More than a fifth or all mobile phone subscribers worldwide – that’s around 1.5 billion people – will be using carrier billing (DCB) to buy either digital content, physical goods, or digital tickets, in 2025.
However, the study by Juniper Research warns operators that if they wish to capitalise on this sizeable user base, they must maximise attractiveness and value of the carrier billing opportunity to merchants. This they can do by positioning their networks as distribution channels, rather than as mere payment facilitators.
Find out more about the new report, Global Carrier Billing Market 2024-2029, or download a free sample.
The need for DCB grows
According to the report, the past decade has seen MNO services such as voice, messaging, and data have become increasingly commoditised, leading to significant revenue loss. Carrier billing allows MNOs to diversify their revenue streams, by acting as a distributor and payment facilitator for third-party services. Standardisation enables MNOs to accelerate carrier billing availability, making it a more viable alternative to competing digital payment methods.
MNOs must be content distribution channels
A key market driver in carrier billing has been the adoption of a new application programming interface (API) called ‘Check Out’ that emerged from the CAMARA project; an open-source framework that standardises APIs for telecoms networks.
Whilst this has been key to increasing subscriber access to carrier billing, the report warns deploying this API alone will not be enough to capitalise on the huge global carrier billing opportunity – with spend forecast to grow from $83bn in 2025 to more than $130bn by 2029, according to Juniper Research.
The report urges operators to transform their networks into distribution channels, enabling mobile subscribers to purchase digital subscriptions via an operator’s consumer-facing platform. Unlike established bundling, this strategy is underpinned by the integration of content management services. This will allow operators to have a direct billing relationship with their subscribers for digital content. Operators must maximise these platforms through revenue share agreements with digital service providers to capitalise on the large user base, says Juniper.
