Few areas of the telemedia ecosystem have changed as dramatically in recent years as messaging. What was once largely a high-volume SMS business has evolved into a sophisticated communications ecosystem spanning SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, conversational commerce, authentication, customer service and increasingly AI-driven interactions. Yet despite that evolution, one thing remains constant: trust.
That was the central theme running through the CPaaS, Messaging and A2P Economy panel at Telemedia Johannesburg, where operators, aggregators and legal experts explored how South Africa’s messaging market is adapting to growing demands around security, compliance and consumer protection.
Much of the discussion focused on one issue currently dominating the sector: separation of traffic. While highly technical on the surface, it has become one of the most important commercial and operational challenges facing messaging providers across South Africa.
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Messaging moves from volume to value
Leah Pule, EHOD Messaging & International Voice at Vodacom, argues that messaging remains one of the most reliable and widely used communications channels globally, but its role has changed significantly.
“Messaging has shifted from focusing on volume to value,” she says. “The focus is now shifting to security and trust and compliance.”
That shift mirrors trends seen throughout South Africa’s wider digital services market. Across payments, subscriptions and content services, success is increasingly measured by customer trust rather than raw transaction volumes.
For operators, protecting the integrity of messaging has become critical because consumers increasingly rely on SMS and messaging channels for authentication, banking, commerce and account security. If users stop trusting the messages they receive, the entire ecosystem is weakened.
Beyond SMS
The challenge is occurring at a time when messaging itself is evolving. SMS is no longer the only game in town. Businesses increasingly use WhatsApp, RCS and other conversational platforms to engage customers through richer experiences.
Unlike traditional SMS, these channels support two-way conversations, images, documents, voice notes and AI-powered interactions.
“The landscape has changed,” says Andrew Egan, SVP Global Sales, Clickatel. “It’s not necessarily cost that’s driving the change. It’s reliability, richer content and conversational experiences.”
Yet while new channels are growing rapidly, SMS remains crucial for authentication, notifications and mass reach, making its continued security and reliability essential.
That is where traffic separation enters the picture.
What is separation of traffic?
Anthony Ekerold, attorney and legal adviser to WASPA, provides the clearest explanation. At its simplest, A2P messaging traffic falls into two categories: domestic and international. Domestic traffic originates within South Africa and is delivered to South African subscribers. International traffic originates outside the country but is still delivered to South African users.
In 2022 South African operators began formally separating these traffic types and charging different rates depending on where messages originate.
The rationale is understandable. International brands sending messages into South Africa generate significant traffic volumes and operators argue that international messaging should be charged differently from locally originated traffic. The difficulty comes in determining exactly what qualifies as international.
As Ekerold explains, global brands often operate through local entities, while traffic can pass through multiple aggregators and intermediaries before reaching a subscriber. What appears straightforward in principle becomes considerably more complex in practice.
However, the problem is not simply about pricing –significant penalties can apply when traffic is classified incorrectly. If international traffic is routed through domestic channels, substantial fines and even service restrictions can follow. Determining who is ultimately responsible, however, is often far from simple because multiple parties may be involved in the delivery chain.
The challenge is compounded by the fact that South Africa’s legal framework limits some of the technical approaches used elsewhere.
In several international markets, operators use network-level content scanning and firewall technologies to automatically identify and separate traffic. South Africa’s privacy legislation, including POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act), creates additional constraints around how such systems can operate.
The result is an industry that broadly agrees with the principle of traffic separation but continues to wrestle with how it can be implemented fairly and consistently.
A balancing act
From Vodacom’s perspective, the objective is not punishment. Pule says the goal is to create a healthy messaging ecosystem built around consumer protection, message quality and fair participation for all market players.
“It’s not about restricting traffic,” she explains. “It’s about putting controls in place.”
That position reflects a broader theme that surfaced repeatedly throughout Telemedia Johannesburg. South Africa’s digital economy increasingly relies on collaboration between operators, service providers and regulators. Whether discussing subscriptions, payments or messaging, successful regulation depends on balancing commercial realities with consumer protection.
The separation of traffic debate illustrates that balancing act perfectly. Operators want to protect networks and ensure fair commercial arrangements. Aggregators want workable technical solutions. Brands want predictable costs. Consumers want trusted communications. All are legitimate objectives.
The wider marketing challenge
The panel also highlighted how messaging sits within a broader transformation of digital marketing. New amendments to South Africa’s Consumer Protection Act have introduced additional requirements around direct marketing, including registration obligations and mandatory checks against a national opt-out database.
While consumer protection remains the goal, speakers expressed concerns that some aspects of the regulations could create unintended consequences for businesses, particularly SMEs.
Ekerold notes that many questions remain unanswered regarding implementation, while Egan argues that any long-term solution must balance consumer rights with the practical realities of running a business.
The debate mirrors wider trends across global marketing. Privacy regulation, consent requirements and growing consumer expectations are forcing marketers to become more targeted, more transparent and more accountable. Messaging providers are experiencing many of the same pressures that have already transformed digital advertising.
The future is conversational
Despite the challenges, the panel ended on an optimistic note. As businesses increasingly embrace conversational commerce, messaging is becoming more valuable rather than less. Consumers no longer want one-way notifications. They want interactions. They want to ask questions, receive recommendations, complete purchases and access support through a single conversation.
That creates opportunities for SMS, WhatsApp, RCS and mobile payments to converge into richer customer experiences.
Egan believes the future will be defined less by individual channels and more by customer outcomes. “The consumer is loyal to the experience, not the channel,” he says – an observation that may ultimately be the most important takeaway from the session.
Whether discussing traffic separation, regulation or conversational commerce, the objective remains the same: creating trusted, reliable and effective customer experiences. South Africa’s messaging industry has spent years building that trust. The challenge now is ensuring that regulation, technology and commercial models evolve together to protect it.
