SMS

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set out a range of proposed rules to prevent spam text messages, including an obligation for operators to block them at network level and the application of standards similar to caller ID.

National cybersecurity, mobile and banking industry groups joined a Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) initiative to curb use of SMS by fraudsters in the UK during the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Australia’s competition watchdog proposed continuing regulating wholesale mobile voice services for an additional five years, but called for the removal of controls covering SMS termination services.

Almost half of mobile phone users worldwide are still only accessing voice and SMS services, a new consumer study by GSMA Intelligence said.

Operators could generate as much as $15 billion in additional revenue next year by addressing the shady use of “grey routes” in business-led Application to Person SMS traffic, according to A2P specialists Dialogue.

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Christopher Richardson, CEO of emerging markets player ONEm, dismissed scepticism around the future of voice and SMS services, insisting they remain “the ideal way to connect people”.

NEW ANALYSIS: GSMA Intelligence reviews new approaches to data tariffs for operators in developed markets.   The continued decline in voice and SMS revenues coupled with a rise in data revenues illustrates the ongoing transformation in the mobile operator’s business model.