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 mobile content - we take a look at who is winning 10 GAMBLING 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 #SUPPORT 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 o2 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 roaming 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.