, with the merchant – in all ecommerce transactions and team 11 wouldn’t be playing. their devices for entertainment this case gambling operators – a study by Juniper Research14 This has become a crucial the global telemedia industry payment providers and mobile also found that DCB scores con- thing for gambling operators is at a turning point: get it network operators sharing the vert 70% for first transactions, – and everyone else in ecom- right and the shift to online money taken from each transac- compared with credit cards merce, for that matter – with and mobile as a paid for tion. struggling at 10 to 12%. choice of payments types being entertainment channel will This fee, worked out on a As a result, of its growing a decisive factor in consumers stick. Get it wrong – or make case-by-case basis, is usually popularity, the costs are also choosing to pay/play with you. it hard to pay – and the slightly higher per transaction starting to come down too.

The next generation app platform.

App enable your voice, messaging and transactions

Meet us for a demo at WTM, Marbella www.12telecom.com

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 13 TELECOMS & NETWORK PROVIDERS IPRN: weathering the storm

International premium rate (IPRN)traffic has had its ups and pay for chatting services and for one knows what the impact of downs – and coronavirus has hit it hard. However, things are educational services. coronavirus may have longer picking up, thanks to new ways people are using their mobiles “But higher volumes doesn’t term on the market. in lockdown. Paul Skeldon reports mean higher revenues,” warns “In Nigeria they have a saying: Josef Bruckschlögl, CEO of Kwak ‘lockdown or starve’ – so they International PRS traffic was lockdowns have been tightly Telecom. “Many operators see are looking at how to carry on growing well before the lock- policed by the military. a scissor effect, traffic up, -rev and see what happens. Wheth- down, but has had some set- Similarly, many airlines use enue down. But some holistic er there is a heavy economic backs in some markets as the IPRN for its customer service industry trends may help. Inter- fall-out depends on how long pandemic has spread. and booking lines worldwide, national payments for apps and this crisis lasts,” he says. Call centre-based opera- and this of course has taken a services are likely to recover, The other fall-out form the tions that sit behind PRS-based massive hit. especially in developing markets corona crisis on IPRN will be helplines have had some However, as with voice traffic, where they have no other way how the industry will consoli- struggles, with staff unable to in some regions – notably Asia to pay for these things.” date and what new entrants – come to work, especially in – IPRN volumes are going up as However, Bruckschlögl with new ideas – will enter. Tunisia, Algeria and India where more people tap into using it to concedes that right now no “[We] are already seeing Chapter 11s, bankruptcies and other problems across the Trends in IPRN entire value chain – that will While the IPRN industry is tactically dealing with in the banking sector isn’t up to the task. Here inevitably lead to consolidation the coronavirus pandemic and its fall-out, it is IPRN comes into its own and is already becoming across the industry.” also time to look more strategically at how IPRN a very popular way to pay in sub-Saharan Africa, Bruckschlögl believes that the will evolve and develop post-COVID. says Josef Bruckschlögl, CEO of Kwak Telecom. pandemic and its consequences So what are some of the trends? • Consolidation – Perhaps the biggest trend in will separate out the good from • Social media – Payments in social media in IPRN worldwide is that of consolidation across the bad and ween out many developing markets are set to be a big growth the industry. With the pressures of the pandemic players. He also sees it as an area for IPRN. Facebook is a huge platform for taking their toll, many players are likely to disap- opportunity for those left and content and, off the back of it, commerce in pear from the market. However, they are likely to new entrants to shake up the developing markets and IPRN offers many of the be bought up and integrated into other players. It market and come up with some unbanked a way to pay for things in social media. is likely that we will see some ‘super-IPRN’ play- interesting new ideas. • In-app purchases – In the developed world, ers operating in the years ahead. It is also likely “it will drive a clean-up the in-app purchase market is driven by cards and that many new entrants and start-ups will enter throughout the industry and it ewallets, but again in the developing world, most the market – typically in developing markets – to will be interesting to see who people are unbanked and for those that have capitalise on how IPRN can be used as a content comes out the other end. I am bank accounts and credit cards, the infrastructure and services payment tool. optimistic that it will ultimately be better.”

14 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk FROM THE EDITOR How lockdown, carrier billing and their mobiles, the need to offer a THE BIG GUY Paul Skeldon universally recognised payment [email protected] tool has become glaringly appar- ART DIRECTOR Victoria Wren telemedia have changed the world [email protected] ent. CONTRIBUTORS & CONSULTANTS Nick Lane What a strange world we find our- for International Premium Rate And it isn’t going to be limited John Strand Jarvis Todd, selves in since we put out the last Services (IPRN). to lockdown. People online and on Tim Gree issue of Telemedia magazine. Coro- But where the biggest impact mobile now are likely to stick with SALES & MARKETING [email protected] navirus has swept across the globe has been felt – and where the most it. People enjoying the instant PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Annika Micheli and, well, changed everything. likely long-term impact is set to be – gratification of DCB are likely to [email protected] While the death toll has been is with carrier billing. stick with it too. PUBLISHER Jarvis Todd [email protected] appalling, the lockdown that has With literally millions of people The fact that it can also work TO SUBSCRIBE www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk kept many of us safe these past turning to mobile to game, gamble, with OTT messaging such as What- CIRCULATION ENQUIRIES Geraldine Lawton - O’Sullivan months has proved to be a boon chat, data, subscribe and stream, sApp and, when it comes into play, [email protected] for the telemedia sector’s key there has been a huge demand for RCS, is only going to make it more WHAT WE’VE BEEN LISTENING TO Rocky Mountain High, John Denver Screw You, Viki Vortex and the Cumshots verticals. some sort of global mobile payment attractive. WHAT WE HAVE BEEN READING Stuck at home, alone, consum- mechanism. And DCB is looking As we have seen in this The Testaments, Margaret Attwood ers have turned to mobile and like a real contender, thanks to its lockdown-produced issue of WHAT WE HAVE BEEN AMUSED BY Dinner Ladies online to consume content, play ubiquity. Telemedia magazine, telemedia’s WHO WE’VE BEEN FOLLOWING The Red Hand Files, Nick Cave games, shop and message each Think about it: in Africa, mobile time is now – and DCB is leading SUMMER 2020 WILL BRING… other. As a result, there has been services have blossomed thanks that charge. A very different world with face masks a marked uptick in content traffic, to MPESA, which is essentially a www.telemediaonline.co.uk 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. content transactions, gambling, pan-African payment mechanism, @telemediaTweets 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 chat and more. It has also led to an understood by all. In Europe there is 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. unprecedented rise in voice traffic, no such single, well-known payment © 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 both domestically and internation- tool. or retrieval system without the written consent of the publisher. The contents of Telemedia Magazine are subject to reproduction in information storage and ally, and has proved a timely fillip With millions now playing on retrieval systems. Repro and Print by Trio Offset Paul Skeldon. editor

MOBILE AD MONITORING - SERVICE TESTS - MARKET ANALYTICS - COMPLIANCE SUPPORT - FRAUD PREVENTION

INSIGHT

WWW. MCPI NSIGHT.COM

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 15 MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT Business Messaging: Are you ready for the huge market rearrangement? Messaging has changed and is set to be one of the biggest traffic sources for telcos worldwide. But what how has it changed and where is it heading? Andreas S. Constantinides takes a look and outlines where the opportunities shaping a new, promising messaging furure

The Telco industry is like New all “nasty” details concerning York – it never sleeps. Whatever SMS, RCS, the new aspiring OTT new happens in technology, players and the whole forthcom- Telcos, most of the time, get the ing messaging evolution. most out of it. But what happens with all Voice, premium, payments, those players: is the market SMS, OTT, ‘white routes’ – already too segmented? What messages that originate and will be the future of SMS after terminate legally – ‘grey routes’ this massive OTT invasion and is – SMS between two parties or there a significant space for new countries which is legal for one messaging players? party at one end but is illegal for A glance is enough to notice and to surpass the 2 trillion 2020-2023 estimated to 0.22%. the other party at the other end that messaging growth is more mark by 2023. SMS Grey traffic – SMS grey – any other kind routes; every- evident than ever. No matter For the period 2018 – 2023, traffic is between two parties or thing new constitutes a massive the rumors for the struggle of these two media indicate a total countries which is legal for one opportunity for telco players. SMS with the RCS and the OTT growth of SMS/RCS of 26.59%, party at one end but is illegal The competition among the players in the last three years, all with an average increase of for the other party at the other popular telecommunication researches for the decade 2020- 5,32% per year. For the current end. It is basically a way of send- products and services is ruth- 2030 proves that SMS will remain period 2020 – 2023, the traffic ing SMS where two operators or less and, with the margins on the King of A2P messaging. is estimated to be even higher, entities do not have a commer- voice now lower than ever, the To cut a long story short, the with an average growth of cial relationship or agreement. moment for telcos to explore messaging market doesn’t seem 5,73% per year. The SMS grey traffic for the new potential opportunities to be shrink, or divide among SMS White traffic – White traf- period 2018-2023 is estimated with higher profit and promising those players. All researches fic is communications that origi- to fall by 15.80% with an aver- future is now. prove that the new players nate and terminate legally and age loss of -3.16% per year. The And the next segment seems will contribute to increasing are the primary source of revenue fall of the grey SMS traffic will be to attract their attention is business messaging and market for MNOs providing A2P SMS ser- increased for the current period “Business Messaging”. volumes. On top of the one-way vices. The costs for completely 2020-2023, with an average loss The whole messaging revolu- A2P messaging, the P2A mes- legal, white routing, operations of -3.79% per year. tion started some three years saging is added. are higher and, when companies SMS Traffic in Total (white & ago and is set to be the next And by 2024, this new P2A use grey routes for communica- grey) – In the prediction, this big thing for telcos. The rear- trend will launch the 2way busi- tions, it bleeds revenue from peak of SMS traffic in total is rangements made by RCS and ness communication to trillion these approved providers. noted in 2021, with 1.68 billion OTT players looks like the most of new messages. SMS white traffic is set to peak SMS. Due to the fall of the grey excellent opportunity for Telcos in 2021 with 1.15 trillion mes- traffic, the SMS traffic for the to keep the business running on THE MESSAGING sages. The total growth for the period 2018-2023 estimated to higher revenues. EVOLUTION period 2018-2023 is estimated fall by -1.29%, with an average Nowadays, voice players The messaging industry – tak- to 7.20%, with average growth loss of -0.26% per year. perform business plans for mes- ing both SMS and predicted RCS 1.44% per year. For the current period 2020- saging, examine alternatives to traffic into account – is pre- In the prediction, this peak 2023, the fall of the SMS traffic enrich their business and take dicted to grow from 1.55 trillion of 2021 is falling with average will be increased with an aver- the advantage to get aware of messages of A2P traffic in 2018 growth for the current period age loss of -1.23% per year.

16 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

How to get ahead in messaging If you are interested as a telco in exploiting the new paradigms in messaging, but you are not sure how to do that, here are some quick, valuable tips: • Deal with reliable Messaging Experts. • Evaluate your Current Market Position. • Advice researches concerning the countries of your interest. • Explore Enterprise Messaging Market & Omni-Channel Solu- tions • Evaluate the cost of creating your team and the cost of as- signing the management of the required operations to third parties. RCS EVOLUTION OTT EVOLUTION • Ensure your Investment with the proper Interconnections and Google’s Holy Grail, RCS, seems The data provided for messaging reliable Partnerships. to be moving with low volumes, traffic from Viber and WhatsApp Even if we exclude the significant presence and development but with significant develop- is weak. Viber usually does not of Viber and WhatsApp, the landscape of SMS & RCS messaging, ment for the next three years. provide traffic information in as is proven by numbers, seems more promised than ever. The SMS moves to RCS 2018-2023 general; however, Viber’s execu- global revenues prediction for A2P SMS & RCS messaging is es- – The SMS traffic that moves to tives had the courtesy to give a timated from $32.3 billion in 2019 to $50.3 billion to 2023, with RCS from 2018 to 2023 esti- few statistics about the channel. significant growth for this period, more than 55%. mated to 480 million messages. On the other hand, WhatsApp However, the period of 2018- development, according to Mo- 2019 indicates a significant low bilesquared, presenting a magnifi- For the first time in the history of business RCS traffic. The average growth cent API development with 55k messaging, wholesalers are flirting with for the current period 2020 – brands involved by 2024, almost 2023 estimated to 734,63% per ten times more than Viber. enterprise messaging seriously year. Additional RCS traffic evolu- WHAT ABOUT WHATSAPP? tion 2018-2023 – The additional WhatsApp is trying to transform WhatsApp Business API THE CLOCK IS TICKING RCS traffic for the period of its API to the most popular P2A Evolution (For Medium & Large Regardless of the delays, the 2018-2023 estimated to 240 messaging channel, and consid- Enterprises) technicalities, and the vague million messages. The average ering the number of its users, 2019 - WhatsApp Business API - trade policies of those new me- growth for the period 2020- it will succeed it. While SMS 992 (less than a thousand) dia, the new business messaging 2023 estimated to 2114.34% per remains the King of Messag- 2024 - WhatsApp Business API opportunities are just around year. ing, WhatsApp seems to be the – 55.000 the corner. Total RCS evolution 2018-2023 Queen of P2A. Market WhatsApp Total Spend For the first time in the – RCS seems to be started and WhatsApp Worldwide Users (USD) history of business messaging, moving with low rates for 2018- Evolution 2019 – $38.7 million wholesalers are flirting with 2020. However, the total RCS 2018 – 1.71 billion users 2024 – $3.6 billion enterprise messaging seriously. traffic for the period of 2018- 2019 – 1.96 billion users Market Spend Breakdown Aggregators are dealing with 2023 estimated to 721 million 2020 – 2.2 billion users (45.5% Asia – 30% CPaaS and OMNI-Channel messages. The average growth of users) Europe (West-East) – 25% Messaging platforms, specially for the period 2020-2023 esti- 2024 – 3.1 billion users (59.7% America (North-Latin) – 24% made for marketers and brands. mated to 856.91% per year. of smartphone users) Rest Markets – 21% Voice executives are trying to understand the messaging VIBER EVOLUTION market to have the chance to be According to Viber, the channel part of it. holds more than 4,000 regis- The proper time for the “new” tered sender IDs globally. messaging players to enter the Viber top 10 markets are Rus- game is now. sia, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hun- Andreas S. Constantinides, gary, Philippines, Iraq. Messaging Expert and Senior Since Viber Business Messag- Messaging Consulting at Global es in 2016 lunched, the average Telco Consult growth of registered brands LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin. (Sender IDs) is 30% yearly. com/in/asconstantinides/

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 17 MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT Has WhatsApp doomed RCS? As growing numbers of people – including national governments – have turned to WhatsApp to communicate, has the Facebook-owned messaging app doomed RCS to being just another messaging platform? Paul Skeldon takes a look at how WhatsApp is on the rise, while RCS is still dogged by pricing issues and a lack of clarity

In this time of global lockdown, saging Traffic & Spend Forecasts, ing then that WhatsApp was ing rate but with much better most of us have become over- by country & region (2019-24)” set to be the only game in town content – content that you can familiar with WhatsApp – first – estimates that WhatsApp for interaction between brands shop from and interact with. as a way of sharing memes Business will experience unprec- and consumers and vice versa. So far, so good: but with about lockdown when it was edented growth of more than Where we also talk to our WhatsApp already so estab- still a novelty and now as a vital 5,400% among medium and favourite retailers and brands lished – and now so popular link to friends, family and work large businesses looking to use it using social media and messen- that world governments have colleagues. to interact with consumers – up ger, text, phone and iMessage, been using it as their preferred But you may also have seen from just 992 at the end of 2019 WhatsApp is pulling away as comms channel to frightened how more brands and business- to almost 55,000 by 2024. the channel of choice. citizens and subjects during es are attempting to get you to In total, the company predicts But Google has other ideas. lockdown – is anyone going to engage with them – and indeed that brands and businesses Spurred on by the uptake of use WhatsApp? are trying to engage with you – will spend $3.6 billion by 2024 WhatsApp – and peeved that Synchronoss, a messaging, using it. This isn’t a coronavirus on WhatsApp Business. Much so many Apple users love digital and IoT products provid- phenomenon, this is something of this will be ‘inbound’ – so iMessage – it has taken on the er behind the RCS-based +Mes- that has been on the rise since people talking to brands, not mantle of creating what it bills sage service launched by three way before we were ravaged by the other way round, and so it is as Text 2.0. It wants a slice of major Japanese operators in a pandemic. likely to be a customer care tool the messaging pie and wants May 2018, asked a focus group Brands have closely watched – think using WhatsApp to talk to do it by making text even about their current messaging how the man in the street (or to a company about your order, better. behaviour and introduced them currently, the man in his living or to complain about some- While many of us think that to RCS. room) has embraced WhatsApp thing, book an appointment WhatsApp has already done “When asked about their per- and its deep functionality. – probably by video call for the that, Google’s proposed Rich ception of messaging services The interactivity, the multi- foreseeable future – and so on. Communications Service (RCS) today, participants perceive media, the ease of use and Already Hyandai India has has other ideas. a clear distinction between above all the fact that it works turned to WhatsApp to handle RCS is an easy-to-use, ‘messaging’ and ‘texting’,” says on all , some all its customer care, using feature-rich, interactive, cross- Glenn Lurie, President and CEO, tablets and even desktops is WhatsApp Business for booking operator – so it works like text, Synchronoss. “‘Messaging’ is proving very attractive to users a car service, providing service you can message someone reserved for messaging applica- and businesses alike. updates, sending rich media from you -connected tions, such as Facebook Mes- In fact, research by Mo- content, sending repair invoices phone who is on O2 – ad- senger, WhatsApp or Instagram, bilesquared suggests that, with and capturing customer feed- vanced messaging platform while ‘texting’ is considered to 2 billion WhatsApp users world- back. To build consumer trust that will be available on all sit outside of this messaging wide, WhatsApp business – the and allow Hyundai customers to mobile devices. arena and is a different activity business version of the mes- verify that they are interacting Google stresses that RCS also entirely. For consumers, texting saging service that can bring all with an official account Hyundai serves as a powerful, private is fool-proof.” manner of interactive benefits uses a verified business profile platform for direct marketing to brands – is already the most on WhatsApp. that operators can offer to ROOM FOR BOTH? popular business messaging brands. But where is RCS: no one I service out there. NOT THE ONLY GAME IN The idea is that people open know uses it. While RCS hasn’t Mobilesquared’s latest Data- TOWN SMS much more readily than really got its marketing mes- book and Report – the snappily With such mighty growth in they do email marketing and sage straight yet, it is aimed at titled “WhatsApp Business Mes- use, you’d be forgiven for think- this will offer the same open- doing something very different

18 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT

to WhatsApp and that What- to be added to it in the coming encourages ongoing conversa- erator and that different types sApp is simply doing ‘business’ years, it will be interesting to tion and working out who pays of RCS messages would use in the absence of a decent see where RCS gets to. for that between consumers different numbers of tokens. business messaging platform. and brands – especially if the If you were sending a simple For starters, RCS isn’t re- THE PRICE IS WRONG? message is initiated by the image then you might use one ally aimed at being a personal Currently, GSMA figures sug- consumer to contact the brand token, but if you had a scrolla- messaging app: it has been gest that some 88 operators as with WhatsApp. ble element, or button options, developed to offer a range of have launched RCS services, Do we face a world where then you would use two. services that will tickle the with 403 million active month- consumers have to pay to com- How this would work in fancy 0f brands and busi- ly users. It forecast the market plain? Or do brands have to reality is unclear, as there will nesses. WhatsApp is, currently, value would hit $74 billion by stump up to allow consumers be almost infinite numbers primarily a P2P messaging app 2021. to complain at them? of ways that an RCS message that happens to have some But right now, that is a small The classic view that What- could be presented. business applications. slice of the 3 billion mobile us- sApp is in-bound and RCS is in- The whole pricing of busi- Secondly, Google wants to ers out there – and a faction of herently outbound also raises ness RCS is still in utter chaos use RCS to bolster its core the 2 billion WhatsApp users the prospect of consumers us- and without a universally business – advertising – and predicted. ing two messaging platforms to agreed approach, RCS simply so the key driver is going to be The thing that seems to be interact with brands – What- can’t – and won’t – be used. commercial. WhatsApp, owned putting businesses off using sApp to talk to brands and RCS And with WhatsApp already by Facebook, is more a service RCS is pricing. There is some- to be marketed to. now more firmly entrenched in search of monetisation if it thing of a mystery around Mobilesquared believes that in the consumer psyche than can get it. whether it is per campaign, per a token-based system is how ever thanks to the global pan- That said, with more people message, per interaction – and RCS will work. It suggests that demic and lockdown, it may be using WhatsApp while in then what that cost might be. a consumer would purchase a sometime before we see RCS – lockdown than ever before and The problem is that RCS isn’t block of RCS tokens from their and we are unlikely to see RCS with many new features likely like SMS – nor is it SMS 2.0. It RCS provider or network op- become SMS 2.0.

BOLD.Pay is a cloud based multi-channel payment access that enables dynamic billing arrangements to be executed on multiple formats such as mobile, web and in-applications. Supports + Direct Carrier Billing + Credit Cards various + Online Banking (FPX) channels + E-Wallets + Over-The-Counter

A digital technology company based in Asia enabling digitalisation platform as-a-service in the areas of Notification, Engagement and Payment.

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 19 VALUE ADDED SERVICES Mobility as a service: the transport revolution

While travel has been temporarily suspended under lockdown, development of the tie up between mobile and mobility has continued apace. When we reemerge into a life where we can travel, things could be very different. Zoran V explains

Today, 55% of the world’s pain points. Alternative trans- cards, buying tickets or paying cellphone type, with an app, or population lives in urban areas, portation methods like park- in cash. The city journey could via SMS so the days where we a proportion that is expected to and-ride, car-sharing and bike & become a more fluid, integrated filled our purse with different increase to 68% by 2050, accord- scooter rentals have emerged. A experience. cards and tickets are gone. ing to UN research. In any city, trend away from individual car A successful MaaS service also mobility is among key concerns; ownership, combined with alter- brings new business models and RCS: NEW LEVELS OF EASE going to school, college and of- native transportation opens up ways to organise and operate AND ENGAGEMENT fice, taking public transportation, huge possibilities in a paradigm various transport options. Since According to Juniper Research, bike, scooter or a car - life in the that has come to be known as the digitization of mass transit Rich Communication Services city is life on the go. Demand for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). is already changing the face of (RCS) will be among the top mobility cuts across demograph- MaaS is the integration of public transport, cloud-based 10 tech trends in years to ics and social structures. various transport services into a technologies and mobile phones come. RCS is the new generation Right now, mobility in cities single mobility service, accessible offer new perspectives that go of SMS that is aiming at replac- is provided in a chain of frag- on demand. MaaS operator facili- hand in hand with new demands. ing traditional SMS messages mented transportation vehicles tates a diverse menu of transport Mobile phones and telco-operat- with a text-message system that and platforms and is not com- options, be they public transport, ed services are sitting at the very is richer and can transmit multi- prehended as a unified service. ride-, car- or bike-sharing, taxi core of MaaS enablement. media. The potential for such a Although some cities have made or car rental/lease in various service is huge because it offers huge progress in ways they combinations. It is envisioned as CARRIER BILLING HOLDS companies the ability to create facilitate mobility, the realities a flexible and adaptable system THE KEY branded messages with incor- of public transportation can be of transportation that, through Carrier billing is suited for trans- porated multimedia, suggested quite harsh for those using it. the use of a single application actions like the ones needed in reply buttons, and develop a Think of the hassle still and a single payment channel, parking or ticketing public trans- relationship through two-way involved in taking a taxi, metro solves the inconvenient parts of port. But with new demands, communication possibilities. and bus when coming back from individual journeys and multiple comes a new problem that direct GSMA estimates that there a business trip. Transportation ticketing and payment opera- carrier billing might solve. A di- are more than 350 million active and parking can be a nightmare tions. verse and customizable ticketing users of RCS services. The num- in summer or winter seasons. Even though it’s in its early system is of great importance to ber is expected to grow, as more Major concerts, happenings and stages, MaaS is already per- the transport of the future. Pro- and more telco networks and sports events are putting extra ceived as the biggest transport viders must always ensure that device manufacturers adopt the pressure on services and infra- revolution of the 21st century their system is secure and devel- new standard. North America structure. In large metropolitan in circles that are invested in oped under open standards that and Western Europe are lead- areas, public transportation the future of transportation. many companies can share. That ing in adoption, and it can be receives constant attention from And it’s easy to see why. The way a single app and payment expected that those parts of the local governments and au- paradigm has the potential to channel can be introduced. Mo- world will be the first ones to thorities, and there are constant introduce tremendous ben- bile payments offer pay-as-you- experience the benefits of RCS demands for improvements. efits in public and alternative go solutions that are a necessity in services and communications transportation services. Instead and with their four of five-step across industries. A TRANSPORT of booking and paying for all the payment process, you can col- RCS has potential in the MaaS REVOLUTION OF THE 21ST transport options separately, us- lect the purchase easy and fast, paradigm in terms of rich noti- CENTURY? ers could order and pay for one with no additional paperwork or fications that can be delivered Rising mobility combined with thing only - transportation from crowds. And last but not least, to transport users, in order to the rise of urbanization all over location A to location B. In this it offers a personalized client engage them and make their the world has created a horizon model, the number of rides, ve- experience. journey easier. Location capa- of opportunities for developing hicles and their types becomes Carrier billing solution can bilities, carousels, buttons and creative and innovative solutions irrelevant. End users don’t have give the client payment access video content will likely get inte- that will address some of the to worry about topping up debit regardless of their bank card or grated into Mobility-as-a-Service

20 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk VALUE ADDED SERVICES

solutions of the future. data, like MaaS, an efficient secu- In the MaaS paradigm, using MI transportation and with it comes Related to this is the om- rity and ID validating system is of to authenticate each payment a new set of challenges that will nichannel communications great importance. or app install via Silent Mobile push digital and mobile industry capacity. It is important in pro- Mobile Identity is a verifica- Verification, SIM swap checks to in its next chapter. Mobile de- viding failover mechanisms - via tion solution based on the infor- further ensure the identity vices are becoming our IDs in the SMS for instance, in cases where mation mobile operators have of the rider and protect from digital world and soon enough users can’t receive a notification about their subscribers. Mobile fraud and hacks, or form fill- they could become an essential via RCS, Viber or WhatsApp. Identity matches the user’s ing for signups and similar cases component of our mobility. This approach also provides phone number with the mobile enhance the experience and To ensure a smooth and easy better communication with the operator databases and verifies the security in one convenient travelling across urban areas will end-user of the transport ser- e.g. subscribing to a service, service. remain a major concern of cities vice. It enables communication creating an account or making a Mobile Identity is at the and municipalities, as well as of through the user’s preferred mobile purchase with minimal heart of the digital economy, technology providers that will channel - Viber, WhatsApp, interruption of user experience. improving customer experience, look to come up with innovative SMS or email. All these chan- Mobile Identity enables user- customer onboarding and their technologies and solutions in the nels and services are easy to friendly use cases that extend security throughout the journey, area in years to come. integrate through the API, and far beyond the capabilities of both physical and digital. the solution provider handles current authentication methods. MaaS is the next step in Zolan V is Group CEO at Centili maintenance, infrastructure and optimization. iTaxi launches direct carrier billing INSTANT AND RELIABLE ID VIA with Centili and Play Taking a step back, it’s right to iTaxi, the leading Polish taxi hailing marketplace via mobile phones, with the mobile number at assume that we will be rely- has launched a new ticketing model supported the centre of enablement” says Lazar Pasajlic, ing on mobile devices more by direct carrier billing, which enables its cus- Regional Manager Europe at Centili. than ever before, whether it tomers to charge taxi rides to their post-paid The updated iTaxi allows users to is through personal usage or plans with Play, the biggest telco operator in the set Play as the default payment method, or to launching new business initia- country. easily use it alongside other methods. The user tives. Mobile devices reflect cus- Technical integration is the work of the inter- experience is the same as with credit card pay- tomers’ identity in apps, data, nationally awarded payments and billing compa- ments, involving only a few taps on the phone and activities they engage in, ny Centili. It is one of the first implementations screen. and for that reason alone many of direct carrier billing in ticketing in the EU taxi “Our customers can now charge taxi rides to business strategies are putting industry, enabling the cost of an individual ride their existing account with Play, a company with mobile devices at the centre of to be calculated upfront and seamlessly charged considerable reputation and standing in provid- growth plans. to the rider’s mobile plan. This makes it differ- ing payments services. We have introduced an- According to a survey “Say ent to traditional taxi charges which can only be other natively mobile capability, as we continue Goodbye to Pass- applied after the ride. to build cutting-edge mobility services for our words” by IDG, 89% By introducing tickets of this customers,” says Tomasz Soczówka, Strategic of security leaders kind, taxi services become easier Advisory & Partnerships Manager at iTaxi. believe that mobile to link with other urban transpor- This pioneering project could facilitate further devices will serve as tation methods, which is a major innovation in the European urban mobility eco- a digital ID to access step towards a stronger participa- system. With a population of 40 million, Poland enterprise services, tion in the emerging Mobility as a has a booming innovation scene in which mobile emphasising how inef- Service (MaaS) model. network operators are playing a major role. The fective the passwords “The integration country has already seen direct carrier billing ap- are in protecting with carriers, plied to the areas of parking, electrical scooters our privacy. 67% which we enable rentals and now taxi rides, with a clear vision of of enterprise ex- on multiple lev- becoming a part of a new public transportation ecs are less con- els, is the key to model known as Mobility as a Service. fident about the a smooth function- “We are excited about what’s next in smart security of their ing of digital and remote city travel as we continue to expand our active mobile devices services underlying urban role in the space. We’re looking forward to work- compared to other mobility – from app-based ing with startups and partners to unlock new op- IT assets, according ride ordering, user reach and portunities via integrations that will take urban to Forbes. In handling identification, to engagement mobility to the next level,” saya ŁukaszPerzyński, a complex system that and billing. All this is orchestrated Head of Direct Carrier Billing at Play. requires personal and bank

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 21 SECURITY & FRAUD How Merchants can grow their business by learning how to fight fraud the right way

Fraud is a fact of life in business – but it needn’t be an end to business for merchants if they look at how they react to fraud and deal with it. Here David Lotfi explains what that means problem for everyone, but most in practice of the solutions offered don’t re- ally work. Numerous companies Every merchant knows the story: crime perpetrated by a criminal gotiate with the operator: “Yes are selling anti-fraud solutions It’s Friday night and you receive and the same is true of mer- maybe some part of my traffic is and even fraudsters are sell- an email from the operator: chants. Even if as everywhere, fraudulent, but I’ll deal with it, ing anti-fraud solutions, with “We have too many customer there can be some bad play- don’t cut my payment flow!” predictably poor results. complaints, so we need an OTP ers, most merchants are purely Depression – Eventually, If you look at relatively safe flow by Monday”. innocent victims of widespread operators are not reassured, markets like France and Bel- Nooooooooo! fraud. The key to beating this revenues become lower than gium, you can see that the only You know you’re going to have modern-day scourge is to ever and depression settles in. kind of company that can help a horrible weekend believing firstly understand it. And when Acceptance – This is when you you needs three things: that your ROI and conversion it comes to understanding either believe that you can’t do Independence – Advertis- rates are set for a drastic drop. online fraud, we must firstly anything about fraud and that ers are competing very hard in Yes, fraud is a pain, but it understand that the industry’s you need to accept a reduced carrier billing, anti-fraud system doesn’t have to be fatal and response to online crime follows performance or you need to find access sensitive data, anti-fraud you certainly don’t need to a certain predictable pattern. new solutions. can block subscriptions. There lose money – or sleep – over How everyone reacts when Rest assured all of this is a should be no doubt among it. Fraud is not the merchant’s confronted with fraud normal reaction to a very com- the players on why a conver- fault. The initial situation – The mon problem and you are not sion is validated or not. The Let’s start off by focusing on process begins with everything alone. solution used cannot belong to the positive. Few industries do seemingly just perfect. Industry one of their competitors. customer acquisition and billing players see that the market for HOW TO REACT TO FRAUD Cybersecurity focus – The efficiency better than we do. their products and services is THE RIGHT WAY second component is for the An exciting environment full of growing and they are happy The online world is notori- company to be 100% focused promise and healthy competi- with their work and so are their ously unsecure, but you can get on cybersecurity. The market tion means we have become clients and customers. through security challenges with deserves a specialist and API virtual experts in ROI. That’s The crisis – Fraud appears the right partners. Fraud is not a first-oriented company. When the good news. The not so out of the blue and the effect is death sentence, it is criminality dealing with fraud, one must good news is that web-based instantaneous and particularly that needs to be managed and, absolutely direct all resources criminals have also noticed the vicious because it masks what is indeed, it can be beaten. Al- towards the overriding goal of potential of what we do and really going on. ready, some markets like France cybersecurity. fraud on the Internet has conse- Denial – At first, your revenue and Belgium have more or less Expertise on fraud – You quently skyrocketed. appears as if it is growing and totally banished fraud on Direct can’t send a generalist to do Since 2015, fraud has steadily the result is that you are in Carrier Billing. an expert’s job. Only a dedi- emerged as mobile industry denial. You believe those good What the usual pattern of cated fraud expert can properly enemy number one. This means results you’re seeing are com- reaction to fraud teaches us is understand the ins and outs of you can take heart in the fact ing from your good work, not that we need to leave depres- the market and know the needs that the problem is not confined fraud! “I don’t have fraud, I have sion behind us and get to grips and issues all players are facing to your specific organization – trusted partners, it is just the with accepting that fraud is a because of fraud. it’s a massive industry challenge hard work that we have done on challenge that needs logical that spans the entire globe and the landing page that is paying”. organization and action to beat. David Lotfi is CEO of Evina. is threatening the very existence Anger – When those first You can organise yourself Evina is the one company that of the micropayment and digital nagging doubts turn to reality effectively with solutions that ticks all the boxes above. It is advertising industries. and you finally understand that worked for others and you can no surprise then that we have Boom times for fraudsters those new transactions are fake, even turn the situation on its played a pivotal role in secur- mean we are all experiencing you become angry at the fraud- head and build better trust ing the French and Belgian problems with clients, partners, ster and at the operators who and achieve more growth that markets, providing a welcome carriers and merchants that are you believe are turning against before. boost to the entire industry centred on billing flows being you are payment flows begin to Most solutions you are using and making all players more cut and revenue loss. be cut. now to protect yourself are successful. No victim can be guilty of a Bargaining – You try to ne- probably inefficient. Fraud is a

22 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk SECURITY & FRAUD Going off-message With governments using WhatsApp and frightened citizens looking for news and hope, there their mobile network provider by has been a rise in message fraud like never before. Paul Skeldon takes a look at what is forwarding them to 7726. happening in the UK to tackle it Katy Worobec, Managing Direc- tor of Economic Crime at UK Fi- The proliferation of messaging formation or sending money. o2, Three and Vodafone. nance, said: “This initiative shows to get government and business Criminals will also often use a The trial also has the support how by working together with the information to consumers during technique called “spoofing”, of the UK’s leading messaging government, law enforcement the coronavirus pandemic has which can make a message ap- providers including BT’s Smart and other sectors, we are protect- also seen the inevitable rise in pear in a chain of texts alongside Messaging Business, Commify, ing the public from these cruel scam messaging. previous genuine messages from Dynamic Mobile Billing, Firetext, scams. We would urge consum- The problem is global, but that organisation. Fonix Mobile, HGC Global Com- ers to remain vigilant of criminals in the UK mobile, banking and As part of the cross-stakeholder munications Limited, IMImobile, exploiting the Covid-19 outbreak finance industries along with the trial, MEF has developed the SMS mGage, OpenMarket, SAP Digital to commit fraud and report National Cyber Security Centre SenderID Protection Registry Interconnect a division of SAP, suspicious texts by forwarding the (NCSC) have joined forces to which allows organisations to Sinch, TeleSign, Twilio and Von- original message to 7726, which prevent fraudsters sending scam register and protect the message age. spells SPAM on your keypad. text messages that seek to exploit headers used when sending text In the last six months, the cross- Always follow the advice of the the Covid-19 crisis. messages to their customers. stakeholder working group has Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign The collaboration is part of The Registry limits the ability seen a significant drop in fraudu- and avoid clicking on links in any an ongoing industry initiative by of fraudsters to send messages lent messages being sent to the unsolicited text messages in case Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), impersonating a brand by check- UK consumers of the participating it’s a scam.” Mobile UK and UK Finance, ing whether the sender is the merchants. Mike Fell, Head of Cyber Opera- supported by the NCSC, to help genuine registered party. Dr Ian Levy, Technical Direc- tions HM Revenue and Customs, identify and block fraudulent 50 bank and Government tor at the NCSC, said: “We are who were one of the first Govern- SMS texts and protect messages brands are currently being pleased to be supporting this ex- ment agencies to report Covid-19 from legitimate businesses and protected through the trial with periment which is yielding promis- text scams said: “This trial builds organisations. 172 trusted SenderIDs registered ing results. The UK Government’s on the success of an HMRC scams which to date. Over 400 unauthorised recent mass-text campaign on pilot, conducted with telecoms trick consumers into sending variants are being blocked on an Covid-19 has demonstrated the providers, which resulted in a money or sharing their account ever-growing blacklist, including need for such industry collabora- 90% reduction in reports of the details with fraudsters are known 70 senderIDs relating to the Gov- tion in order to protect consum- most convincing HMRC-branded as ‘Smishing’ (or phishing by ernment’s Coronavirus campaign. ers from these kind of scams.” SMS scams. We are happy to col- SMS). Criminals send bogus texts 14 banks and Government Mobile UK’s Head of Policy & laborate with MEF and partners which appear to come from a agencies including HMRC and Communications, Gareth Elliott to take forward our work to trusted sender, for example, in DVLA are participating in the added that “Mobile compa- safeguard the UK public from such the case of the Government’s ongoing trial which nies work hard to protect their SMS-related scams.” mass-text campaign UK_Gov. is supported customers from fraud and the MEF’s COO, Joanne Lacey These messages often contain by BT/ contribution from the industry to summarised: “All stakeholders links to fake websites or phone EE, the Registry will help reduce the involved in business messaging numbers using sophisticated number of scam texts pretending have a responsibility to follow social engineering tech- to be from trusted brands. This industry best practice and pro- niques to trick the victim gives much-needed protection actively work together to be one into revealing their against fraud, including for the step ahead of the fraudsters. The personal and most vulnerable customers.” SMS SenderID Protection Registry financial As part of the Coronavirus cam- is a tactical solution to mitigate in- paign, consumers have also been smishing and spoofing, backed by reminded to follow the advice MEF’s A2P SMS Code of Con- of the Take Five to Stop Fraud duct. Through the Registry, the campaign and remember that industry has been able to support criminals are experts at imperson- the UK Government’s campaign ating people, organisations and and demonstrate the vital role of the police. Customers can report messaging not least in times of suspected spam text texts to emergency and crisis.”

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 23 SECURITY & FRAUD More engagement, more fraud

With the boom in digital content and services, messaging and marketing brought about by the global pandemic, there is an inevitable downside: where there is success, there is fraud. Jarvis Todd investigates Perhaps unsurprisingly in the order to tackle the challenges digital exposure [to hit bigger trends and opportunities. Long current climate there’s been a of social distancing many (pri- revenue targets]and invest- a driver of growth, the digital major focus across the board marily male) dating subscribers ment shifts towards even more economy may now be the on digital commerce. That are migrating across to more digital channels, they be- salvation of the economy. means more opportunities adult services and really ramp- come more exposed to digital “I predict an even increased to deploy engagement and ing up their premium messag- threats. importance of digital and tele- billing technologies to support media industries, with more soaring demand for a range and more individuals attempt- of telemedia VAS and content As any business increases its digital exposure and ing to get in the business. Ei- propositions. investment shifts towards more digital channels, they ther that or the hand sanitiser In lockdown – and probably become more exposed to digital threats business,” he says. beyond – games platforms are He adds: “At Upstream we busier than ever, radio compe- carry on supporting the digital titions have never been more ing activities. So, we asked Geoffrey growth of our mobile operator popular, help line traffic is So, with business “tak- Cleaves, Head of Secure-D customers keeping people con- rocketing and call centres are ing care of itself”, your only at Upstream, for his views nected, secure and informed. maxed out. Spare a thought concern needs to be the health on the current situation and Bridging the digital divide has too for those poor singles that and wellbeing of your families, he concurred that we are of taken on new meaning since are simply looking for love in friends and colleagues – right? course relatively “lucky” to the start of this outbreak and these difficult times. Well not quite, because as work in the digital world and Upstream is pressing on to Early reports suggest that in any business increases its have the luxury of discussing help mobile operators in con-

24 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk SECURITY & FRAUD

watch out for including; Atlas Box, Puzzle Addict and Video 5 ways to detect Lounge. Also beware of apk cyber threats today package names starting with com.xam. Android apps are Cybercriminals are an unfortunate fact of life in 2020 and busi- identified by their package nesses of all sizes are at risk from their malicious intentions. name, which are usually three The key to minimising the risks of a cyberattack is to know dot separated words such how to spot when you are under threat. There are a variety of as com.android.clock. Many ways to achieve this. of the malware apps have a package name that begins with Here are the best ways to detect a cyber threat in 2020. com.xam. Email Phishing INTERNET TRAFFIC IN Phishing is when cybercriminals, usually via email, pretend EMERGING MARKETS to be a legitimate account or customer and convince users Over the past 30 days internet to open an email attachment or click on a link. Either action traffic has increased by 6% will result in exposure to malware of some kind. Make sure in Africa and decrease by 5% that employees are aware of how to identify potentially risky in South East Asia, especially communication, and they also know not to click on suspi- peaks in Thailand relating to cious attachments or links. COVID-19 news sites. Whilst It’s hard to make a direct Endpoint Monitoring correlation, the theory is Most cyberattacks start with the individual and that means that that SE Asia is generally that all members of your workforce that act as endpoint us- emerging while Africa is ers need robust cybersecurity training sessions. Contextual generally entering lockdown, awareness is key, because the faster that someone knows Brazil is largely flat. that their devices or networks have been compromised, the Being in lockdown means quicker your accident response can act. prepaid customers will find it difficult to get out the front Suspicious Network Activity door to top up their data Again, this is all about ensuring that your team is aware of bundles. In the meantime, the signs of a cyber threat. Suspicious activity can be a sign malware could be eating into that a system has been attacked or is currently under attack. those data bundles. One of the most common signs is to find that password ac- nectivity, content, security and Cleaves continues: “I suspect cess to your system is denied. This indicates that a password UX.” we may see a drop in mobile has been used by a malicious actor who is making system internet traffic (and successful changes to lock you out. Make sure that password manage- WHAT ARE THE KEY billing attempts) in predomi- ment is a priority in your business. FRAUD THREATS? nantly prepaid markets while Whilst the majority of the lockdowns are in force.” Network Slowdown world is pulling together, there Enter solutions like Connec- Network traffic can spike during a breach, so if your system is are certainly some darker tU by Vodacom in South Africa slower than usual, this can often be a sign that you are being forces acting to make a profit that allow users to access free attacked. If a network slowdown is reported by any mem- from the current situation. content aimed at social devel- ber of your team, it’s a good idea to launch your incident “At Secure-D we’ve seen a opment offering a variety of response plan immediately. Even if your team discovers no sharp increase in bad actors essential services (education, breach, it is better to test than simply hope that network publishing ‘leisure’ apps on health advice, news). This is a slowdown is normal. the Store which zero-rated portal supported by trick users into subscribing our platform zero-D”. Adware and Pop-Ups for premium services,” says So, there you have it Browsing the Internet exposes endpoints to potential dan- Cleaves. “The types of apps – while the telemedia in- gers and pop-ups, adware, and malvertising are all subjects that are springing up are ones dustry might well be safe that you need to have some awareness of. Know how to that offer a way for people to enough, please continue identify risky online activity and ensure that your teams are pass the time stuck at home. to avoid both personal and aware of what they can and can’t click on when using the For examples, funny videos or commercial infections as you business network or any business devices. However, you puzzle games.” promote more premium digital should also ensure that they practice security protocols on Cleaves also outlines some applications into a relatively their own devices as well, especially in a BYOD environment. examples of malicious apps to healthy digital marketplace.

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 25 TELECOMS & NETWORK OPERATORS

Is roaming set to be a victim of coronavirus?

The collapse in travel is hitting global roaming revenues hard – and the damage is immediate trips that were previously and may be sustained. Paul Skeldon hears from leading analysts as to what the future forecast before the spread of currently holds the virus. The research assumes that Roaming has had a rough time. demic has made pretty much assumes that a severe disrup- over half of all roaming revenue It used to be the golden egg- all industries worldwide hit the tion to international travel will for the year will be affected, laying service for network op- pause button. One of the big- continue for 9 months, with amounting to $25 billion in erators, giving them the licence gest hit by the lockdown, aside travel restrictions and a re- lost revenue. The research also to print money when anyone from retail and hospitality, has duced demand for international highlighted the period between travelled abroad but still wanted been travel. No one is going travel continuing. June and August as of particular to stay in touch. nowhere, as they say. And that In this case, the resulting significance when the demand That all changed when the EU means roaming has hit a brick impact on operators’ interna- for international travel is high. decided that, across Europe at wall. tional roaming revenue would It forecast that operators could least, that was unacceptable. In fact, according to Juniper be significant. lose up to $12 billion in roam- Then the rise of looked like Research, the impact of Corona- ing revenue alone in these it might offset some of this de- virus on the international travel NO END IN SIGHT FOR three months. cline, with the level of services industry could cost operators TRAVEL ISSUES In terms of the overall impact on offer – as well as the emer- over $25 billion in lost revenue In the high impact scenario, on operators, it must be noted gence of RCS – looked set to add during the next 9 months. Juniper Research believes that however that global roam- some 1.1 billion new subscribers Juniper Research examined over 650 million passenger trips ing revenue only accounts worldwide and some new roam- two possible scenarios: a me- will be cancelled due to Coro- for approximately 6% of total ing opportunities. dium and high impact, believing navirus over the next 9 months. operator-billed revenue per However, biology had other a low impact is now not pos- This is over 80% of the antici- year, limiting the hit on the ideas. The Coronavirus pan- sible. The high impact scenario pated international passenger industry.

26 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk TELECOMS & NETWORK OPERATORS

NO MITIGATION Additionally, the research STRATEGIES highlighted that travel cancelled The latest projections developed in April 2020 Given the nature of the inter- due to the spread of Coronavi- with an estimate that travel restrictions will lift in late national travel industry, the rus is unlikely to be rebooked. summer in Europe sees a 41% drop in roaming research anticipated that there As a result, this loss of roaming will be no strategies available to revenue is unlikely to be re- operators to mitigate this loss. covered once the international global decline in travel numbers 41% to reach 395 billion MBs in It forecast that services, such as travel industry resumes normal in 2020. “Our early Decem- 2020, equivalent to 368 PB (Pet- virtual conferencing, will offer service. ber 2019 projection for global abytes). This will translate into businesses an alternative to in- international travel anticipated wholesale revenues between ternational travel, but will offer IT COULD GET WORSE a 5% annual rise in border ar- $2.7-$3 billion from data traffic, no benefit to operators. Analysts at Kaleido expects a rivals,” says Nitin Bhas, Chief of compared to nearly $5 billion in Strategy & Insights at Kaleido 2019. Intelligence. “Our latest projec- In comparison, voice traffic tion, developed in early April will fall by 45% in 2020. 2020 with the assumption that However, outbound roaming many travel restrictions will be revenues are expected to fall lifted by the end of the northern by between 25-30% in 2020, hemisphere’s summer, esti- with retail spend per roamer mates a 45% fall in international potentially increasing by active travel volume, with only 826 roamers in 2020 million trips anticipated globally Bhas adds: “Understandably, for 2020. this means that there will be an This will indeed depend on impact on mobile roamers and any further travel impact in Q3 usage around the world. For and Q4 2020 and also if there that reason, we have revised will be any further waves of our forecasts for global travel, Coronavirus this year.” mobile roamers and outbound In fact, Kaleido estimates and inbound roaming traffic and roaming data traffic to fall by revenues.”

Help minimising disruption for the voice and messaging industry Help with the disruption caused to car- to COVID-19, with travel bans costing ficiently expanding reach, optimising op- riers by the coronavirus pandemic is the mobile industry $25 billion between erations, enhancing user experience and at hand. For example, Vox Carrier has March 2020 and the end of the year. The mitigating fraud. It serves MNOs, DSPs, introduced a monetisation audit for research forecasts that operators could carriers, and enterprises worldwide, mobile network operators (MNOs) and lose up to $12 billion in roaming revenue delivering a range of solutions including digital service providers (DSPs) to enable alone between June and August. A2P messaging, service monetisation and them to minimise the impact of declin- “Our monetisation audit will provide operational outsourcing. ing roaming revenues and changing user insights to help MNOs and DSPs during “This pandemic has emphasised the behaviours. these unprecedented times. While roam- critical role of telecommunication service The audit examines routing optimisa- ing revenues cannot be recovered, there providers to businesses, communities tion, operational efficiencies and revenue is an opportunity to increase profitability and users of all kinds. At Vox Carrier we leakage from fraud in voice and SMS. The in A2P SMS or international voice through want to play our part and provide mobile audit has been developed to offer MNOs fighting fraud,” says Ehsan Ahmadi, CEO operators, DSPs and enterprises the tools and DSPs a sustainable and effective path at Vox Carrier. “This is a challenging time they need to respond to this challenge. forward as they manage the immedi- for our industry and we’re trying to offer We are evolving and adapting our solu- ate impact they are seeing on roaming solutions that will minimise disruption tions through listening and understand- revenues, while protecting their network, and enable operators and service provid- ing our customers. We have the exper- increasing long-term profitability, and ers to continue to offer critical communi- tise, agility, and the technology to help enhancing customer experience. cations solutions to their customers.” solve these challenges with our managed Juniper Research estimated that more Vox Carrier helps its partners address service solutions,” says Nicholas Nikrouy- than 650 million passenger trips will be the challenges they have around voice an, CCO & Chief of Staff at Vox Carrier. cancelled over the next nine months due and messaging monetisation through -ef

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 27 MEDIA & CONTENT

Keeping the adult industry up during lockdown

Under lockdown there has been a spike in visits to adult sites, chat sites and even dating errands have all be redirected. – but they are happening in different ways that before. Here New Media Services outline While some spend time on some of the changes their favourite social media platforms, others on music and With the current economic cli- vices offered are of an online demand for more content to be video providers, and some on mate which is a direct result of nature, it has become a conve- available while they are stuck hobbies, this extra time has the COVID-19 pandemic, many nient way to stay entertained. at home. also given the adult industry businesses without online pres- Given the ample amount of Dating sites gained higher the boost it needed in terms of ence have seen a decline, often time and relative ease of -ac subscription and membership increased traffic. even resorting to closures. cess, dating sites, cam sites and rates since users are at home As the majority of the popu- other adult services have had and almost always online. MORE OPPORTUNITIES lation have accepted that social an uptick in activity. Cam sites has seen a parallel Having users with more time distancing is one of the main Perhaps predictably, traffic to increase of subscribers as well also means that adult-oriented ways to avoid the risk of virus adult sites has seen a massive as model availability. services also need to focus on exposure, the world has turned spike since the European wide Although this pandemic is a opportunities to improve, fur- to the internet to go about lockdown in March – and many definite concern, it has also giv- ther increase and retain users. their daily lives. industry watchers think it is en rise to a rare opportunity for With this they will require more From deliveries of basic likely to continue. higher customer engagement, resources to hopefully cover necessities, sourcing of news, According to Pornhub, there conversion and support. There the span of this pandemic and movies, music and other forms has been a “spike” in traffic as been a well-documented to maintain the interest moving of entertainment, people have since March – and a 10% rise in increase in chat traffic around beyond the current situation. become increasingly reliant to the number of people paying dating, as dating now takes This may vary depending on being online. using Bitcoin for its Premium place via talking and video, approach, but it would be a In an effort to battle the lack service. rather than face to face. prime opportunity for many of social interactions brought businesses in this industry to about by the abrupt change in CHAT AND DATING MORE TIME gather data, produce more normalcy, many persons have SERVICES The social distancing recom- content, improve on customer flocked to websites, apps and Chat services have increased mendation by various countries interactions and ultimately use non-physical socialization. due to the more constant and states have increased the these improvements as a way exchange of communications; time each person has on a to push for further growth in BEING GROWN UPS refunds for services rendered day-to-day basis. The removed the long-run. This has been quite evident in has decreased as a direct result commute time, lower required the Adult Industry. As most ser- of actual usage. Users now work hours and time spent on New Media Services

28 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk #SP & AGGREGATOR

We are seasoned mobile billing Dynamic Mobile Billing is a global provider of mobile experts in Africa’s emerging economies and payment solutions including: MobiPay is our mobile billing solution incorporating: Direct Carrier Billing Bulk Messaging Billing gateways UK Charity Shortcodes SMS Billing Voice Short-codes Subscription portals Single API integration Voice Number Ranges Virtual Mobile Numbers Direct Carrier Billing Click to Buy Premium SMS Click to Subscribe

www.dmb-uk.com [email protected] +44 207 267 5222 www.mobivate.com Tel: +44 (0) 808 206 0808 Email: [email protected]

International Premiums is a worldwide telecom media services Provider and Aggregator.

International Premiums has acquired the sole distribution rights for Albania, Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros Islands, Congo, East Timor, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Liberia, Tonga, Morocco, Poland, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Vanuatu offering the e : [email protected] HIGHEST Payouts with monthly, biweekly w: www.interprems.com [email protected] and weekly payments.

Send Verify Numbers Analyse Pay

www.messagecloud.com | [email protected] HQ phone: +44 (0)3301 130 243

MAKE SURE YOU CAN BE FOUND

Phone Payment Provider ADVERTISE IN THE LEADING DIRECTORY FOR THE TELEMEDIA INDUSTRY. CONTACT JARVIS www.mediatel.com FOR RATES ON +44 (0)7711 92 70 92

#MEDIA & MARKETING MOBILE-FIRST PERFORMANCE AGENCY

QUALITY RELIABILITY COMPLIANCE BEST MEDIA BUYING SERVICE WE ARE CERTIFIED OPTICKS AS INTEGRATED ON PREMIUM CHANNELS GOOGLE PARTNER ANTIFRAUD SYSTEM

ARE YOU A PUBLISHER? ARE YOU AN ADVERTISER? JOIN OUR NETWORK www.cookies.digital GET IN TOUCH WITH US veneoverwatch.io [email protected] [email protected]

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 29 #TECH PROVIDER Offer the new Class 4 VoIP softswitch applying Swiss precision to telecoms services n Ensuring Selected Routes Are Always Profitable Secure MT provides card n Monitoring Traffic Performance At All Times NOW payment processing for online n Routing & Filters Maximise Quality & Profit [email protected] ALSO IN and retail businesses, whether n Rapid Price Management & Flawless Invoicing PAY PER n Tailor-made Installation USE WWW.SECUREMT.CO.UK that be for one off payments, n Includes exclusive IPRS features to control and wallets, pay for view or +44 (0) 207 058 0200 analyse real time traffic whilst preventing fraud subscription services. [email protected] | www.callcom.ch | +41 91 225 8330

CINEEBOOK is a new type of #CONTENT PROVIDER entertainment that combines the advantages of books and movies. THE ORIGINAL ADULT JOB SITE!

DREAM JOBS - DREAM TALENT SINCE 1998 www.Cine-Books.com Thousands of talented performers [email protected] ready to work! Hundreds of fresh new jobseekers ORIGINAL & CUSTOM MOBILE CONTENT with photos signing up daily! in BRAND NEW MEDIA FORMAT

Billing solutions and media

#BILLING applications in +120 countries: 3 Web billing 3 PSMS 3 PRS and IPRS 3 Full payment Platform Atlas Interactive provides you with Premier Operator Supplier 3 IVR Platform a unique international portfolio 3 Service numbers of Web, SMS and Voice billing Adult chat | Tarot chat | Clean chat | VOIP | Live stream moderation | 3 Media Consulting solutions. Fully managed 24/7 | Worldwide team | More info on www.text121chat.com The Atlas Groups global presence Please contact our sales team allows you to monetize your P: +44 (0) 208 779 8700 [email protected] [email protected] content and internationalize your E: [email protected] 0844 4483121 0844 4482121 business all over the world W: www.atlasgroup.bm

CFM is a rapidly growing provider of content and commerce for mobile operators. Our philosophy is simple – ensure mobile carriers give their customers amazing content, anytime, anywhere. We are experts in Direct Carrier Billing and we ensure our operator partners are utilising mobile payments to give their access to the latest trending content.

[email protected]

ENTERPRISERED EnterpriseRed offers tools and support to help organisations protect themselves from cybersecurity threats. We provide products and services to help businesses identify, understand and mitigate risks from their technology, Supports + Direct Carrier Billing people or processes, including specialist solutions from + Credit Cards cybersecurity industry leaders, vulnerability assessments, penetration various testing, employee training and access to Managed Security Services. + Online Banking (FPX) channels + E-Wallets Contact: [email protected] | +44 203 371 9178 + Over-The-Counter www.enterprisered.com

30 More news, views and analysis at www.TelemediaOnline.co.uk Digital monetization platform 2018 & 2019 Tier 1 DCB Vendor, rated by MNOs w www.centili.com e [email protected]

CELESTATEL Celestatel is a leading global provider of International Premium rate numbers. We are directly interconnected with major voice carriers worldwide as well as most of the IPRN resellers. Celestatel offers wide range of IPRN numbers worldwide with various payouts from USD 0.05 up to USD 0.43 and different payment terms from 7/7 to 30/30.

For more info kindly contact: [email protected]

CORE TELECOM #NETWORK OPERATOR Core Telecom is the UK’s leading provider of UK Numbering solutions. A fully independent network operator since 2005, we offer unprecedented carrier network accessibility across the globe. With over 35 years of industry experience we can find the right solution for you. t: 0344 504 0000 A UK VOICE NETWORK e: [email protected] w: www.coretelecom.co.uk [email protected]

kwak. „LINKING TELECOMS AND MEDIA THROUGH INTERNATIONAL PREMIUM RATE SERVICES“ www.kwak-telecom.com e-mail: [email protected] phone: +357 220 223 18 #SUPPORT SERVICES

UK numbers Call centre grade PBX for resellers

VoIP, PBX outbound dialler International premium rate numbers

PRS/IVR & call handling Payment & number hosting solutions

+44 (0)207 058 1000 [email protected] WWW.TELECOM2.NET

Driving value added services for voice and mobile 31 kwak.

„LINKING TELECOMS AND MEDIA THROUGH INTERNATIONAL PREMIUM RATE SERVICES“ International Premium Numbers. Domestic Premium Numbers. Bulk SMS. Call Center.

www.kwak-telecom.com [email protected] +357 220 223 18

„Award Winning Micropayment Provider with global Footprint.“