31.03.2021 Views

MEF MINUTE Quarterly Issue 1

News, events, and insight for the members of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum.

News, events, and insight for the members of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum.

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

THE MAGAZINE OF THE MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

APRIL 2021 | ISSUE NO. 01<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Members Update<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS, <strong>MEF</strong>FYS & AGM<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Is Covid The “Big Bang” of Digital Payments?<br />

GDPR Fines: a 40% Increase in 2020<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Ready, Steady, 5G: a quick uptake expected,<br />

but what will be the impact?<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

1


Subscribe to our <strong>MEF</strong> Minute Email<br />

Newsletter to receive information,<br />

opinions and event updates weekly<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

SUBSCRIBE NOW<br />

We won’t share your email with anyone<br />

and you can opt out at anytime. Details of<br />

our privacy policy can be found here.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Or follow us on social media by clicking on<br />

the icon below:<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Our blog is also available on our website<br />

mobileecosystemforum.com/mef-minute/<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

2


C<br />

NTENTS<br />

A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO<br />

4<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

MEMBERS UPDATE<br />

New Members<br />

New Board for 2021<br />

EVENTS<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Calendar<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Connects<br />

Meffys 2021<br />

Webinars<br />

Working Groups<br />

7<br />

8<br />

9<br />

10<br />

11<br />

12<br />

14<br />

17<br />

20<br />

INSIGHT<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Reports<br />

Is COVID the “BIG BANG” of Digital Payments?<br />

GDPR Fines: a 40% increase in 2020<br />

Interviews<br />

Ready, Steady, 5G: A quick uptake expected, but<br />

what will be the impact?<br />

Q1 2021 <strong>MEF</strong> business confidence index: sentiment<br />

is high but winter is coming…<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

INITIATIVES<br />

Anti-Fraud, Interconnection, Trust<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

ABOUT <strong>MEF</strong><br />

28<br />

29<br />

30<br />

36<br />

39<br />

45<br />

48<br />

52<br />

53<br />

55<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

3


A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO<br />

Dear Members,<br />

I hope you will enjoy our first <strong>MEF</strong> <strong>MINUTE</strong> QUARTERLY<br />

magazine, it is based on members’ requests to find<br />

out all of the activities and topics that we cover in an<br />

easier fashion. So here you will find some reminders of<br />

what we have done in the quarter and what we will be<br />

doing next. As always your feedback will help us<br />

shaping this just like the our website, monthly and<br />

weekly email.<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

The year has opened with more somber news in<br />

terms of the pandemic but growth in most of the<br />

mobile ecosystems is continuing strong (see our<br />

Business Confidence Index). Digitalisation and mobility<br />

are the key elements for consumers and enterprises’<br />

response to economic recovery and lock down. It is the<br />

time for transformation. We plan to spend much of<br />

2021 to highlight the potential of mobile to be the<br />

catalyst for much of this evolution in efficiency,<br />

productivity and improved consumer experience.<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> is now officially 20 year old, and we have marked<br />

the anniversary with a celebration for some of the<br />

people and members that have made the history of<br />

the ‘Mobile Entertainment Forum’ and more recently<br />

the ‘Mobile Ecosystem Forum.’ As an organisation <strong>MEF</strong><br />

has also transformed. Our roots have not changed<br />

though: we are still a not for profit trade association<br />

that support insight, networking, and monetization in<br />

the mobile industry. Our membership has grown to a<br />

new record and our offer has increased to include<br />

large online members event such as <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Innovators and <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Business Messaging.<br />

Over 1,300 mobile professionals have joined our<br />

events in the first quarter of 2021. It is unlikely that we<br />

will be able to meet up in a face to face event for a<br />

while. As I am writing to you <strong>MEF</strong> has cancelled its in<br />

TITLE person presence HEREto ITW and MWC in June following<br />

the lead from our members. We all wanted to start<br />

meeting again but it is not the right time yet. We will<br />

support both of these great events from our online<br />

platform, and will continue to create more virtual<br />

TITLE<br />

opportunities<br />

HERE<br />

for our members to network and<br />

discuss. A new series workgroups have been<br />

announced for our members to access including two<br />

on wholesale and regulatory topics. Join us!<br />

DARIO BETTI<br />

CEO<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

4


JOIN <strong>MEF</strong><br />

Accelerating your mobile opportunity<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Key Member Services<br />

Strategic Insights<br />

Market and new sector facilitation<br />

Knowledge Transfer<br />

Advocacy<br />

Events<br />

Content marketing<br />

Why become a <strong>MEF</strong> member?<br />

Business partnering across the mobile<br />

ecosystem – locally and globally<br />

Access to global market analytics and<br />

resources<br />

Opportunity to shape the industry through<br />

collaboration and advocacy<br />

Exclusive access to member-only events<br />

Visibility through <strong>MEF</strong> communication<br />

channels and speaking opportunities<br />

SIGN UP NOW


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

6


MEMBERS UPDATE<br />

Thank you to everyone who has joined us last month<br />

at <strong>MEF</strong> Connects Innovators and our annual AGM.<br />

You can access the content from the event on our<br />

website Also big congratulations to all Meffys<br />

winners!<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Next week we have an opportunity to meet again at<br />

a three day event – <strong>MEF</strong> Connects Business<br />

Messaging The platform is already open for you to<br />

network and connect with other attendees so make<br />

sure you have secured your spot. And if you want to<br />

learn what to expect at the event please join us at a<br />

webinar this Thursday at 4pm GMT.<br />

AGM 2020 – New Board and Governance updates<br />

The AGM 2020 was held online last month. You can<br />

watch the meeting or download the AGM deck from<br />

the member area here (please scroll to the bottom<br />

of the page and make sure you are logged in). During<br />

the meeting it was proposed to amend two clauses<br />

in the <strong>MEF</strong> bylaws 1.1.4.f and 1.2.2.a. The membership<br />

attending voted online favourably and the changes<br />

were officially ratified on the 9th of March 2021. The<br />

full bylaws can be accessed here<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

New <strong>MEF</strong> Board<br />

The results of the Board elections 2021 were<br />

announced at the AGM. Congratulations to the<br />

elected Directors and thank you to all Candidates for<br />

their participation. More info on our blog<br />

Pricing update<br />

The <strong>MEF</strong> Board have agreed a new pricing scheme<br />

to provide smooth price adjustments over the years.<br />

As per the new scheme, an automatic 2% annual<br />

increase to the price of membership will be applied<br />

on the renewals from 1st July 2021. The Board can<br />

stop the increase in any year. This new system will<br />

allow for a smoother price adjustment in line with<br />

expected inflation.<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

7


NEW MEMBERS<br />

A warm welcome to the members who have recently joined <strong>MEF</strong>. You can see their<br />

profiles on our website and you will have the opportunity to meet them via the<br />

Working Groups and business introductions.<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

8


NEW BOARD FOR 2021<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

We’re delighted to announce that <strong>MEF</strong><br />

members have elected eight directors to<br />

the <strong>MEF</strong> Board. The results were<br />

announced to Members during last<br />

week’s 2020 AGM.<br />

The election ran in parallel to the 20th<br />

anniversary celebration of <strong>MEF</strong>’s<br />

founding and attracted the highest<br />

number of votes and attendance from<br />

Members recorded in the history of our<br />

association. A total of 16 candidates took<br />

part in the election.<br />

Three newly elected Directors join the<br />

board:<br />

• Virginie Debris – Chief Product Officer,<br />

Global Message Services (GMS)<br />

• Nick Millward – VP Europe, mGage<br />

• Mitchell Cutmore – A2P Messaging<br />

Development LATAM, Telefonica<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

They join five re-elected Directors:<br />

• Jason Lunn, SVP Commercial at<br />

IMImobile<br />

TITLE<br />

• Andrew<br />

HERE<br />

Bud CBE FREng – Founder<br />

and CEO of iProov<br />

• Waheed Adam – Executive Chairman,<br />

iTouch Messaging<br />

• Robert Gerstmann – Chief Evangelist<br />

& Co-Founder, Sinch<br />

TITLE • Edwin Carvalho HERE– Senior Carrier<br />

Services Director, Vonage<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

The appointments further strengthen<br />

<strong>MEF</strong>’s leadership on business messaging<br />

as well as recognise the importance of<br />

consumer data protection, identity,<br />

antifraud, payments and enterprise<br />

services in the mobile ecosystem. The<br />

new board strengthens <strong>MEF</strong>’s global<br />

mission with interests from Africa, Latin<br />

America, Europe and Eastern Europe,<br />

and North America. The full list of<br />

candidates as well as the biographies<br />

and manifestos are all available to view<br />

here.<br />

The newly elected Directors will serve<br />

the board for two years and join<br />

incumbent Directors:<br />

• Dawood Ghalaieny – CEO, ZARIOT &<br />

Chairman, Cellusys<br />

• Dario Betti – CEO <strong>MEF</strong><br />

• Rafa Pellon – Partner , Pellon de Lima<br />

Advogados<br />

• Anurag Aggarwal – Director<br />

Messaging Services, Tata<br />

Communications<br />

Dario Betti, <strong>MEF</strong>’s CEO commented “This<br />

year response has been very positive<br />

with the highest number of votes and<br />

the highest number of candidates on<br />

record. But what stands out mostly is<br />

the amount of comments from<br />

members on the quality of our<br />

candidates and their manifestos. I share<br />

a big ‘thank you’ from our members to<br />

all that took part in this year election.”<br />

9


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

10


<strong>MEF</strong> CALENDAR<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS 2021<br />

Mar 22-24 Business Messaging<br />

May 25-27 Digital Transformation<br />

Jun 14th Security<br />

Jul 13 th Mobile IoT<br />

Sep 27 th Omnichannel - TBC<br />

Oct 25 th Wholesale - TBC<br />

Nov 10 th Content & Advertising - TBC<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

BRIEFINGS<br />

Apr 22 nd<br />

WORKING<br />

Apr 12 th<br />

Apr 19 th<br />

Apr 20 th<br />

Apr 22 nd<br />

Apr 26 th<br />

May 10 th<br />

May 17 th<br />

May 20 th<br />

May 24 th<br />

Jun 21 st<br />

FUTURE OF<br />

Apr 14 th<br />

Apr 21 st<br />

Apr TBC<br />

AND WEBINARS<br />

Transforming customer engagement for a new world with<br />

Business Messaging<br />

GROUPS<br />

Personal Data & Identity – Working Group Meeting<br />

DCB For Growth Working Group Call<br />

Wholesale Working Group<br />

Mobile IoT – Working Group Meeting<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> AI Roundtable<br />

Personal Data & Identity – Working Group Meeting<br />

DCB For Growth Working Group Call<br />

Mobile IoT – Working Group Meeting<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> AI Roundtable<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> AI Roundtable<br />

MESSAGING PROGRAMME<br />

Monthly Meeting – overview of all programs<br />

RCS Working Group<br />

“Open” RCS Forum<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> PARTNER EVENT<br />

Mar 25 th App Promotion Summit London 2021<br />

Mar 31 st CC – SMS Messaging Summit 2021<br />

Jun 1st International Telecoms Week<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

11


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

12


<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS 2021<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS 2021 is the virtual shop window for <strong>MEF</strong> Members across the different<br />

ecosystems and their respective Working Groups. <strong>MEF</strong> has planned MM/YYYYY one, two | and ISSUE three NO. XX<br />

day events for 2021 representing key themes, ecosystems and regions.<br />

FROM THE LAST QUARTER<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

NEXT<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS: Innovators, <strong>MEF</strong>FYS + AGM 2020 –23rd<br />

February 2021 – <strong>MEF</strong> held its annual Anual General<br />

Meeting alongside an event for innovations and innovators<br />

in the ecosystem. This year’s keynote was delivered by<br />

Principal Analyst Pamela Clark-Dickson from OMDIA, with<br />

sessions on Mobile IoT, Digital Identity, Blockchain, eSIM, 5G,<br />

AI, Wholesale and the Future of Messaging Programme.<br />

The prestigious <strong>MEF</strong>FYS Awards for Innovation continued<br />

the tradition to mark real impact in the ecosystem. The<br />

event is available on demand here.<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Business Messaging – 22nd -24th<br />

March 2021 - this three-day event followed the success<br />

of September’s <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Rich Communications<br />

in 2020. <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Business Messaging brought<br />

together over 1,000 participants from the messaging<br />

industry and enterprises. The event showcased the best<br />

of A2P Messaging use cases with the latest analyst<br />

insights keynotes, round tables, interviews and panels<br />

from the market leading messaging and omnichannel<br />

enablers, MNOs, brands, enterprises and media<br />

agencies. Watch on demand the entire event.<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Digital Transformation (25th – 27th May<br />

2021) will convene the industry to discuss and debate the<br />

new opportunities in Digital Identity, Mobile Payments and<br />

Digital Marketing, The mobile industry can enhance the<br />

online user experience, expand reach and delivery new<br />

level of customer engagement. Is your company ready?<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Security ( 14 th June 2021) The Digital<br />

Economy is in full swing, but so are the fraudsters,<br />

hackers and general criminal ready to spoil experiences. It<br />

is time to review the threats and prepare a solid<br />

response. Join the experts in cybersecurity and plan your<br />

defense.<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

13


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

INNOVATORS<br />

The <strong>MEF</strong> community has had the<br />

chance to select and vote for the<br />

companies, products or activities that<br />

have made a contribution to the<br />

ecosystem by showing the potential<br />

of mobile and ecosystem<br />

collaboration. This year themes were<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

all linked do the idea of Innovation in<br />

for areas:<br />

TITLE HERE Mobile Monetisation<br />

COVID19 response<br />

Rich Customer Engagement<br />

TITLE HERE Protection of the Mobile Customer<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

14


MEET THE <strong>MEF</strong>FYS 2021 WINNERS<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Last week, we announced the winners of the 2021 Meffys awards during <strong>MEF</strong> Connect<br />

Innovators, as voted for by <strong>MEF</strong> Members and <strong>MEF</strong> Minute readers, and now we invite<br />

you to watch the recipients collect their virtual awards, presented by <strong>MEF</strong> Board<br />

Member and Executive Chairperson of iTouch Messaging Services, Waheed Adam.<br />

The keynotes and panels from <strong>MEF</strong> Connects Innovators are also now available to watch<br />

on demand – watch this space for more featured sessions from the day.<br />

Mobile monetization Winner<br />

The tough year 2020 has shown us that innovation is<br />

key to achieving sustainable growth. The challenges<br />

could only urge Digital Virgo to break new ground in<br />

providing Merchants of goods and services with further<br />

opportunities in monetizing their content, ticketing,<br />

audience and even physical goods.<br />

Digital Virgo deploys a global strategy by interconnecting their expertise in monetization,<br />

digital marketing, and most importantly, mobile payment which is natively included<br />

across all their services. Their innovative solutions are focused on local adaptation with<br />

a priority in monetizing digital services regardless of the countries’ technological level or<br />

cultural specificities.<br />

Digital Virgo’s thorough consideration for all regulatory, compliance, technological and<br />

security aspects to ensure a sustainable ecosystem makes them the ultimate partner<br />

to address novel opportunities of the Mobile Monetization market.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

COVID 19 Mobile Response Winner<br />

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several public<br />

and government health organisations across the<br />

world – including Public Health England – have been<br />

faced with the challenge of providing up-to-date<br />

information quickly and at scale, while also combating<br />

the spread of coronavirus misinformation.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

15


Infobip, as a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, has enabled these organisations to<br />

build simple, self-service chatbots, which are easily accessible over a publicly available<br />

number. Contact with the chatbot is initiated by anyone looking for information related<br />

to COVID-19 by entering the number in their contact list and sending “Hi” to it.<br />

This starts a dialogue with the WhatsApp chatbot where users can choose from a list of<br />

topics they would like more information on – for example the latest guidelines, travel<br />

advice, testing information etc.<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Richer Customer Engagement Winner<br />

Mobio360 is a virtual reality streaming content service<br />

offering access to hundreds of fully immersive digital<br />

experiences, from guided tours of more than fifty<br />

world cities, to adrenaline-fueled extreme sports and<br />

activities in hundreds of exotic locations.<br />

With the ease of accessibility that direct carrier billing brings, Sam Media provides more<br />

than 700,000 Mobio360 subscribers in Africa a window to the world.<br />

With its engaging content, smart streaming capabilities to adjust bandwidth and built-in<br />

social sharing functionalities, Mobio360 has encouraged and inspired mobile users on<br />

the continent during a time when the pandemic kept everyone indoors.<br />

Protecting the Mobile Consumer Winner<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

RichOTP, built on Dotgo’s patent-pending technology<br />

enables brands to send One Time Passwords (OTPs)<br />

through the rich media messaging channel of RCS<br />

(Rich Communication Services).<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

OTPs are widely used by brands for signing-into apps, to confirm transactions, and for<br />

security as part of two-factor authentication. RichOTP offers a dramatic improvement<br />

to the overall OTP experience for both brands and consumers, in not just the visual<br />

interface, but also the entire authentication experience.<br />

Verified profiles with brand logos, OTP confirmation within native messaging app and<br />

suggested responses makes it secure and builds user confidence.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

The RichOTP service is live in over 10 countries, including at carriers like Airtel, AT&T, EE,<br />

T-Mobile, Verizon, Vodafone, and 9mobile, and is used by several brands daily.<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

16


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

17


WEBINARS<br />

APRIL HIGHLIGHTS<br />

22 APR<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Transforming customer engagement for a new world with<br />

Business Messaging.<br />

The coronavirus crisis has forced businesses to transform the way<br />

they interact with customers and leveraging chat has become a key<br />

form of customer engagement. This webinar will explore case<br />

studies across verticals such as retail, brands, and municipalities to<br />

explore how they are leveraging chat across multiple messaging<br />

channels such SMS, RCS and other mobile ecosystems to engage<br />

and re-engage their customers, and drive sales, marketing and<br />

customer satisfaction. Register here<br />

05 MAR<br />

ON DEMAND<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

<strong>MEF</strong>’s 20th Anniversary – Reflecting on the successes of<br />

the ecosystem<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> is celebrating its 20 th Anniversary from its official inception, an<br />

important milestone that deserves to be marked but is also an<br />

excuse to look back at the two decades of innovation in the mobile<br />

ecosystem.<br />

Dario Betti invited reflections from Andrew Bud, the Chairman of<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> and one of its original founding members, to trace the success<br />

of <strong>MEF</strong> and also celebrate the commitment, ingenuity and energy of<br />

its members. Messages from Patrick Parodi, Rafael Pelon and Ron<br />

Czerny are included.<br />

If you would like to share your memories of <strong>MEF</strong> for our anniversary,<br />

please share your video on social media and tag us. We would love<br />

to hear from all of you. Watch the full video here<br />

22 JAN<br />

eSIM poised to transform consumer and IoT connectivity<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Andrew Parkin-White, <strong>MEF</strong> Advisor on IoT, is joined by Steffen<br />

Sorrell, Chief of Research at Kaleido Intelligence, to discuss their<br />

latest report – eSIM Market Outlook, investigating how eSIM is<br />

opening up new opportunities for and presenting challenges to<br />

enterprises and service providers. Read the full report here<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

18


09 FEB<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Transforming customer engagement for a new world with<br />

Business Messaging.<br />

Pamela Clark-Dickson, Principal Analyst, Advanced Messaging and<br />

Communications at Omdia presents 2021 Trends to Watch:<br />

Communications Apps and Services in a 5G World – an analysis<br />

from their report series of the same name, looking at key predictions<br />

within the global telecoms space for the year ahead along with<br />

recommendations for strategic planning.<br />

The presentation takes a deep dive into how Covid-19 has already<br />

impacted the ecosystem and forecasts what the prolonged<br />

implications might be looking ahead into 2021 and beyond.<br />

Key Takeaways:<br />

• Post–COVID-19, video calling will be a communications habit for<br />

many.<br />

• Catalyzed by COVID-19, Facebook apps like WhatsApp will<br />

diversify revenue.<br />

• As 5G networks proliferate, clarity emerges on 5G messaging.<br />

• Countries will shift from P2P to A2P majority SMS markets.<br />

• Verification SMS is expected to continue to increase in 2021 as<br />

users continue to work and study from home<br />

• The hunt for gray routes will intensify in 2021.<br />

Watch the Webinar below – the slides and the report itself are<br />

available for <strong>MEF</strong> Members in the Member resources area.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

26 FEB<br />

Cloud, advertising, and IDFA: Three key mobile game<br />

trends for 2021<br />

George Jijiashvili, Senior Analyst at Omdia is joined by Jonathan<br />

Stringfield, VP at Activision Blizzard Media, Kristan Rivers, CEO at<br />

AdInMo and Juan Francisco Di Nucci CEO at AWG, to unpick the<br />

current key trends in the mobile games industry and identify<br />

opportunities for the broader mobile ecosystem.<br />

The mobile games market continues to experience impressive<br />

growth, further boosted by the pandemic. According to Omdia, enduser<br />

spend on mobile games is predicted to surpass $100 billion for<br />

the first time in 2021, generating $103 billion, or 62% of the total<br />

global games revenue. Importance of mobile games will only grow, as<br />

its total share is set to increase to 69% by 2025, when it is expected<br />

to bring in whopping $129 billion. Read the full report here<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

19


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

20


FUTURE OF MESSAGING<br />

Market Development<br />

• Decision made by members to bring together the RCS Verification MM/YYYYY and RCS | ISSUE Product NO. XX<br />

Roadmap groups into one NEW group – RCS Market Development. First meeting of<br />

the new group will be March 17th and a lot of preparation has gone on by both <strong>MEF</strong><br />

and members for Day of the Business Messaging event (March 24th) which as a<br />

heavy RCS focus. The working groups will review event and next steps.<br />

• RCS Commercial Models – sub-group is expanding and work continues on formulating<br />

a set of commercial models which could be easily understood and digested by the<br />

wider market. Next call March 30th<br />

• A new group has been announced to foster interconnections for RCS in the Open<br />

RCS Forum (ORF) the first meeting will be in April. As always we welcome new<br />

signatories of the Open RCS Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)<br />

• SMS A2P Commercial Models International Businesses – focus is on definitions (MNO<br />

Ts &Cs) and message types, research into this now ongoing by members – contact<br />

Mandy for more details. Group continues to expand with new members from<br />

Belgium and the USA. Focus area now much wider than Africa<br />

Fraud & Security<br />

• Draft v.2.0 of the Business SMS Code of Conduct was published on 14th December -<br />

see here Contact James for more details if you need them and are contemplating<br />

signing your company up to the code, joining over 30 <strong>MEF</strong> members to have already<br />

done so. Sign-ups ran at one per week through February 2021<br />

• The Fraud Framework was reframed to focus on definitions only and separate<br />

deliverables, creating v.3.0. Focus has now turned to the mitigation side of things and<br />

the sub-group working on this meets practically weekly<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

• The core work of creating a clear Security/Verification Framework continues by<br />

members, facilitated by <strong>MEF</strong>.<br />

• PR campaign launching and publicising latest versions of the Code of Conduct and<br />

Fraud Framework kicked off on January 27th and continues: there will be a live<br />

session during the Business Messaging event on March 23rd moderated by James<br />

talking about these things, bringing together 4 Founders and CEOs of companies that<br />

have signed up to the code and other special guests.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

• Fieldwork for annual A2P Monetisation Report with Mobilesquared underway with an<br />

MNO survey. Kindly sponsored this year by ANAM Technologies and TATA<br />

Communications. Both the data and report will become available in the next couple<br />

of months. There will be a live session during the Business Messaging event on March<br />

23rd about this as well. Senior representatives from ANAM, TATA and Airtel Business<br />

will have what is sure to be a lively discussion, with Nick Lane from Mobilesquared<br />

moderating proceedings.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

21


PERSONAL DATA & IDENTITY<br />

Personal Data & Identity – next call 12th April<br />

• Andrew Parkin White becomes the new host for the monthly working MM/YYYYY group | ISSUE calls on NO. XX<br />

personal identity and digital identity. The focus remain on insight and impact in the<br />

industry. Iain McCallum remains part of the group while he focuses on expanding the<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS events.<br />

• Continued activity on supporting the United Kingdom Department of Culture Media<br />

and Sport initiative on UK digital identity framework. <strong>MEF</strong> is still supporting via the<br />

collective<br />

• Developing a white paper on digital identity in Italy – with the support of Valerio<br />

Paolini one of the original team members in the first Digital Transformation task force<br />

of the Italian government<br />

• Developing thinking on the evolution of the PD&I ecosystem and how to close the<br />

opportunity gap between individual needs and supplier strategies. A new topic<br />

discussion for the team to develop tools and framework.<br />

• Moving forward with the <strong>MEF</strong> Global Enterprise survey. The group is identifying key<br />

questions to ask to enterprise on the topics of the role of personal data and digital<br />

identity in their digital transformation. All members are asked to contribute to their<br />

question for the omnibus study. Bring your ideas and questions to the next meetings.<br />

• The <strong>MEF</strong> 7 th Consumer Trust Report – is the regular benchmark on users’ sentiment<br />

on privacy and security online. The results of the vast global consumer study will be<br />

shared with the working group first and discussed. The report is scheduled for<br />

release in May. <strong>MEF</strong> Members will also receive all of the survey raw tables for further<br />

analysis as by tradition.<br />

• <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECT Digital Transformation will have its first day on the 25 th of May on<br />

Personal Data and Identity. The Working Group will be deciding the topics and<br />

speakers invited in the event. Join the group to shape on of the key events in the<br />

PD&I calendar<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

22


MOBILE IoT<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

• At the February working group, Stuart Mitchell of ZARIOT presented their recent<br />

research into cellular IoT security. The topic remains on of the key areas for the<br />

working group to explore in detail and plan activities to educate the market.<br />

• At the 18th March 2021 IoT working group, Duncan Purves of the IoT Security<br />

Foundation (IoTSF) will be giving a presentation. He will introduce the IoTSF and the<br />

‘ManySecured’ Collaborative Intelligent Network Gateway project. The IoTSF mission<br />

is to help secure the Internet of Things and make it safe to connect. The<br />

‘ManySecured’ Collaborative Intelligent Network Gateway project seeks to protect<br />

consumers and enterprises from the security risks posed by IoT devices through<br />

security innovation at the gateway.<br />

• Activities over the next few months will include the Enterprise IoT survey,<br />

• A best practice in IoT security guide will be prepared to be published<br />

• A series of deep dives into a number of topics including digital twins, hyperscale<br />

connectivity and private LTE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

23


MOBILE PAYMENT & DCB<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

• The Direct Carrier Billing Anti Fraud group has set up its main plan for the year with<br />

focus on disseminating the messages from <strong>MEF</strong> DCB Anti Fraud framework.<br />

• A new meting of the Direct Carrier Billing Anti-Fraud is going to b schedule for an<br />

update before the June 14th <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECT Cybersecurity event. The group will<br />

present the status of anti-Fraud during the event<br />

• A new working group for Direct Carrier Billing has been set up with the name of DCB<br />

for Growth. The first stage for the group will be focused on innovative use cases doe<br />

DCB and the fintech functionality available in the sector.<br />

• <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Digital Transformation event will see one entire day on payment and<br />

Direct Carrier Billing. (Tuesday May 26 th ). The Working Group will decide what topic<br />

and speakers will be involved for the day.<br />

• The Consumer Survey Report on Payments is going to be presented and discussed<br />

with the group in April and May for a release in May. The group will review the data<br />

and confirm finding during its sessions.<br />

• The group is considering if there are opportunities for a specific Mobile Payment<br />

Enterprise Survey.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

24


REGULATORY, WHOLESALE & COUNTRIES<br />

AI Roundtable – next call 26th April<br />

• AI Framework– Serafino Abate, <strong>MEF</strong> Regulation Advisor, will take MM/YYYYY over the | paper ISSUE on NO. XX<br />

AI Ethics Framework from Surash Patel. New timeline and dates will be discussed<br />

during the meeting.<br />

Regulatory Work Group – next call 26th April<br />

• This new work group on regulation will merge with the AI Framework– Rafael Pelon<br />

and Serafino Abate will host the call and work on a topic list to discuss. If you are<br />

interested to join this new work group please email Ewa at<br />

ewa@mobileecosystemforum.com<br />

Wholesale Work Group – next call 20th April<br />

• This new work group on wholesale as been set up by Suzy Menneret, <strong>MEF</strong> Advisor on<br />

Wholesales. In the first meeting the original topics have been discussed and they<br />

group will continue to charter challenges and topics. Expect more discussion on<br />

Mobile Roaming, Voice Traffic and Fraud as well as re-structure and new business<br />

opportunities.If you are interested t join this new work group please email Ewa at<br />

ewa@mobileecosystemforum.com<br />

Country Projects<br />

• South Africa – joint workshop with SABRIC (bank association), MNOs and <strong>MEF</strong><br />

members currently on hold as wholesale restructuring of SABRIC underway. Work<br />

still ongoing to capture perspectives of MNOs as to which fraud types exactly are<br />

impacting them the most. Contact Mandy for more information should you require it.<br />

Looking to take these initiatives further afield into other countries in Africa as well<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

25


NEXT WORKING GROUPS<br />

12 APR<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Personal Data & Identity – Working Group Meeting<br />

For H1 the group decided to focus on education &<br />

awareness along with MNO engagement. Using the recently<br />

published Mobile Content Fraud as a basis.<br />

10 MAY<br />

Personal Data & Identity – Working Group Meeting<br />

The group decided to run an enterprise survey, a final<br />

review for questions and targets.<br />

26 APR<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> AI Roundtable<br />

Publishing the final paper for AI Guide for Enterprises- how<br />

to select a partner based on solid ethical and business<br />

approachs.<br />

24 MAY<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Regulatory Questions Working Group<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

A renewed working group to include all questions on key<br />

regulatory areas, including the AI Roundtable follow up<br />

included.<br />

21 JUN<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Regulatory Questions Working Group<br />

20 APR<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Wholesale Working Group<br />

The newly established Wholesale working group is to review<br />

key questions for the members. Among the first topics:<br />

trends in voice markets & Roaming, review of Voice Fraud,<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

26


14 APR<br />

Monthly Meeting – Overview of all<br />

The monthly summary of all of the groups and discussions<br />

around enterprise messaging at <strong>MEF</strong>. Do not miss it to keep<br />

informed on all major developments.<br />

21 APR<br />

RCS Working Group<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

The newly merged group to present all major activity within<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> for RCS.<br />

TBC<br />

APR<br />

“Open” RCS Forum<br />

The first meeting for the group intending to streamline the<br />

RCS solution and support true interoperability across<br />

MaaP.<br />

19 APR<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

DCB For Growth Working Group<br />

Immediate focus on breaking down and disseminating the<br />

comprehensive DCB Fraud Framework content in ways<br />

which would allow the biggest audience possible to benefit<br />

continues.<br />

17 MAY<br />

DCB For Growth Working Group<br />

22 APR<br />

Mobile IoT - Working Group Meeting<br />

A monthly review to the main issues and topics on Mobile<br />

IoT.<br />

20 MAY<br />

Mobile IoT - Working Group Meeting<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

27


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

28


<strong>MEF</strong> REPORTS<br />

Here is a selection of <strong>MEF</strong>’s latest reports.<br />

Click on the image to download<br />

01<br />

Insight & Interaction<br />

Updates & Actions<br />

A2p Business Messaging 2021<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

COMING SOON<br />

Mobile Payment 2021<br />

COMING SOON<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Report Business Messaging – Yearly Consumer Surveys in Field<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Survey (10 countries): Consumer Trust, Security, A2P, Smartphone User, Direct Carrier Billing<br />

7<br />

2021 2021<br />

CONSUMER TRUST<br />

REPORT- MAR 2021<br />

A2P BUSINESS<br />

MESSAGING<br />

REPORT - APR 2021<br />

7 TH Consumer Trust Report<br />

COMING SOON<br />

SMARTPHONE SURVEY<br />

REPORT - MAY 2021<br />

SECURITY IN MOBILE-<br />

JUNE 2021<br />

© 2020 Mobile Ecosystem Forum Ltd<br />

Business SMS, SIM Farms & The<br />

Data Protection Risk<br />

Combating Fraud in Mobile<br />

Content<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Identity and Authentication<br />

Today Part 1; Part 2<br />

<strong>MEF</strong>’s Future of Messaging<br />

Guide 2020 in association with<br />

Syniverse<br />

The Future Of Global IoT<br />

Connectivity


INSIGHT<br />

IS COVID THE “BIG BANG” OF DIGITAL PAYMENTS?<br />

By <strong>MEF</strong><br />

“<br />

The potential for a postpandemic<br />

recession,<br />

particularly in poorer countries,<br />

coupled with an influx of<br />

payments players and<br />

propositions have driven many<br />

stakeholders to reassess their<br />

approach to investing in the<br />

space. Investors, in particular,<br />

have taken a more bearish<br />

stance on early and venture<br />

stage fintech funding, whereas<br />

the deal flow for later-stage<br />

fintech companies actually<br />

increased from 2019.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

“<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Fintech specialists Mondato recently<br />

hosted a webinar in partnership with<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> on ‘Innovative Approaches to<br />

Commercializing Digital Payments.’ The<br />

panel consisted of digital finance<br />

practitioners with global reach, and the<br />

rapid evolution of the payment space<br />

has been noticed and felt by all, but<br />

particularly in emerging markets.<br />

As we enter the second year of the<br />

Covid pandemic, headlines are still<br />

dominated by the global transition to<br />

digital, particularly across the payments<br />

space. Alongside the increasing business<br />

and consumer demand for digital<br />

financial services, perpetual news of<br />

fintech launches, partnerships and<br />

acquisitions signify a crowding and<br />

fragmentation of the payment space,<br />

across both developed and emerging<br />

markets.<br />

As the industry converges around a<br />

similar set of fintech propositions,<br />

perhaps the industry is en route to a<br />

period of consolidation. We ask who will<br />

be left standing after the dust settles<br />

from what can be considered a “big<br />

bang” in payments.<br />

Embedded Finance Arrives in Emerging<br />

Markets<br />

While credit cards and other forms of<br />

digital payment were commonplace prepandemic<br />

in developed markets, many<br />

emerging market retailers and small-tomedium<br />

enterprises (SMEs) were still<br />

predominantly analog, causing a much<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

30


INSIGHT<br />

more labor-intensive shift to digital<br />

integration. As discussed in a previous<br />

Mondato Insight, governments have<br />

promoted digitization through<br />

disbursement programs and regulation,<br />

and banks and fintechs followed suit in<br />

order to arm both businesses and<br />

consumers with the ability to send and<br />

accept digital payments.<br />

But the ability to leverage existing<br />

technological innovation, along with the<br />

rapid penetration of smartphones, have<br />

powered a healthy pace of digital<br />

transformation across emerging<br />

markets. Payments, which were<br />

previously owned by financial services<br />

providers, now penetrate the minds –<br />

and service offerings – of all corporates<br />

as embedded finance reshapes<br />

distribution and creates additional<br />

demand for seamless payment<br />

integration through services like Buy<br />

Now, Pay Later (BNPL) or QR codes. The<br />

embedded finance opportunity is<br />

expected to be worth US$3.6 trillion by<br />

2030, and banking-as-a-service will play<br />

an important role in building new<br />

revenue streams for retailers and other<br />

corporates.<br />

Mahesh Narayan, Global Product Lead<br />

for Mobile Money & E-Commerce at<br />

Standard Chartered Bank, was one of<br />

TITLE the webinar HERE participants who noted that<br />

previously, if you were a multinational<br />

corporation with a solid brick-andmortar<br />

set-up, a digital approach was<br />

not necessarily required, and this has<br />

rapidly changed. “Now all corporates<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

need to embrace the omnichannel<br />

experience – and payment is typically<br />

how it begins,” according to Narayan.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

When asked whether the flurry of<br />

industry activity was permanent or<br />

pandemic-specific, the panel concluded<br />

that while growth and fragmentation will<br />

continue, a harmonization will emerge as<br />

standards become more<br />

institutionalized and regulated. While it<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

may be too soon to know which<br />

behaviors will continue post-pandemic,<br />

research suggests that preference for<br />

online and digital purchasing will become<br />

the new normal globally. And as the<br />

different types of schemes and options<br />

of fintech services available begins to<br />

plateau, the trend toward consolidation<br />

will likely present itself. But in order to<br />

survive, fintechs that can support these<br />

increasingly popular digital payment<br />

solutions will need to outlive the<br />

economic pressures presented by the<br />

pandemic.<br />

A Shift in the Investment Landscape<br />

The potential for a post-pandemic<br />

recession, particularly in poorer<br />

countries, coupled with an influx of<br />

payments players and propositions have<br />

driven many stakeholders to reassess<br />

their approach to investing in the space.<br />

Investors, in particular, have taken a<br />

more bearish stance on early and<br />

venture stage fintech funding, whereas<br />

the deal flow for later-stage fintech<br />

companies actually increased from<br />

2019. Startups and less-established<br />

fintechs struggled to secure venture<br />

capital while already-profitable<br />

companies enjoyed hefty valuations and<br />

an inflow of capital. A CB Insight report<br />

found that VC-backed activity dropped<br />

to the “lowest level of deals since the<br />

first quarter of 2016,” with an overall<br />

drop of US$6.1 billion.<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

31


INSIGHT<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Source: McKinsey & Company (2020)<br />

But established companies continued to<br />

flourish, with 67 fintech unicorns globally<br />

valued at over US$250 billion in<br />

aggregate. Indonesia’s Gojek, for<br />

example, secured US$3 billion, and<br />

Stripe received US$850 million; Chime<br />

also secured more than US$1.2 billion<br />

over two rounds, pushing its valuation to<br />

US$14.5 billion.<br />

Because early stage fintechs have a<br />

greater need for continuous capital, they<br />

may soon feel the pressure as venture<br />

capital funding slows — if they haven’t<br />

already. While certain categories of the<br />

payments industry may benefit from the<br />

acceleration to digital, companies<br />

focused on hard-hit verticals like travel,<br />

events and entertainment may struggle<br />

to weather the storm in the short-term.<br />

Some companies have been able to<br />

pivot and reduce risk by investing in<br />

additional features. Square, for example,<br />

reported their card present volume<br />

down 60 percent at the end of 2020,<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

but they were able to build out and<br />

leverage their Cash App to offer loans<br />

to consumers. But for those just<br />

beginning to establish their brand,<br />

significant funding is required to refine<br />

value propositions while attracting new<br />

customers at scale; a shortage of capital<br />

will likely only exacerbate and expose<br />

business model vulnerabilities.<br />

A study by the Center for Financial<br />

Inclusion found that fintechs are now<br />

seeking bridge rounds of funding to act<br />

as a ‘cash buffer’ to extend their<br />

relatively short cash runway. Only 29<br />

percent of surveyed fintechs had a year<br />

or more of cash reserves, and a majority<br />

of these were already in growth stage.<br />

The slump in funding will only contribute<br />

to further industry consolidation, as a<br />

downward pressure on valuations force<br />

less profitable players to be swallowed<br />

by larger ones in order to merge<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

32


INSIGHT<br />

resources and sustain growth. A recent<br />

Mondato Insight explores the<br />

implications of this occurrence on the<br />

remittance industry in particular, though<br />

the trend extends beyond money<br />

transfer to all corners of the digital<br />

finance ecosystem.<br />

The Silver Lining for Banks<br />

Just a few years ago, banks and<br />

fintechs were often in competition. A<br />

2015 Mondato Summit even featured a<br />

panel on partnerships between the two<br />

entities where they called each other<br />

“frenemies.” This sentiment has since<br />

given way to symbiotic collaboration that<br />

will be vital to both of their survival. While<br />

banks maintain the advantages of scale<br />

and trust — especially with fraud as a<br />

looming concern when digitizing<br />

payments — the pandemic has put them<br />

under pressure to expand digital<br />

services. Fintechs, on the other hand,<br />

have the advantage of better, more<br />

agile technology and user experience,<br />

but they may lack the capital and<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

extensive black book of relationships to<br />

TITLE properly scale. HERE<br />

Banks must maintain outdated, legacy<br />

infrastructure while enhancing value<br />

propositions, which in the current climate<br />

present challenges that demand new or<br />

deepening fintech partnerships. Lower<br />

valuations and dried-up funding for<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

smaller fintechs create a unique<br />

opportunity for banks to buy them up in<br />

hopes of delivering digital services more<br />

quickly and effectively, which will be<br />

essential in revamping business models<br />

to comply with evolving customer<br />

expectations. MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Instant and alternative lending is one<br />

subsector likely to seek M&A<br />

transactions with heavy bank<br />

involvement, with B2B lending already<br />

experiencing a flurry of activity. OnDeck<br />

was acquired for US$90 million, and<br />

American Express acquired Kabbage<br />

following SoftBank’s US$250 million<br />

investment, confirming the snowballing<br />

value of SME lenders’ value proposition,<br />

particularly those that can survive<br />

amidst consolidation.<br />

“These new fintech companies have<br />

been able to outpace and out-innovate<br />

traditional vendors, and then those<br />

vendors realize they have to catch up<br />

and a great way to catch up is M&A.<br />

Whether it’s Visa buying Plaid and<br />

continuing to own a pretty important<br />

connector in the fintech ecosystem, or<br />

Intuit with Credit Karma, those are signs<br />

of these companies trying to catch up<br />

and stay relevant over the next 10 plus<br />

years.” Jules Maltz – Partner, IVP – a<br />

later-stage venture capital & growth<br />

equity firm<br />

Maltz’s comments apply to the greater<br />

B2B fintech ecosystem as well.<br />

Pandemic-fueled digitization has forced<br />

businesses to simplify and digitize not<br />

only loans, but other parts of the value<br />

chain like payment processing and billing.<br />

A recent survey of European banks<br />

found that 63 percent are required to<br />

support both international and domestic<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

33


INSIGHT<br />

transfers for up to 50 percent of their<br />

business customers. And though e-<br />

invoicing solutions have been popularized<br />

in developed markets, there is a<br />

significant emerging market demand for<br />

efficient digital solutions that can digitize<br />

and simplify B2B billing processes. As<br />

providers of these services seek<br />

partnerships, traditional banks are well<br />

positioned to provide optimal<br />

distribution of these services since they<br />

already have the benefits of pre-existing<br />

corporate relationships — as well as<br />

brand recognition and customer loyalty.<br />

The Race Is On<br />

Although fintech acquisition prospects<br />

for banks are promising, it is big tech<br />

that has recently dominated the<br />

payments M&A activity. With more cash<br />

in hand and an already ripe appetite for<br />

edging into the fintech sphere,<br />

companies like Google, Facebook,<br />

Amazon and Netflix can exploit the<br />

current state of flux to deepen their<br />

footprint across the payments space.<br />

Amazon’s new division on ‘Digital and<br />

Emerging Payments’ intends to roll out a<br />

digital currency product aimed at<br />

emerging markets — beginning with<br />

Mexico — that will MM/YYYYY enable customers | ISSUE to NO. XX<br />

convert cash into digital currency that<br />

can be spent on digital products and<br />

services within the Amazon ecosystem.<br />

Similarly, Google recently formed a<br />

partnership with Global Payments, part<br />

of which will integrate Google’s APIs with<br />

Global Payments’ payments ecosystem<br />

to deliver end-to-end solutions to<br />

merchants.<br />

Such initiatives signal big tech’s belief<br />

that payments can serve as a major<br />

revenue generator for non-fintech<br />

companies like themselves. Chinese<br />

social media giant Tencent already<br />

attributes 28 percent of its revenue to<br />

payments, and this stream of revenue<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

34


INSIGHT<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

potential has wooed all of the tech<br />

behemoths to join the payments race to<br />

some degree. With big tech financing on<br />

the rise, it is only a matter of time<br />

before they dominate the fintech space<br />

either through their own payment<br />

products or via partnerships and<br />

acquisitions.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Perhaps Covid-19 will be seen as the<br />

originating point, or “primeval atom” that<br />

catapults the “Big Bang” of the digital<br />

payments sphere, of which the end<br />

result is yet to be seen. After its initial<br />

expansion, our universe went through a<br />

period of cooling in which many of the<br />

lasting stars and galaxies that we see<br />

today were formed. The same process<br />

may come true in this scenario. Rising<br />

demand for digital alternatives will<br />

continue to change the payments<br />

landscape, with an explosion of players<br />

and business models entering the space.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Eventually, though, the noise will recede<br />

through consolidation as established<br />

businesses scale and smaller ones<br />

disappear or are bought out.<br />

Whether the winners are banks, big tech,<br />

scaled fintechs, or a combination, those<br />

who are left when the dust settles will<br />

surely capitalize on the industry’s<br />

transformation. While stakeholders<br />

explore how to embrace and react to<br />

the “new normal” of shifting behaviors,<br />

mindsets and expectations, one thing is<br />

certain: complacency is not an option<br />

This post originally appeared on the Mondato<br />

Blog and is re-used here with kind permission<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

35


INSIGHT<br />

GDPR FINES: A 40% INCREASE IN 2020<br />

By DARIO BETTI<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CEO<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

GDPR fines are becoming more<br />

common. European Authorities are now<br />

showing their teeth with new research<br />

from global law firm DLA Piper, showing<br />

what <strong>MEF</strong> has been telling its members<br />

for a while: the first year or after<br />

implementation was a ‘free pass’ a<br />

learning period for the industry and<br />

regulators, but the regulators are now<br />

becoming much more active.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> predicted for 2020 much more<br />

scrutiny on data treatment and security<br />

in Europe, and we expect more of that in<br />

TITLE 2021. HERE<br />

The report from DLA Piper is available<br />

to download here, and shows some very<br />

interesting trends. Here is a quick review<br />

of some of the top insights.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

• A total of €272 million was levied by<br />

European data protection authorities<br />

in fines since the introduction of GDPR<br />

in May 2018<br />

• €159m were charged in 2020 – a 40%<br />

increase over the first 20 months<br />

since its launch<br />

• Italy and Germany show the most<br />

active regulators/breaches (over half<br />

of the penalties were charged here)<br />

• The largest GDPR fine was issued<br />

against Google for €50 million by CNIL,<br />

the French data protection authority.<br />

Google was found to not be<br />

transparent on how data was used<br />

and that it did not establish a lawful<br />

process for personalising<br />

advertisements.<br />

• The third-largest GDPR fine was for a<br />

telecom player (after Google in first<br />

place, and a German retailer in<br />

second place). TIM, the Italian telecom<br />

operator was charged €28m in<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

36


INSIGHT<br />

January 2020 for a number of<br />

breaches of GDPR for its<br />

telemarketing approach. This is the<br />

area where many telecom players<br />

have failed to implement guidance<br />

properly. The problems included<br />

transparency obligations, failing to<br />

have a sufficient legal basis for<br />

processing personal data, inadequate<br />

technical and organisational measures<br />

and breach of the principle of privacy<br />

by design. The data was not stored<br />

safely, partners were behaving badly<br />

– and hundreds of users complained<br />

to the Italian Authority. Some of the<br />

30 million phone numbers in the<br />

databased were called by the<br />

partners 155 times during a single<br />

month.<br />

• The highest number of notifications<br />

was found in Germany and the<br />

Netherlands: these were mostly data<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

“<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

A new model of<br />

data is possible,<br />

and members of<br />

our Personal Data<br />

Workgroup are<br />

working to<br />

describe this<br />

transformation.<br />

“<br />

breaches (personal data lost to<br />

cyber-attacks). Security of personal<br />

data remains loose in many instances<br />

with limited care or simple operational<br />

negligence.<br />

• Appeals against data protections<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

agencies seem to work well. The<br />

Austrian supervisory authority saw its<br />

€18m fine imposed on Austrian Post<br />

overturned by the Austrian Federal<br />

Court on 2 December 2020. Similarly,<br />

the two fines issued by the ICO in the<br />

UK were reduced from £ 189.39m to<br />

£20m (a 90% reduction) and from<br />

£99m to 18.4m (80% reduction). The<br />

ICO noted that the discount was in<br />

part associated with the financial<br />

hardship caused by COVID-19.<br />

Nevertheless, it seems that it pays to<br />

appeal and to challenges the<br />

proposed regulatory sanctions<br />

• There are many open legal questions,<br />

including whether fines should be<br />

assessed against the global<br />

consolidated revenue or the local<br />

organisation being fined. We<br />

expressed this at <strong>MEF</strong> many times:<br />

GDPR is a robust work on the<br />

principles of regulating personal data,<br />

but there is much that needs fine<br />

tuning. Enterprises, professionals and<br />

regulators should all take part in this<br />

debate now. As the GDPR matures<br />

and becomes stricter its enforcement<br />

should equally develop and settle.<br />

• One notable omission from the list of<br />

infringements is the breach of the<br />

Articles in Chapter V GDPR relating to<br />

the transfer of personal data to third<br />

countries and international<br />

organisations. It is likely to take a while<br />

for the ramifications of the recent<br />

Schrems II judgment of the EU Court<br />

of Justice to filter through to<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

37


INSIGHT<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

enforcement. There is still a large<br />

amount of work to understand taking<br />

data from EU/UK to other territories.<br />

The immediate impact might be that<br />

many companies just stop moving<br />

data outside of Europe altogether.<br />

In practice 2020 ended up being a more<br />

lenient year than it could have been.<br />

According to <strong>MEF</strong> sources, regulators<br />

decided to drop or postpone a large<br />

number of GDPR reviews in the second<br />

TITLE<br />

half of 2020.<br />

HERE<br />

Financial hardship and the<br />

reduced workforce availability in the<br />

regulators made many of the European<br />

data authorities opt for a softer<br />

implementation. These might not all<br />

automatically apply in 2021. The level of<br />

TITLE the charges HERE might be low, but regulators<br />

do not feel that they can slow down their<br />

work over a prolonged time.<br />

The message is clear, GDPR was more<br />

than a simple checklist of activities to be<br />

done in 2018. It is a new way to think,<br />

plan and manage personal data. Those<br />

companies that fail to appreciate this<br />

difference will suffer the consequences<br />

DARIO BETTI<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> CEO<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

38


INTERVIEWS<br />

5 <strong>MINUTE</strong>S WITH… iBASIS<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

In our 5 minutes with profiles, <strong>MEF</strong><br />

members talk about their business, their<br />

aspirations for the future and the wider<br />

mobile industry. This week, Ricardo<br />

Martins, VP of Global Messaging<br />

introduces iBASIS<br />

What does iBASIS do?<br />

In fact very simple; we are the carriers’<br />

carrier: iBASIS carries the international<br />

voice, mobile data and messaging traffic<br />

for carriers, mobile operators and<br />

service providers worldwide. We are<br />

specialized in that, we do only that,<br />

independently and securely.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Thanks to iBASIS’ DNA in IP technologies<br />

and real-time communications the<br />

iBASIS multi-service IP-based network is<br />

one of the preferred networks by<br />

carriers and mobile operators<br />

TITLE worldwide. HERE<br />

Two years ago, we also expanded our<br />

portfolio to introduce a new global IoT<br />

connectivity offering and we are now<br />

dynamically growing this business,<br />

leveraging our unique eSIM and global<br />

architecture to serve all vertical markets<br />

of IoT service providers.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

When did you launch and what growth<br />

have you seen?<br />

We are just about to celebrate iBASIS<br />

25th anniversary! And in 25 years,<br />

iBASIS grew from start-up to one of the<br />

largest international carriers in the world,<br />

driven by innovation in VoIP, quality<br />

monitoring, fraud management system<br />

and more recently global IoT<br />

architecture.<br />

iBasis started out as a voice over IP<br />

company in the late nineties. It merged<br />

with the wholesale arm of KPN in 2006<br />

and successfully entered the mobile IPX<br />

business servicing the 4G roaming<br />

market globally in 2013 which has now<br />

grown into the world’s 3rd largest IPX<br />

globally.<br />

Since 2018 and the acquisition by Tofane<br />

Global which resulted in the<br />

consolidation with Altice International<br />

Carrier Services (ICS) in Portugal,<br />

France and Dominicana, and in 2020<br />

with NOS ICS, iBASIS accelerated its<br />

growth to offer customers greater scale<br />

and innovation.<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

39


INTERVIEWS<br />

By leveraging the company’s wholesale<br />

trading expertise platform, and<br />

advanced analytics tools, we have been<br />

able to accelerate the deployment of<br />

our P2P and A2P solutions Over the<br />

past year, we completed the mobile<br />

messaging solution portfolio. The<br />

solutions include Application-to-Person<br />

mobile messaging (A2P) for real time<br />

communications and SMS firewall<br />

solutions to protect mobile operators<br />

against illegitimate routes usage.<br />

What are your main goals?<br />

iBASIS built a strong reputation of<br />

quality partner in international voice,<br />

being one of the largest carriers in the<br />

world, then with the launch of LTE and<br />

4G services we became the most<br />

trusted partner for mobile network<br />

operators. As a wholesale specialist, we<br />

design complete and customized<br />

solution to offer the reach, quality and<br />

security that requires our tier one<br />

customers – the open peering policy,<br />

advanced analytics platform are a few<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

examples of the innovation iBASIS brings<br />

to the market.<br />

Now my goal is to become the preferred<br />

and most trusted partner for P2P ad<br />

A2P messaging business. We have<br />

already a strong track of records<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

including Portuguese speaking countries,<br />

LATAM, Asia Pac where we are offering<br />

open connectivity to the top major<br />

players in China. iBASIS also continues to<br />

strengthen its strategic partnerships<br />

with Altice Dominicana, KPN, NOS,<br />

Portugal Telecom, SFR, TDC and help<br />

them to secure more revenues from<br />

SMS – define relevant termination price<br />

and enforce it while protecting their<br />

subscriber base from unsolicited SMS<br />

and spam.<br />

Our goal and our execution plan at<br />

iBASIS, which involve engineering,<br />

operations, product and commercial<br />

team is to offer a unique MNO<br />

engagement model for monetization of<br />

international A2P SMS traffic with strong<br />

focus on network protection.<br />

Where do you see yourselves/the<br />

industry in three years’ time?<br />

Forecasting is the most difficult thing<br />

during these pandemic times however<br />

some key trends have been confirmed,<br />

even accentuated over the past year.<br />

I’m expecting that they will be the same<br />

over the coming years. The need for<br />

greater secured network has been<br />

demonstrated last year when we<br />

observed the explosion of all types of<br />

SMS scams.<br />

That will remain one of my key<br />

objectives, addressing all security<br />

aspects. We provide solutions not only<br />

to help carriers capture more revenue<br />

from their SMS business, optimizing<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

40


INTERVIEWS<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

access to their infrastructure, but we<br />

also put in place the proper mechanisms<br />

to protect their subscribers from these<br />

risks and vulnerabilities.<br />

As a global connectivity provider, it’s<br />

critical to implement for our customers<br />

the proper connectivity solution. As such<br />

an enabler, we are making the bridge<br />

between OTTs and mobile operators.<br />

A2P messaging is one of the few sector<br />

which continues to grow globally, many<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

changes happened in 2020 with some<br />

verticals decreasing while other verticals<br />

such as authentication, transaction<br />

confirmations, alerts were on the rise.<br />

The trend is very promising for the<br />

TITLE upcoming HERE years.<br />

What aspect of mobile is most exciting<br />

to you right now?<br />

Since the inception of mobile<br />

communications, end-users have been<br />

able to receive SMS seamlessly even<br />

while roaming. SMS communication still<br />

remains one of the most reliable and<br />

efficient ways to connect to and benefit<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

from a wider reach than Internet apps<br />

have. Mobile operators can reach almost<br />

the entire population thanks to the<br />

broad coverage of their 2G, 3G and 4G<br />

networks and the diverse types of<br />

mobile devices on the market and get<br />

confirmation that messages (SMS) are<br />

delivered to the handsets.<br />

During the COVID-19 crisis, SMS has<br />

proven to be a reliable, simple way to<br />

relay information or alerts to everyone —<br />

even populations not equipped with<br />

smart phones or digitally connected via<br />

social media. Over the past several<br />

weeks, SMS/A2P traffic types have<br />

changed (e.g. retail marketing traffic<br />

dropped at the beginning of the<br />

lockdown as shops were closing).<br />

However, traffic grew in multiple areas<br />

such as transaction confirmation,<br />

authentication, one-time password use,<br />

notifications and alerts. Governments,<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

41


INTERVIEWS<br />

health authorities and agencies are also<br />

relying on SMS/A2P for time-critical<br />

communications.<br />

Right now, as a community we do have<br />

two main exciting projects to tackle how<br />

to keep SMS/A2P universal and<br />

competitive while staying ahead of the<br />

fraudsters.<br />

What’s the most critical issue that will hit<br />

mobile within the next 12 months?<br />

I can mention one of them because this<br />

is a priority for iBASIS in 2021 – security<br />

and helping operators to be compliant<br />

with regulatory bodies. One of the key<br />

evolutions of our business and new<br />

areas of expertise are about security<br />

and it’s now being embedded in the<br />

entire organization and the portfolio.<br />

We have recently enhanced our<br />

antifraud management systems and<br />

platform, we just launched a new<br />

signaling security portfolio, and with our<br />

SMS firewall solution, we have now a<br />

deeper and larger scope of expertise to<br />

fight all types of international frauds.<br />

Transition from legacy services to new<br />

virtual services, CPaaS, APIs, core<br />

services are the same<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Apart from your own, which mobile<br />

companies are the ones to watch in the<br />

year ahead?<br />

Collaboration is key in this industry and it<br />

gives me the opportunity to work with<br />

many different partners and experts.<br />

Haud is certainly one of them, they have<br />

a strong track of records and they have<br />

a very in depth knowledge when it<br />

comes to messages screening, Machine<br />

learning and algorithms technology.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

I’m also watching Sinch innovative<br />

strategy through M&A is critical to their<br />

overall corporate strategy. Like Tofane<br />

Global, IBASIS Parent company, Sinch<br />

growth strategy relies on acquisitions to<br />

improve scale, reach<br />

MM/YYYYY<br />

and also<br />

| ISSUE NO. XX<br />

profitability in the SMS market. They’re<br />

also innovating through complementary<br />

technologies to broaden their offering<br />

and strengthen their relationships with<br />

mobile operators.<br />

Another remarkable company is Twilio,<br />

which is transforming the communication<br />

landscape through virtualization and<br />

APIs while embedding all legacy<br />

communications like SMS, Voice, Videos<br />

into web, desktop or any new software<br />

app. Their innovation and how they<br />

enable developers’ innovation is<br />

becoming critical for many enterprises’<br />

communications and has accelerated<br />

since the emergence of the coronavirus<br />

which forces all kind of businesses to<br />

accelerate their digital transformation.<br />

As a middleman, we at iBASIS, also help<br />

our operators and service providers’<br />

customers to offer and expand their<br />

business and enterprise solution offering<br />

as they leverage our global reach via<br />

cloud numbering or direct calling<br />

capabilities integrating in high demanding<br />

collaboration applications such MS<br />

teams<br />

RICARDO MARTINS<br />

iBASIS VP GLOBAL ESSEGING<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

42


INTERVIEWS<br />

5 <strong>MINUTE</strong>S WITH… Intis Telecom<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

In our 5 minutes with profiles, <strong>MEF</strong><br />

members talk about their business, their<br />

aspirations for the future and the wider<br />

mobile industry. This week, CEO Andrey<br />

Insarov introduces instant telecoms<br />

specialist Intis Telecom<br />

What does Intis Telecom do?<br />

We like to say we are a company that<br />

specialises in exactly what our name<br />

infers – instant telecommunications.<br />

That’s how we put our name together.<br />

The fact that my family name is ‘Insarov’<br />

is a bonus!<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

We focus on delivering mobile content<br />

globally fast and accurately for our<br />

customers, principally via A2P SMS. We<br />

specialise in helping SMEs.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

When did you launch and what growth<br />

have you seen?<br />

We’ve been in buisness since 2010 and<br />

have seen steady growth throughout<br />

this time. Our business spans many CIS<br />

countries and we are now looking to<br />

spread our wings across other<br />

geographies<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

What are your main goals?<br />

The Business Messaging market is<br />

growing fast. We see so many smaller<br />

organisations out there unaware of the<br />

benefits of channels like SMS for building<br />

great long term relationships with their<br />

clients. Used properly mobile<br />

engagement can be the difference<br />

between business success and failure so<br />

educating the market is so important.<br />

The Intis team always shows SMEs how<br />

easy it is to access solutions like ours. It<br />

isn’t expensive and our customers do<br />

not need to be technical experts.<br />

There are many false beliefs across the<br />

ecosystem that need to be corrected<br />

and working in partnership with<br />

companies across the world, we hope to<br />

show everybody just how great Business<br />

Messaging is. That’s all we want to do<br />

and along the way create some great<br />

customer relationships that are mutually<br />

beneficial!<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

43


INTERVIEWS<br />

Where do you see yourselves in three<br />

years’ time?<br />

We’ve been in buisness for a decade<br />

and we enjoy what we do. I’d like to see<br />

our business grow across what are<br />

some new markets for us and this is very<br />

exciting. Western Europe, Latin America<br />

and perhaps other regions as well.<br />

The UK will be the base for our<br />

international expansion and the fact<br />

that <strong>MEF</strong> has a strong presence across<br />

the areas we are looking to expand into<br />

was a key factor in choosing to join your<br />

organisation. We look forward to being<br />

active contributors across everything<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> does, both sharing our knowledge<br />

and learning as we go.<br />

What aspect of mobile is most exciting<br />

to you right now?<br />

The fact that more and more people<br />

are quite literally switching on to it! So<br />

many people who never had a<br />

smartphone now do and the impact of<br />

the pandemic has seen a huge number<br />

of people new to the internet pushed<br />

into it. Both businesses and individuals.<br />

We see all this having increased the<br />

potential addressable market we<br />

TITLE operate in HERE a lot.<br />

What’s the most critical issue that will hit<br />

mobile within the next 12 months?<br />

Here at Intis Telecom we actually see it<br />

hitting right now. The next 12 months will<br />

just increase the problem – fraud on<br />

mobile channels.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

With so many new, inexperienced mobile<br />

subscribers and business unfamilar with<br />

digital entering the market this has<br />

becoming attractive to fraudsters. The<br />

online ecommerce market is growing<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

hugely so the attractiveness of fraud<br />

just grows. This is where educating the<br />

market becomes critical.<br />

All stakeholders need to be aware of<br />

what is great about channels like A2P<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

SMS but at the same time need to be<br />

told what to watch out for. Unfortunately<br />

not everyone out there has good<br />

intentions. This is all why we are pleased<br />

to be one of the first signatories of<br />

<strong>MEF</strong>’s new Code of Conduct. <strong>MEF</strong><br />

members need to lead by example,<br />

something Intis has always tried to do.<br />

Apart from your own, which mobile<br />

companies are the ones to watch in the<br />

year ahead?<br />

In our exact line of business, I have great<br />

respect for the likes of Twilio, Infobip and<br />

Sinch. They have built huge, great<br />

businesses and I see them growing<br />

further both organically and through<br />

acquisition as 2021 progresses. If I could<br />

click my fingers and found myself in their<br />

company I would not be complaining but<br />

we are operating in a different place.<br />

More people will get their first taste of<br />

smartphones and better internet access<br />

this year and chat apps will grow and<br />

grow in importance. The giants are<br />

coming under serious pressure from the<br />

likes of Telegram and Signal and it will be<br />

interesting to see how fast they grow<br />

this year<br />

ANDREY INSAROV<br />

INTIS TELECOM CEO<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

44


<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />

READY, STEADY, 5G: A QUICK UPTAKE EXPECTED,<br />

BUT WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT?<br />

5G network launches are now gathering<br />

momentum. What should the industry<br />

expect in terms of impact? <strong>MEF</strong><br />

provides a quick view of the 5G future:<br />

• 5G is expected to show a fast take up<br />

in 2021 – similar to the 4G launch:<br />

networks are ready, a healthy<br />

smartphone replacement cycle will do<br />

the rest.<br />

• Operators are wary of the large cost<br />

of the new technology deployment,<br />

they will sing the praises of 5G<br />

marketing-wise, but their effective<br />

rollout will be carefully paced to<br />

manage CAPEX.<br />

• The mobile ecosystem will enjoy the<br />

5G advantages on service quality and<br />

revenue even more than the mobile<br />

operators. Expect better customer<br />

experiences thanks to improved<br />

speed, latency and IoT support. New<br />

services that will benefit particularly:<br />

fixed wireless conversion, virtual<br />

reality applications in business, and<br />

networked real-time gaming.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

• Consumers will feel the advantages of<br />

5G in terms of less congested<br />

networks, but this will not be<br />

comparable to the experience shift<br />

from 3G to 4G where mobile become<br />

the medium of choice for internet<br />

consumption.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

The roll-out of 5G networks has finally<br />

reached critical mass, and 2021 will be a<br />

significant year for the number of new<br />

5G data connections. 5G will open the<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

gate for better service quality overall,<br />

but the real impact will on the quantity<br />

of data that will be shared by and with<br />

consumers. However, it might have less<br />

than an impact on the mobile operators<br />

supporting it overall the generic mobile<br />

data service: 4G was a leap in their<br />

experience of mobile data.<br />

5G is coming<br />

The countries ready for 5G services are<br />

now covering a large part of the world<br />

map (see figure below). China, the USA,<br />

and South Korea were the early<br />

testbeds, but we now see a much wider<br />

implementation in Europe, South East<br />

Asia, and South America. Only the<br />

African content seems to lag<br />

significantly, but there some operators<br />

are still busy with 4G and fiber<br />

infrastructure roll-outs. To date, 82<br />

operators have launched a form of 5G<br />

services in about 40 countries, and<br />

many have announced that they will<br />

follow.<br />

In reality, there is not a single 5G rollout,<br />

by an assortment of spectrum<br />

combinations to challenge the choice in a<br />

candy shop. Most of these differences<br />

should eventually become insignificant<br />

as users that expect by now to buy<br />

‘services’ and less so networks specific<br />

flavours. There have been delays in<br />

allocating frequencies but even that<br />

chapter seems to have been<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

45


<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Fast uptake for 5G<br />

5G will see a fast upgrade cycle, similar<br />

to the one seen for 4G. The smartphone<br />

replacement cycle might have slowed<br />

down but it remains consistent and the<br />

recovery from the dip during the<br />

pandemic months in 2020 should help to<br />

smooth the numbers. There are already<br />

149 5G mobile devices available in the<br />

market, and 200 announced, with prices<br />

progressively reaching mid-range<br />

devices.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Mobile operators: a careful trade-off<br />

The telecoms industry has been wary of<br />

5G, despite the general praise for the<br />

TITLE technology, HERE operators have taken their<br />

time to roll out. While operators are<br />

concerned about the large costs for 5G<br />

deployments, they still sing the praises<br />

of 5G marketing-wise. However, the<br />

rollouts will be carefully paced to<br />

TITLE<br />

manage CAPEX.<br />

HERE<br />

There will be launches,<br />

but 5G will not be everywhere.<br />

For consumers, 5G will be an<br />

improvement but not dramatically<br />

different from its predecessor. We have<br />

already commented before about<br />

industrial services, they will play an<br />

important role eventually, but they are<br />

not still here in volume yet.<br />

Surely there are many advancements<br />

brought by this new generation of<br />

mobile networks: delivering more data<br />

and more efficiently, with lower latency<br />

and more devices in each cell. Simply put<br />

mobile operators will have to embrace<br />

5G as their networks deliver more and<br />

more data.<br />

Operators already find signs of<br />

commoditisation for mobile data. In<br />

Western Europe, the Unlimited data<br />

plans have re-surfaced and 50Gb data<br />

plans are also common (a 50% increase<br />

year on year on headline data bundles<br />

size). Data consumption has grown to<br />

about 3GB per month on average (a<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

46


<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />

25% increase year on year from 2019).<br />

Operators will find it difficult to manage<br />

a fast positioning of 5G bundles as<br />

premium.<br />

The 5G hype: a double edged sword<br />

The hype generated around 5G in<br />

recent years has not helped the launch<br />

of the services – if anything, it has<br />

probably hindered it with many<br />

questioning the value of 5G. All of the<br />

talks of autonomous cars based on 5G<br />

have only shown the weakness of a<br />

solution requiring a capillary network<br />

deployment and good fiber connections.<br />

The national networks required by these<br />

services are far from reality. Many<br />

started to think that they were sold<br />

PowerPoint based dreams just like<br />

during the 3G times.<br />

The Real Winners: data<br />

applications/service providers<br />

However, many will be surprised by the<br />

sheer volume of data that 5G networks<br />

will transport. Expect more devices with<br />

longer sessions and higher usage of<br />

bandwidth-heavy applications such as<br />

video. By 2022, it might not be the<br />

TITLE quality of HERE applications but the volume of<br />

traffic that will show the success of 5G.<br />

Fixed wireless substitutions could be a<br />

simple application for last-mile<br />

substitution improving broadband<br />

experiences – also driving much of the<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

traffic hike.<br />

The launch of the latest generation of<br />

game platforms, the PS5 and Xbox X<br />

and S have already shown the<br />

importance of connected gaming. The<br />

raw power of console processors is<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

traded more and more by online<br />

services. The availability of 5G with<br />

higher throughput and lower latency will<br />

make the mobile gaming experience<br />

jump in quality. Mobile will become a<br />

much more serious MM/YYYYY contender | ISSUE to the NO. XX<br />

console world.<br />

Networked virtual reality applications will<br />

enjoy the lower latency, avoiding the<br />

dizziness created by lagging images so<br />

far. The market for interactive virtual<br />

reality (VR) on mobile and game<br />

platforms has seen a resurgence of<br />

interest after the pandemic.<br />

Entertainment and business application<br />

developers are now re-engaging with<br />

the potential of visually immersive<br />

experiences. The first generation of<br />

interactive VR services in the late 2010s<br />

was welcome by many enthusiasts but<br />

failed to deliver an optimal experience<br />

to the masses.<br />

Hardware optimization, network latency,<br />

and capacity were holding back wider<br />

take-up. Today, the promise of 5G<br />

networks, edge computing, and the<br />

much greater interest for interaction by<br />

the public are changing the dynamics of<br />

this market. The Mobile Ecosystem<br />

Forum valued the global market for VR<br />

hardware and services at 4.2 USD billion<br />

in 2019 – expect this to grow significantly<br />

in the next years<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

47


<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />

Q1 2021 <strong>MEF</strong> BUSINESS CONFIDENCE INDEX:<br />

SENTIMENT IS HIGH BUT WINTER IS COMING…<br />

The results from the latest of <strong>MEF</strong>’s<br />

new quarterly check on industry<br />

expectations for revenue – the<br />

Business Confidence Index (BCI) –<br />

reveal just how the mobile ecosystem<br />

is performing during the pandemic:<br />

key mobile sectors are expecting<br />

sustained growth during Q1 2021, even<br />

after a strong Q4 2020.<br />

However, a second wave of COVID19<br />

has hit most of the Northern<br />

Hemisphere,and there we see a<br />

softening of the growth expectations<br />

driven by North America and Europe.<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> has collected the views of 211<br />

professionals from across the mobile<br />

arena globally for this update.<br />

• The BCI decreases quarter on<br />

quarter: whilst the second lockdown<br />

appears to have impacted<br />

optimism, revenue predictions for<br />

Q1 2021 remain rosy with growth in<br />

the sights of most<br />

• 53% of companies working in<br />

mobile anticipate an increase in<br />

revenues for Q1 2021, a 4 percent<br />

reduction on Q4 2020). 23% think<br />

revenues will be stable (a 4 percent<br />

increase).<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

• 24% expect a reduction, just like<br />

in Q4, but of those, 11% think it<br />

will be a larger reduction,<br />

eliminating more than 10% of<br />

revenues – a 1 percent increase<br />

over Q4. Again, there are minor<br />

signs of worsening sentiment.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Global optimism in the mobile economy<br />

lingers<br />

Confidence in Q1 revenue growth is high. Key<br />

markets across the mobile ecosystem are<br />

showing resilience or growth as they<br />

underpin the digital transformation<br />

initiatives helping companies and<br />

consumers adapt during the pandemic: e-<br />

commerce, digital content, delivery services,<br />

electronic payments and online banking are<br />

today all powered by mobile.<br />

However, the sentiment of growth is now<br />

more muted than it was in the last six<br />

months. <strong>MEF</strong> performed a spot survey in<br />

June 2020 looking at growth expectations<br />

for Q3, with 56% answering positively; three<br />

months later it had edged up marginally<br />

higher to 57% for Q4. The number of<br />

companies expecting revenue growth for<br />

the next three months is now lower – 53%<br />

of respondents. Of these companies most<br />

are either expecting strong growth (more<br />

than 10%), 24% of all companies predict<br />

good growth (from 2% to 9%) quarter on<br />

quarter.<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

48


<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />

The mobile industry has not remained<br />

unscathed by the massive economic<br />

impact of the pandemic, but it seems<br />

to be exhibiting a more resilient<br />

performance that other sectors.<br />

Notably, 11% of the respondents<br />

believe that revenues will drop by<br />

more than 10% quarter on quarter, a<br />

slight increase over Q4 (+ 1 percent)<br />

but also from the spot survey that<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> took in June (+ 2 percent). See<br />

Table 1 for a quarter on quarter<br />

comparison.<br />

Continuous rebound, but slowing growth<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> put together an index summarising sentiment in<br />

the market. This quarter we have seen a drop in the<br />

overall global index from 0.53 to 0.46 for Q1 2021 –<br />

leaving the market in the area denominated “Positive<br />

Sentiment.” See Table 2 below.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

More evident falls can be seen in specific sectors of<br />

the mobile ecosystem: Mobile Personal Data &<br />

Identity services is still enjoying the highest growth<br />

TITLE<br />

sentiment<br />

HERE<br />

(0.62), but much lower than the early<br />

interest shown immediately post lock-down – a drop<br />

of 0.16 points. Enterprise communication services<br />

(including A2P messaging) is still the second strongest<br />

market with healthy growth. Mobile payment jumps to<br />

TITLE third in terms HERE of growth expectations, overtaking<br />

Mobile Advertising that drops from third down to last<br />

position.<br />

More evident falls can be seen in specific<br />

sectors of the mobile ecosystem: Mobile<br />

Personal Data & Identity services is still<br />

enjoying the highest growth sentiment (0.62),<br />

but much lower than the early interest shown<br />

immediately post lock-down<br />

MM/YYYYY<br />

– a<br />

|<br />

drop<br />

ISSUE<br />

of<br />

NO.<br />

0.16<br />

XX<br />

points. Enterprise communication services<br />

(including A2P messaging) is still the second<br />

strongest market with healthy growth. Mobile<br />

payment jumps to third in terms of growth<br />

expectations, overtaking Mobile Advertising<br />

that drops from third down to last position.<br />

Mobile IoT saw the weakest<br />

expectations of growth in<br />

Q4, but the rate of<br />

development has caught up<br />

significantly with a jump of<br />

0.24 seeing it move from<br />

‘neutral’ to the mostly<br />

positive’ area. Mobile<br />

Content and Mobile<br />

Payments have also seen<br />

large jolts (+0.23/+0.24).<br />

Companies might have<br />

paused some of the IoT<br />

implementations straight<br />

after lockdown, but we have<br />

heard anecdotal evidence of<br />

new IoT projects for 2021,<br />

connected with plans for<br />

digitalisation, efficiency and<br />

reducing requirements for<br />

human interaction.<br />

Geographically, the Northern<br />

Hemisphere seems to have<br />

reduced their growth<br />

expectation as the second<br />

lockdown was linked to the<br />

lower temperatures during<br />

winter.<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

49


<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />

Companies operating in North America and Europe and this with a truly global<br />

presence are the ones feeling less optimistic about the next quarter. Companies<br />

operating in Central Asia have the lowest expectations of all, even if they moved from<br />

a position of ‘mostly negative’ to ‘neutral’ sentiment. Europe and South Asia share the<br />

second lowest position on the growth index with a rating of 0.08 – effectively a<br />

‘neutral’ stance. Trading conditions across Africa and Latin America<br />

MM/YYYYY<br />

are showing<br />

| ISSUE NO. XX<br />

positive sentiments towards growth. The biggest jump is in Australia and New Zeeland<br />

where we saw a jump from ‘negative’ sentiment to ‘neutral’<br />

The Guide to our Sentiment scale is available here in Table 5. The Sentiment is a<br />

weighted calculation of revenue growth expectations.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

50


<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />

Sector Growth expectations<br />

Here is the detailed view of what people expect for each sector. ‘Strong growth’ is<br />

described as anything over 10%. 32% of companies working in Mobile Payments see<br />

strong growth but only 17% of those in Mobile IoT. Another important figure is the<br />

‘large reduction’ (again a loss greater than 10%). Mobile Advertising sees 16% of<br />

companies afraid of a large reduction in the quarter.<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

Geographic variations: Global companies feel stronger revenue growth.<br />

Global companies continue to be the ones with the most optimistic market growth<br />

expectations: 40% of global companies report strong growth. Central Asia see the<br />

highest number of companies concerned with a large reduction, at 18%..<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

51


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

52


ANTI-FRAUD, INTERCONNECTION, TRUST<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> and its members are actively supporting the ecosystem with key initiatives to<br />

develop the market, free it from fraud and support for superior long MM/YYYYY terms customer | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

experience. Let the <strong>MEF</strong> team know if you would like to join some of these activities.<br />

Anti-Smishing – UK SMS Protection Registry<br />

o Supporting major Txt campaigns for Covid-19 vaccinations with many senderIDs<br />

added to the denied list – also proactive action taken with additional SenderIDs<br />

added for the 2021 Census which is likely to generate fraudulent Txt traffic.<br />

o Renewed interest from a number of new UK Merchants – which are being<br />

worked through<br />

o High levels of consumer complaints of smishing reported. Around 339,000 were<br />

reported in 7 day period – the majority originating from Sim Farms/longnumbers<br />

o Next platform development sprint currently being defined<br />

o Other territories - Good progress made in organizing Registries for Singapore<br />

and Ireland and strong interest from a number of new territories<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

Open RCS Forum – Interconnection<br />

Insight & Interaction<br />

o Major vendors in the RCS ecosystems have joined forces to provide a clear<br />

Updates & Actions<br />

path to interoperability and messaging interconnection in the industry. <strong>MEF</strong> Is<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Report Business<br />

hosting the<br />

Messaging<br />

meeting<br />

– Yearly Consumer Surveys in Field<br />

o The first meeting of the group will take place in April<br />

01<br />

SMS Code of Conduct– Signatories<br />

o The new version of the the SMS Code of Conduct is in place, if you would like<br />

your company to become a signatory and stop fraud and grey-routes please<br />

contact James at james@mobilecosytemforum.com<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Survey (10 countries): Consumer Trust, Security, A2P, Smartphone User, Direct Carrier Billing<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

7<br />

2021 2021<br />

CONSUMER TRUST<br />

REPORT- MAR 2021<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> 7 th Consumer Trust Report– consumer security in mobile<br />

o The regular yearly update on consumer’s sentiment on<br />

trust, security and privacy on mobile will be release in<br />

May. Let Ewa know if you would like to have early<br />

access to the data and insight.<br />

A2P BUSINESS<br />

MESSAGING<br />

REPORT - APR 2021<br />

SMARTPHONE SURVEY<br />

REPORT - MAY 2021<br />

SECURITY IN MOBILE-<br />

JUNE 2021<br />

53


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

UNDERSTAND<br />

INFLUENCE<br />

MONETISE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

54


ABOUT <strong>MEF</strong><br />

Mobile Ecosystem Forum is a not-for-profit<br />

global trade body that acts as an impartial<br />

and authoritative champion for addressing<br />

issues affecting the broadening mobile<br />

ecosystem. We provide our members with<br />

a global and cross-sector platform for<br />

networking, collaboration and advancing<br />

industry solutions. The goal is to accelerate<br />

the growth of a sustainable mobile<br />

ecosystem that delivers trusted services<br />

worldwide. Established in 2000 and<br />

headquartered in the UK, <strong>MEF</strong>’s members<br />

are active across Africa, Asia, Europe,<br />

Middle East, North and Latin America.<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> provides a community that offers<br />

Insight (reports, surveys, market guidance);<br />

Interaction (events, networking, visibility)<br />

and Impact (advocacy, code of conducts,<br />

industry initiatives).<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

To join the <strong>MEF</strong> communities please email<br />

info info@mobileecosystemforum.com<br />

Contact Sam if you’d like to contribute an<br />

article.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

If you would like to explore the range of<br />

<strong>MEF</strong> Member sponsorship opportunities<br />

available at any <strong>MEF</strong> Connects then please<br />

contact Iain McCallum<br />

Follow us on LinkedIn, register for the<br />

member area and subscribe to <strong>MEF</strong>’s<br />

newsletters to keep up to date with <strong>MEF</strong><br />

activities throughout the month.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

DARIO BETTI<br />

CEO<br />

SUSAN FINLAYSON-SITCH<br />

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS<br />

MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

JAMES WILLIAMS<br />

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS<br />

IAIN MCCALLUM<br />

DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT<br />

EWA PEPPITT<br />

GLOBAL MEMBER MANAGER<br />

SAM HILL<br />

GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER<br />

CAROL BENITES<br />

MEMBER & MARKETING COORDINATOR<br />

MIKE ROUND<br />

PROJECT DIRECTOR REGISTRY<br />

NIKKI BAILEY<br />

REGISTRY OPERATION MANAGER<br />

ANDREW PARKIN-WHITE<br />

ADVISOR IoT<br />

DANIEL MENSI<br />

ADVISOR BLOCKCHAIN<br />

SERAFINO ABATE<br />

ADVISOR REGULATION<br />

DHONI IBRAHIM<br />

DESIGNER<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

55


MM/YYYYY | ISSUE NO. XX<br />

APPENDIX<br />

© 2021 Mobile Ecosystem Forum Ltd.<br />

All Rights Reserved.<br />

Disclaimer<br />

Mobile Ecosystem Forum Ltd. makes no representation,<br />

warranty or undertaking with respect to and does not<br />

accept any responsibility for, and hereby disclaims liability<br />

for the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the<br />

information provided.<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

TITLE HERE<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

56

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!