Business messaging bingo – 9 predictions for 2023!

A2P messaging never stands still. How can it when there is new regulation, margin pressure and tech innovation to contend with? This is what we expect to see in Business Messaging in 2023… 

M&A: the deal flow won’t slow

Telecom businesses are under pressure to transform – and the fastest way to do that is through M&A. The negative economic headwinds and war in Europe have created a challenging financial environment. Despite this, we expect M&A activity to increase over the next year. The majority of telcos have deals on the horizon.

5G-CPaaS to incorporate the messaging of things

The IoT has been on the rise for many years. But now we are finally seeing greater interoperability and data sharing among the various devices. This presents an opportunity for CPaaS platform owners. In 2023, we could see them include support for new messaging types relating to IoT and other location-based devices. 5G-CPaaS is the new buzz word.

Mobile termination rates – so high they are nearly terminal

2022 was a sobering year for A2P pricing. MNOs in some regions ramped up prices (especially for non-domestic traffic) to unprecedented levels. It wasn’t unusual to see fees at 20x the domestic rate. We can’t see too much change in 2023. No doubt enterprises will continue to seek alternatives.

A breakthrough year for flash calls?

If the A2P price hikes discussed above are driving customers towards alternatives, then what are they? Flash calling is one. It lets end users receive a voice call rather than a text, and then use the digits in the number as the authentication code. In 2023, flash will maintain its momentum. There are now legitimate flash calling products available, but will MNOs block and/or monetize them?

SIM boxes to bounce back

How else to get around those sky-high A2P prices? Well, there’s always SIM box fraud. A SIM box is a piece of hardware that can house thousands of prepaid SIM cards. Fraudsters use them to sell/route international messages to the destination country via cheaper domestic P2P routes. Expect SIM box fraud to have a ‘good’ year in 2023.

Smishing will continue to grow

Smishing moves phishing from world of email to the world of SMS. Needless to say, it threatens the privacy and security of subscribers and generally undermines trust in all messaging stakeholders. The industry is fighting back, but it’s hard to imagine any reduction in the number of attacks.

The start of a new password-less era in mobile authentication?

Everyone knows the password is deeply flawed as an authentication tool. The two factor SMS passcode is better – but still has vulnerabilities. Now, interest is growing in new techniques that use the uniqueness of mobile device/connection to authenticate a user, without any need for a passcode. Companies such as Sekura are making progress (GTC and Sekura recently signed a partnership). Expect the momentum to grow in the coming months.

Privacy regulation to spread across LATAM

Europe’s GDPR regulation continues to inspire similar government action across the world. LATAM will be especially busy in 2023 thanks to legislation such as the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and Argentina’s Ley de Protección de Datos Personales.

WhatsApp business pricing will vary by region

On WhatsApp, businesses pay more when they start the chat than when the customer makes the first move. But how do the two price bands compare? As GTC found in 2022, prices vary dramatically by country. In India, WhatsApp charges 0.004c for a P2A session. In Pakistan, it’s 0.014c. Given that the differences reflect A2P prices around the world, we believe these disparities will persist across 2023.

What’s on your bingo card for Business Messaging in 2023?