A2P, or application-to-person messaging, refers to any kind of messaging traffic in which a person receives messages from an application such as marketing messages, appointment reminders, chat bots or virtual assistants, notifications, and one-time passwords (OTPs) or PIN codes.
The total A2P SMS market is forecasted to be worth $26.5 billion in 2022. Across all business messaging, SMS accounts for $25 billion and this is predicted to reach $38 billion in 2025.
A2P SMS accounted for 1.77% of total MNO revenues in 2021, globally*. In 2021, only 5% of companies are using SMS A2P, spending an average of $1,536.70 per annum.
But what if 30% of businesses utilized SMS?
Based on average spend, the A2P SMS market would be worth $140.4 billion. According to Mobilesquared, some markets and operators are experiencing over 25% annual growth in international A2P SMS traffic. So it is clear that business adoption of messaging is still in its infancy, but starting to surge as organizations have begun to realize that SMS A2P can become a key revenue generator for MNOs.
Can you leverage this opportunity?
The answer is, quite simply, YES.
To develop the right monetization strategy, you’ll need to start with a critical phase: the qualifying stage.
This phase will ensure the success of your technical implementation, operations, and commercial strategy. Focusing on this phase helps provide fuller visibility into leakage and grey routes and helps you to understand how to reach your subscribers, while complying with privacy and regulation requirements and ensuring security.
Understanding regulation is part of the qualifying phase. Understanding what is best for subscribers’ protection requires careful research and education. For example, local regulation is very specific to each country, and there may be no standardization regarding rules and content filtering. That is where you will need great collaboration between multiple players, reliable partners, consultants, experts, and bodies like MEF.
Global telco regulations and compliance are very complex and can seem overwhelming. Relying on specialists and experts can help ensure you’re communicating effectively and compliantly all around the world.
Once you’ve gained a full understanding of global ecosystem requirements, you will also need to become fully knowledgeable about traffic analysis.
In order to be a traffic subject matter expert, there are a plethora or questions to which you will need the answers. How much traffic is local, how much is international, what is legitimate traffic, is any illegitimate, what should be blocked and saved on delivery charges, how many P2P streams should be accounted for and monetized as A2P?
With multiple aggregators and hubs carrying SMS traffic, it is getting extremely complicated to make sure messages are carried by the right channels. Evaluating contracts and connections with aggregators and operators worldwide can also take up a lot of your team’s time and effort.
Understanding the global A2P SMS ecosystem can be overwhelming. iBASIS have experts powered by a comprehensive analysis system that help lay the foundations for a solid monetization strategy. We can be your specialist partner to manage and monetize your international traffic.
Our iBASIS SMS Monetization Efficiency Report trial offers you an immediate view into your current SMS A2P traffic and enables you to better understand how you can optimize and monetize your business.
Unlock your A2P Monetization Strategy. Start your free trial today!
* Mobilesquared, Business Messaging Overview at MEF Business Messaging, June 2022