MEF MINUTE Quarterly Issue 2
News, events, and insight for the members of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum.
News, events, and insight for the members of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum.
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JULY 2021 | ISSUE NO. 02<br />
THE MAGAZINE OF THE MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
With 3.3 Billion 5G IoT Connections By 2030, There Are<br />
Substantial Global Connectivity Opportunities<br />
Members Update<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS, FoM PROGRAMME & NEW REPORTS<br />
The Mobile Phone Market After LG – What<br />
Next?
Subscribe to our <strong>MEF</strong> Minute Email<br />
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MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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C<br />
NTENTS<br />
A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO<br />
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MEMBERS UPDATE<br />
New Members<br />
EVENTS<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> Calendar<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> Connects<br />
Webinars<br />
Working Groups<br />
INSIGHT<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> Reports<br />
With 3.3 billion 5G IoT connections by 2030, there are<br />
substantial global IoT connectivity opportunities.<br />
Keep it simple. <strong>MEF</strong>’s new recipe cards explain the<br />
fundamentals of rich messaging.<br />
The rise of mobile citizenship.<br />
Interviews<br />
The mobile phone market after LG – what next?<br />
INITIATIVES<br />
Anti-Fraud, Interconnection, Trust<br />
ABOUT <strong>MEF</strong><br />
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A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO<br />
Dear <strong>MEF</strong> members,<br />
We have had a busy quarter here at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum. The Pandemic has shown the<br />
world the importance of mobile and many of our members have been active in multiple projects to<br />
get people, businesses, and industries ready for a new existing digital revolution. We have been busy<br />
showing the word what mobile can do.<br />
We celebrated mobile digital transformation in our large <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS public events, first and<br />
foremost our Digital Transformation 3 day event. Then, unfortunately, it was also time to show the<br />
industry response to the massive fraud attacks with our Cyber Security event – there is plenty of<br />
good news in there! All sessions are available on demand on our website. Already more than a<br />
thousand professionals have appreciated our events live this quarter, and more events are coming in<br />
the next months. The feedback has been extremely good, all the merit should go to the tremendous<br />
speakers and debates we hosted. I would like all our members to be taking advantage of these: from<br />
speaker slots to expo areas, we have a lot of offer to all of you as part of your membership. These<br />
virtual happenings are a support in the time of limited face to face connectivity.<br />
Talking of limited interaction, MWC Barcelona has just taken place in late June. It was a muchreduced<br />
version with effectively only a few thousand participants walking the empty Fira exposition<br />
halls. Well done to all involved this year, it was a hugely challenging task. However, we can only hope<br />
that 2022 will see MWC back to its former glory; the industry wants its yearly festival back. MWC<br />
was certainly lacking the buzz and big announcements this year – but it had a <strong>MEF</strong> Party! I am glad<br />
to say that <strong>MEF</strong> can still claim 21 continuous yearly presences at the event (even at unMWC 2020!).<br />
Thanks to all the familiar faces that came over to have a drink on us. We are planning more meetups<br />
in the year, the next should be at ITW in August (to be confirmed).<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> is not just about networking. I should remind you to visit our reports page in this magazine and<br />
on our website, there is much there to show the variety of our cross-industry debates. Our newest<br />
report touches on the question of consumer identity in online advertising is going to reshape much<br />
of the industry, our new report can drive you through the new ideas, opportunities and challenges in<br />
mobile advertising. We reported on the Business Messaging Industry via our annual consumer<br />
survey, the market is mature but there is still growth there. We have highlighted how the segment<br />
of people with disability can be seen not as a charitable endeavour but as a one billion consumer<br />
opportunity for omnichannel solutions. Mobile Payments have now changed banking and finance<br />
forever, our consumer survey shows the importance of DCB and wallets among smartphone users.<br />
We have looked at the telecom connectivity for IoT as one of the markets not affected by the<br />
pandemic. And finally, it’s the seventh year we report on Consumer Trust with a consumer survey on<br />
privacy, personal data and security.<br />
In terms of our initiatives, <strong>MEF</strong> is proud to announce that our SMS Registry initiatives will protect<br />
customers from SMS-phishing not just in the United Kingdom but shortly in Ireland and<br />
Singapore as well. If you are active in these countries contact our team to discuss how you can be<br />
part of it.<br />
Join in!<br />
Dario<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
DARIO BETTI<br />
CEO<br />
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MEMBERS UPDATE<br />
We hope you are keeping well. Now that the lockdowns are<br />
lifting, it feels like social contact might be possible again –<br />
fingers crossed we can see you in person soon!<br />
In the meantime, we have hosted three digital <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS<br />
events to enable you to connect and interact as well as access<br />
amazing insights.<br />
We were delighted to see so many of you at the <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS<br />
Business Messaging in March! The event attracted more than<br />
1000 visitors and we streamed over 30 hours of live sessions<br />
across the 3 days. See <strong>MEF</strong>’s CEO summary here.<br />
In June, we brought you <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Digital Transformation<br />
which covered sessions on Identity and Authentication, Direct<br />
Carrier Billing (DCB),Mobile Wallet, Mobile Advertising, RCS and<br />
Conversational Commerce.<br />
We also gathered at <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Cyber Security, with<br />
sessions incorporating the impact of all key attack vectors with<br />
presentations and panel discussions including the challenges<br />
faced in the undertaking of the role of the CISO, Humanizing<br />
Cybersecurity, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Securing IoT,<br />
5G Security, Stir/Shaken, Zero Trust and Securing the chain of<br />
custody in omnichannel communications.<br />
Update to the Future of Messaging Programme<br />
We are excited to announce that the Future of Messaging<br />
programme is updating the format of our Working Group on<br />
Fraud to include revenue assurance – FoM Fraud & Revenue<br />
Assurance had its first meeting on April 27 th . More details below<br />
within the FoM update.<br />
New Reports<br />
We recently launched two new reports for you to check out:<br />
• Business Messaging 2021 full version available to Members<br />
only so please make sure you are logged in.<br />
• The Hidden Segment: The world's disabled billion Following<br />
the report launch we have an event 'People With Disability<br />
(PWD): A hidden market of a billion you should consider on<br />
July 15th. The themes are 'Stakeholders and the state of play<br />
around accessibility: Building inclusion into the designs for<br />
the future; Technology- design for all; Factoring the<br />
Consumer’.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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NEW MEMBERS<br />
A very warm welcome to the members who have recently joined <strong>MEF</strong>. You can see their profiles<br />
on our website and you will have many opportunities to meet them via the Working Groups,<br />
events and business introductions.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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<strong>MEF</strong> CALENDAR<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS 2021<br />
Jun 14th<br />
Jul 13 th<br />
Aug 18 th<br />
Sep 27 th<br />
Nov 29 th<br />
Nov 30 th<br />
Dec 1 st<br />
BRIEFINGS<br />
Jun 17 th<br />
Jul 15 th<br />
Jul 22 nd<br />
WORKING<br />
Jul 12 th<br />
Jul 19 th<br />
Jul 20 th<br />
Jul 29 th<br />
Sep 13 th<br />
Sep 14 th<br />
Sep 16 th<br />
Sep 20 th<br />
Oct 11th<br />
Oct 12th<br />
Oct 14th<br />
Oct 25th<br />
FUTURE OF<br />
Jun 17 th<br />
Jul 6 th<br />
Jul 14 th<br />
Sep 8 th<br />
Cyber Security<br />
Mobile IoT<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> LATAM<br />
Wholesale<br />
Omnichannel<br />
<strong>MEF</strong>FYS Awards- TBC<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> AGM- TBC<br />
AND WEBINARS<br />
Enable RCS and monetize this engaging, secure channel<br />
People With Disability (PWD): A hidden market of a billion<br />
The Changing Dynamics in Business Messaging<br />
GROUPS<br />
DCB for Growth Group Meeting<br />
Personal Data & Identity Group Meeting<br />
Wholesale Meeting<br />
IoT Meeting<br />
DCB for Growth Group Meeting<br />
Wholesale Meeting<br />
IoT Meeting<br />
Personal Data & Identity Group Meeting<br />
DCB for Growth Group Meeting<br />
Wholesale Meeting<br />
IoT Meeting<br />
Personal Data & Identity Group Meeting<br />
MESSAGING PROGRAMME<br />
“Open” RCS Forum<br />
Future of Messaging Fraud & Assurance Group Meeting<br />
Monthly Meeting – Market Development<br />
Monthly Meeting – Market Development<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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<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 ecosystems<br />
and their respective Working Groups. <strong>MEF</strong> has planned one, two, and three day events for 2021<br />
representing key themes, ecosystems and regions.<br />
FROM THE LAST QUARTER<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Digital Transformation – 25 th – 27 th May<br />
2021 – <strong>MEF</strong>’s second three-day event of the year<br />
welcomed over 1,000 attendees from over 30 countries.<br />
The event covered sessions on Identity and Authentication,<br />
Direct Carrier Billing [DCB], Mobile Wallet, Mobile<br />
Advertising, RCS and Conversational Commerce. You can<br />
watch the sessions on demand HERE.<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Cyber Security – 14 th June 2021 – this<br />
one-day event delivered sessions incorporating the<br />
impact of all key attack vectors. There were presentations<br />
and panel discussions on topics including the challenges<br />
faced in the undertaking of the role of the CISO,<br />
Humanizing Cybersecurity, Secure Access Service Edge<br />
(SASE), Securing IoT, 5G Security, Stir/Shaken, Zero Trust<br />
and Securing the chain of custody in omnichannel<br />
communications. Watch all the sessions on demand<br />
HERE.<br />
NEXT<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Mobile IoT (13 th July 2021) – Mobile IoT is<br />
scaling rapidly towards a forecast of 25bn connected devices<br />
by 2030. This fast- growing market enables the enterprise to<br />
transform digitally to achieve new ways of working, to reduce<br />
costs and increase productivity. For suppliers, there are<br />
abundant opportunities in driving these changes with<br />
efficient devices, effective global connectivity, robust security<br />
and sustainable solutions. Join the experts to discuss<br />
developments in the market. Sign up for free HERE.
WEBINARS<br />
JULY HIGHLIGHTS<br />
15 JUL<br />
People With Disability (PWD): A hidden market of a billion you<br />
should consider.<br />
Advances in technology mean we can and should increasingly build accessibility<br />
into the design of our devices and applications facilitating our digital lifestyles.<br />
The mobile device, accompanied by its accessories and array of apps, can bring<br />
the world’s disabled billion into the marketplace as consumers of services. Join<br />
us at 15:00 (UK) to examine the situation and delve into how this opportunity<br />
can be addressed.<br />
Esteemed analyst, Chris Lewis, of Lewis Insights will present key findings from<br />
the latest Report for <strong>MEF</strong>. Followed by Stakeholders and Industry presenting<br />
Awareness, Education, Inclusion, Opportunity which will lead into a panel<br />
debate on how the present will shape the future – with Enterprise R&D use<br />
cases and a helpful steer as to what you can do to help.<br />
Speakers will join us from: Google, Rakuten Viber, AbilityNet, Department for<br />
Intertrade, Committee G3ict, Group CSR, Verizon Media, Innovation, The Value<br />
500 & more. Sign up HERE for free.<br />
22 JUL<br />
The Changing Dynamics in Business Messaging.<br />
The days of an enterprise’s business messaging related engagement with their<br />
clients being the sum-total of email plus some SMS marketing related<br />
promotions sent out en masse to clients with little or no customisation (think<br />
bulk SMS) are long gone. The business messaging game has moved on<br />
exponentially. Join a panel of leading industry experts to understand just what<br />
business messaging really is today and the size of the opportunity. You’ll learn<br />
exactly how it can benefit organisations of all shapes and sizes and indeed what<br />
characteristics both enterprises and mobile operators need to look for when<br />
searching for a business messaging partner that is the right fit for them.<br />
Register for free to join in the discussion HERE.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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ON DEMAND<br />
WEBINARS<br />
17 JUN<br />
Enable RCS today and monetize this engaging, secure channel –<br />
in partnership with Syniverse.<br />
RCS has begun to penetrate the consumer market with exponential growth<br />
expected in the next few years. With this large volume of traffic operators<br />
need to expand beyond adoption of this channel and into revenue generation.<br />
During this webinar, subject matter experts will explore how mobile operators<br />
can leverage RCS to enable enterprises to actively interact with consumers;<br />
manage and track customer activity; enhance and minimize risk; and monetize<br />
the entire process! Watch the session back HERE.<br />
6 MAY<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> Recipe cards – getting rich messaging to work for your<br />
business.<br />
For 20 years, businesses have used SMS as a channel for simple promotions<br />
and customer service alerts. Now, they are starting to switch over to rich<br />
channels such as iMessage and WhatsApp. These platforms offer many more<br />
features than SMS, but there are still plenty of brands who don’t really know<br />
about this new messaging opportunity – or how to get started, which is why<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> and imimobile conceived the ‘Recipe Card’ concept, to put all the<br />
important information into one easy-to-read piece of content.<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> recently hosted a webinar to walk through each of the six cards and to go<br />
deeper into the unique properties of each of the featured channels inviting<br />
immobile’s David Creasy Benjamin and Ramy Riad to provide expert<br />
commentary. Watch the webinar here.<br />
22 APR<br />
Transforming Customer Engagement with Business Messaging.<br />
Susie Riley, SVP & GM of the Monetization Business Unit at Mavenir discussed<br />
business messaging & customer engagement with <strong>MEF</strong> CEO Dario Betti,<br />
explored case studies across retail, brands, and municipalities to understand<br />
how they are leveraging chat across multiple messaging channels such SMS,<br />
RCS and other mobile ecosystems to engage and re-engage their customers<br />
and drive sales, marketing and customer satisfaction. Watch the full video<br />
here.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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FUTURE OF MESSAGING<br />
Market Development<br />
• Our members decided to bring together the RCS Verification and RCS Product Roadmap groups<br />
into one NEW group – RCS Market Development. First meeting of the new group took place on<br />
March 17 th and a lot of preparation was done by both <strong>MEF</strong> and members for Day of the Business<br />
Messaging event (March 24 th ) which had a heavy RCS focus. Goals of the group are to Develop a<br />
coherent framework for Verification/Security for RCS / Best Practices/ models for federated<br />
sender ID VA, monitor and support development of RCS in the industry and provide an up-to-date<br />
view on the progress of RCS. The core group work of creating a clear Security/Verification<br />
Framework continues by members. The first review is talking place.<br />
• Open RCS Forum – the group is expanding. Aegis Mobile and Zipwhip are new members of it.<br />
Goals are to establish a set of clear path to technical interoperability across MaaP/RCS platform<br />
and interoperability session testing and demonstrations. If your company is interested in joining<br />
this initiative to further the RCS, please contact Dario.<br />
• RCS Commercial Models – sub-group discussed Discussed next steps and format of shared<br />
document to be created and subsequently used by group members to complete it. Attention is<br />
turning to documenting everything discussed, including collating real-life examples of RCS<br />
charging models being used all around the world today.<br />
• A2P Commercial Models International Businesses – focus is on definitions (MNO Ts&Cs) and<br />
message types, research into this now ongoing by members. Group continues to expand with new<br />
members from around the world. Group will now be principally led by Mitch .<br />
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FUTURE OF MESSAGING<br />
Fraud & Security<br />
• Draft v.2.0 of the Business SMS Code of Conduct was published on 14 th December - see here<br />
Contact James for more details if you need them and are contemplating signing your company up<br />
to the code, joining over 30 <strong>MEF</strong> members to have already done so.<br />
• The Fraud Framework was reframed to focus on definitions only and separate deliverables,<br />
creating v.3.0. Focus has now turned to the mitigation side of things and the sub-group working<br />
on this meets practically weekly<br />
• All FoM members are encouraged to sign the Code of Conduct if they feel they can. Remember<br />
these is no cost for <strong>MEF</strong> members. Sign-up and ongoing administration of the scheme is free for<br />
all subscribing full members<br />
• Fraud Framework Mitigation work is ongoing by a small sub-group of members who are working<br />
on a specific mitigation document<br />
• Annual A2P Monetisation Report in conjunction with Mobilesquared and kindly sponsored by<br />
ANAM Technologies and TATA Communications will be published in the coming weeks. There was<br />
a live session during the Business Messaging event on March 23 rd about this as well. Senior<br />
representatives from ANAM, TATA and Airtel Business had a lively discussion, with Nick Lane from<br />
Mobilesquared moderating proceedings<br />
• BRAND NEW Future of Messaging Fraud & Revenue Assurance working group met for the first<br />
time on April 27 th . Very strong interest with 25 companies signing up as founding members even<br />
before its official launch. Although it is up to members to decide the direction of its work, initial<br />
indications are that work around securing the SMS channel and monetising A2P SMS for MNOs<br />
will feature highly. Research will be carried out across all FoM members asking them which 5<br />
types of SMS fraud they view as being the most important to counter and work on eliminating<br />
right now. Contact James for more information.<br />
Country Projects<br />
• South Africa – joint workshop with SABRIC (bank association), MNOs and <strong>MEF</strong> members currently<br />
on hold as wholesale restructuring of SABRIC continues. The restructuring will take more time and<br />
thus a workshop is unlikely to happen for some time. Please note that this group is now back with<br />
James to run as Mandy has left <strong>MEF</strong>. Work is still ongoing however to capture perspectives of<br />
MNOs as to which fraud types exactly are impacting them the most. Contact James for more<br />
information should you require it. Looking to take these initiatives further afield into other<br />
countries in Africa as well.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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PERSONAL DATA & IDENTITY<br />
• Continue to support the UK DCMS trust framework attending briefings and provide input as<br />
necessary<br />
• Enterprise Survey – we have selected an agency and our now preparing a questionnaire to<br />
examine the issues and challenges surrounding the personal data and enterprise attitudes and<br />
plans towards mobile authentication solutions<br />
• Looking at the enterprise attitudes to personal data and comparing to the findings of the<br />
Consumer Trust survey<br />
• We will continue to explore national identity schemes and look at the EU proposal on a European<br />
digital identity scheme - Whitepaper on Digital Identity in Italy is underway<br />
• Looking at the impact of health certificates for workplaces and travel and exploring digital health<br />
passes at future working group meetings<br />
• Day one of the <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Digital Transformation on 25 th May was focused on identity and<br />
authentication issues<br />
• Using feedback from the Data and Identity day to shape the programme moving forward - mobile<br />
authentication will become a regular working group topic<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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MOBILE IoT<br />
We are maintaining focus across a number of key topics:<br />
• In June we looked at the role of IoT hyperscalers (AWS, Microsoft and Google) and their impact on<br />
the evolving competitive environment<br />
• The IoT Enterprise Survey is now in the field and we are expecting preliminary results in early July<br />
• We are planning our IoT event on 13th July and producing a list of proposed discussion themes for<br />
the sessions – if you’d like to get involved in the event as a speaker or sponsor please let Andrew<br />
know<br />
• IoT global connectivity – Transforma Insights presented the findings from their recent report at<br />
the April meeting. Content available in member resources.<br />
• IoT security – we have had presentations from the IoT Security Foundation and ZARIOT on the<br />
findings of their recent research into cellular IoT security<br />
• We are working on a whitepaper examining best practice in IoT enterprise security and will reach<br />
out to members to participate in the research<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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MOBILE PAYMENT & DCB<br />
• The group rebranded from ‘DCB Fraud’ to ‘DCB for Growth’<br />
• Members collaborating to achieve the common goal of ensuring the market understands both the<br />
fantastic benefits of DCB as a Payments channel and potential fraud areas e.g., collating great use<br />
cases in a ‘cookbook’ or ‘recipe card’ type format<br />
• Immediate focus continues on breaking down and disseminating the comprehensive DCB Fraud<br />
Framework content, in ways which would allow the biggest audience possible to benefit,<br />
continues. Videos, webinars, social media posts, infographics, one-page documents etc. are all<br />
tools being used by members<br />
• DCB featured strongly during the Payments related day (May 26 th ) of <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Digital<br />
Transformation. Many of the group’s members were in action and here’s a link to recordings of all<br />
the sessions throughout the event<br />
You should have a Chief Accessibility Officer, join us and find out why! And if you don't<br />
have one, then join us to learn why from stakeholders and industry. Register here for free.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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WHOLESALE<br />
Wholesale Work Group. The first Wholesale session took place on March 16 th . The purpose of the<br />
call was to identify the key topics to be addressed for the group. Several options came up in the<br />
discussion including RCS, A2P and P2P messaging, Voice and wholesale generic topics. Some of these<br />
topics are already tackled by other working groups within <strong>MEF</strong> or other forums, and some need<br />
further attention. In the next call, we will review what is already being addressed so that we can<br />
further finetune the scope of our upcoming discussions. James Williams will provide an update on<br />
the topics addressed by the messaging programme which could be of interest to wholesale. Some<br />
insight into RCS and Voice initiatives will also be provided. Come and join us next week to actively<br />
shape your wholesale group!<br />
• In the latest meeting, members highlighted the topics they wanted to tackle: RCS Hub, Messaging,<br />
ChatApps, Voice Enterprise, the evolution of 4G/5G voice, security, post Covid effects.<br />
• These topics have been categorized and mapped up so we can bring you with insights, interaction<br />
opportunities, and provide you with content that is impactful for your business. The initial focus<br />
will be put on RCS hub and post-covid effect on the business.<br />
• Dario Betti presented at the May call and provided first insights into the RCS Hub. Items we aim to<br />
address (format to be defined) are:<br />
• Hub definition/functionality (differentiation between aggregation / hubbing / gateway)<br />
• The evolution of RCS hub: scenario evolution of how this business could evolve<br />
• Advantages of hubs for carriers<br />
• What's happening with Google & what's next<br />
• The group will be also be working on a wholesale webinar (early September) and <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS<br />
Wholesale (Sept 27 & 28)<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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NEXT WORKING GROUPS<br />
Monthly Meeting – Overview of all<br />
The monthly summary of all the groups and discussions around enterprise messaging at <strong>MEF</strong>. Do<br />
not miss it to keep informed on all major developments.<br />
19 JUL<br />
Personal Data & Identity – Working Group Meeting<br />
A monthly call focusing on personal data, verification, authentication<br />
and global identity schemes as well as supporting the UK Trust<br />
Framework.<br />
20 JUL<br />
Wholesale Working Group<br />
A newly established working group to review key wholesale<br />
questions from the members. The first topics include RCS Hub and<br />
roaming.<br />
14 JUL<br />
RCS Working Group<br />
RCS Market Development - all about developing a coherent<br />
framework for the verification and security of RCS, looking at best<br />
practices and models for a federated sender ID verification authority.<br />
TBC<br />
JUL<br />
“Open” RCS Forum<br />
The key aim is to establish a clear pathway to technical<br />
interoperability across MaaP/RCS platforms, doing everything<br />
possible to facilitate and promote RCS as a great engagement<br />
channel.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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12 JUL<br />
DCB For Growth Working Group<br />
A monthly call looking at both how best to secure DCB and how to<br />
promote it as a great Payments channel. Current focus is on the<br />
security and protection side of things.<br />
29 JUL<br />
Mobile IoT - Working Group Meeting<br />
A monthly review of the main issues and topics of the Mobile IoT,<br />
including security, roaming, connectivity and Identity of things.<br />
AD SPACE FOR SYNEVERSE<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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<strong>MEF</strong> REPORTS<br />
Here is a selection of <strong>MEF</strong>’s latest reports.<br />
Click on the title to download<br />
Awaiting asset<br />
Mobile Operators and A2P SMS:<br />
Tracking the Evolution in Fraud<br />
COMING SOON<br />
Mobile Advertising: Preparing<br />
for the Big Re-set<br />
Business Messaging 2021<br />
The Hidden Segment: The<br />
World’s Disabled Billion<br />
Mobile Payments 2021<br />
sponsored by Evina<br />
<strong>MEF</strong>’s 7 th Annual Global Trust<br />
Report sponsored by Assurant<br />
The Future of Global IoT<br />
Connectivity
<strong>MEF</strong> REPORTS: SPOTLIGHT<br />
Foreword to <strong>MEF</strong>’s 7 th Annual Global Trust<br />
Report sponsored by Assurant<br />
We live in a connected, increasingly digital world. People are connected. They<br />
use multiple connected devices, e.g., smartphones, computers, and tablets, to<br />
navigate their life online. They are concerned. They are concerned for their<br />
privacy and security and how their data is used. And they want control. They<br />
want to take control of their data.<br />
In this year’s study, we find the industry is falling short of people’s expectations<br />
across almost all privacy and security items measured. Roughly two-thirds of<br />
people expect organizations to respect their privacy and to keep their data<br />
secure, but far fewer agree that this is the experience they are having today.<br />
In years past, and this year is no different, more and more people are taking<br />
steps to protect their personal data. Yet we find these steps do not appear to<br />
be helping people’s sense of well-being. Around two- thirds of study<br />
respondents report they still feel at risk, overwhelmed, or that their actions<br />
take too much time and have unclear benefits. In other words, the majority of<br />
mobile subscribers are feeling impaired, helpless, or indifferent. There is also<br />
evidence that some of those who feel more self-assured may have misplaced<br />
confidence.<br />
Little of this bodes well for the industry. What do mobile subscribers do in<br />
response to a lack of trust when they have concerns for their privacy and<br />
security? They delete an app or service, avoid using or stop using an app or<br />
service, avoid making a purchase, or may even use a competitive app or<br />
service which they trust more. The message from this years’ trust study is<br />
clear. We can do better as an industry. It’s time we step up to appropriately<br />
serve the connected individual.<br />
CRAIG THOLE SENIOR<br />
VICE PRESIDENT,<br />
PRODUCT<br />
It is imperative that the industry minds the trust gap. Mobile apps and services<br />
providers can and need to do more to help people feel safe. As an industry, we<br />
need to ensure people can obtain secure, cross- platform access to their apps,<br />
services, and data, and trust that they are truly being protected. We need to<br />
give them personal data management and exchange capabilities. We need to<br />
provide them with digital rights management and guardianship tools. We need<br />
to give them clear and transparent security utilities. And, perhaps most<br />
importantly, we need to provide them with easily accessible, unambiguous,<br />
and actionable personal information management education and support.<br />
Let’s give the people what they want. Let’s help them conveniently get value<br />
from their apps and services, while simultaneously protecting themselves and<br />
controlling their personal data, so that they may live a safer, simpler, and more<br />
secure life online.<br />
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<strong>MEF</strong> REPORTS: SPOTLIGHT<br />
Executive Summary to The Hidden Segment: The<br />
World’s Disabled Billion<br />
The image the mobile industry projects is one of increasingly sophisticated gadgets<br />
and ever more impressive networks to support our personal and business lives.<br />
Rarely did the issue of People with Disabilities (PWDs) come into the discussion.<br />
Individual disabilities were addressed in a narrow world of charitable organisations<br />
and special technology assistance. Because of this, the PWD segment was never<br />
considered despite comprising of over a billion people! And, from the mobile<br />
industry perspective, that billion can be addressed to a large extent via the<br />
common platform of the mobile phone and its accessories.<br />
The billion PWDs represent around $4 Trillion of economic spending power.<br />
During our lives we will encounter people with different disabilities whether they’re<br />
part of our families, in our community or at work. From a business perspective,<br />
understanding how to interact with the different sub-groups is an important part of<br />
bringing PWDs into the digital marketplace.<br />
The beauty of today’s and tomorrow’s technology capabilities is that the interaction<br />
with this group of people can be customised to compensate for any missing faculty,<br />
giving them access to specialist as well as mainstream applications. Cameras<br />
become proxies for eyes, microphones for ears and the phenomenal access to<br />
content both on the device and out in the cloud could even be considered a proxy<br />
for our brains. The technology also allows everyone to use their ‘preferred’ channel<br />
of communication, whether it is the spoken word, text, gesture or potentially even<br />
brainwave in the not-too-distant future.<br />
In short, whenever designing or refreshing the customer interface or app on a<br />
mobile or on the web, accessibility standards and an inclusive design should always<br />
be built in from scratch. Adding on accessibility after the event, only results in a<br />
poor customer experience. Standards such as W3C, alongside those from all<br />
operating systems, exist to help guide this design. Most importantly, the inclusive<br />
approach leads to a simpler and overall better experience which benefits everyone.<br />
Developments like the smart speaker and voice activated interaction are good<br />
examples of how mainstream technology is also benefiting PWDs.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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28
In short, whenever designing or refreshing the customer interface or app on a<br />
mobile or on the web, accessibility standards and an inclusive design should<br />
always be built in from scratch. Adding on accessibility after the event, only<br />
results in a poor customer experience. Standards such as W3C, alongside<br />
those from all operating systems, exist to help guide this design. Most<br />
importantly, the inclusive approach leads to a simpler and overall better<br />
experience which benefits everyone. Developments like the smart speaker<br />
and voice activated interaction are good examples of how mainstream<br />
technology is also benefiting PWDs.<br />
In the workplace it also means that broader diversity goals can include a<br />
wider variety of people resulting in a more beneficial environment for<br />
everyone and a better customer experience.<br />
Outside of the mobile industry there is clearly a need for the mass of<br />
charitable organisations, local and central government bodies to embrace this<br />
more inclusive stance. Building Smart cities and citizen services will also<br />
benefit from this inclusive digital dividend.<br />
In the long term we will perhaps stop talking about PWDs as being a ‘special<br />
case’ because we will be designing inclusivity into everything we do. Shifting<br />
all stakeholders’ attitude will benefit business by bringing this diverse group<br />
of people into the addressable market. PWDs, like me, want to live in the real<br />
world, want to shop for the best deals, go to the cinema, restaurants and<br />
sporting events. The industry has a major opportunity to embrace this group,<br />
benefiting the individuals, business and society as a whole.<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS Mobile IoT – Transformative Mobile Connectivity<br />
13 th July 2021, 10am-6pm (UK/BST)<br />
Join <strong>MEF</strong> Connects as we explore key IoT<br />
including:<br />
• How opportunities are shaping around key geographical<br />
areas<br />
• The evolving needs of the enterprise around IoT<br />
• The development of the IoT connectivity landscape, the<br />
emerging competitive environment and how business<br />
models need to adapt<br />
• How connected vehicles and IoT healthcare offer<br />
substantial opportunities for suppliers<br />
• The impact of industrial IoT and new ways of working<br />
including digital twins and blockchain<br />
• The evolution of the technologies that underpin IoT and<br />
the impact of 5G<br />
• IoT’s green credentials as a sustainable solution<br />
• Where the main challenges and opportunities lie for<br />
suppliers?<br />
Members have an opportunity to set up a virtual booth for<br />
FREE at all <strong>MEF</strong> CONNECTS events. Please get in touch with<br />
Frances if you would like to take part in the virtual expo.<br />
Sign up for free HERE.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
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INSIGHT<br />
WITH 3.3 BILLION 5G IoT CONNECTIONS BY 2030, THERE ARE<br />
SUBSTANTIAL GLOBAL IoT CONNECTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES<br />
By ANDREW PARKIN-WHITE<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> ADVISOR<br />
“<br />
“Asia, particularly China, Japan,<br />
South Korea and India, will lead<br />
the charge in replacing 2G with 5G<br />
mMTC technologies. In 2025, for<br />
instance, Japan will have 36% of<br />
WAN devices shipping with mMTC.<br />
In comparison, the figure for<br />
Europe is just 16%.”<br />
“<br />
Cellular connected IoT solutions are a key<br />
opportunity for the IoT ecosystem, but the<br />
market is very diverse and can be highly<br />
complex. Andrew Parkin-White, <strong>MEF</strong> IoT<br />
Programme Director recently took the<br />
opportunity to discuss Transforma Insights’<br />
Connected Device (IoT) forecasts, focussing<br />
particularly on opportunities for the mobile<br />
ecosystem.<br />
Transforma Insights’ forecasts suggest that at<br />
the end of 2020 there were 8.7 billion active<br />
IoT devices worldwide, a figure that will grow<br />
to 25.4 billion in 2030 at a compound annual<br />
growth rate (CAGR) of 11%. But, as ever with<br />
these kinds of headline figures, it is necessary<br />
to drill into the detail to identify the real<br />
opportunity.<br />
Whilst the majority of IoT connections for the<br />
period of the forecasts are expected to be<br />
short range (including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and<br />
Zigbee), the opportunity for the mobile<br />
ecosystem is significant and growing quickly<br />
with cellular network IoT connections<br />
expected to grow from 1 billion in 2020 to 5.3<br />
billion in 2030.<br />
Analysis at a more granular level of detail<br />
reveals an interesting generational shift: 5G<br />
connections will increase to 3.3 billion in 2030,<br />
with no remaining 3G connections in the<br />
market and just 120 million 2G connections by<br />
2030.<br />
Continue to the next page<br />
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INSIGHT<br />
The really big growth area is 5G Massive<br />
machine-type communications (mMTC) which<br />
will account for 2.6 billion IoT connections by<br />
2030 (from around 160 million at the end of<br />
2020).<br />
Private networks also represent an interesting<br />
emerging opportunity for the mobile<br />
ecosystem, with private cellular 5G IoT<br />
connections growing from around 1.2% of all<br />
5G IoT connections in 2020 to 5.4% of all 5G<br />
IoT connections in 2030.<br />
Spinning back to a higher level of analysis, the<br />
consumer sector will dominate in terms of<br />
connected devices, accounting for 65% of all<br />
connections, up from 62% in 2019. Of the<br />
enterprise segment in 2030, 34% of devices<br />
will be accounted for by ‘cross-vertical’ use<br />
cases such as generic track-and-trace, office<br />
equipment and fleet vehicles, 31% by utilities<br />
– most prominently smart meters, 5% by<br />
transport and logistics, 4% by government, 4%<br />
for agriculture, and 3% each for financial<br />
services and retail/wholesale.<br />
The single biggest use case is Consumer<br />
Internet & Media devices, accounting for one<br />
third of all devices in 2030. The next largest is<br />
Smart Grid, including smart meters,<br />
representing 14% of connections. Connected<br />
Vehicles, dominated by connected cars, is the<br />
third biggest category, representing 7% of the<br />
global installed base.<br />
Geographically, China, North America and<br />
Europe dominate, accounting for 26%, 24%<br />
and 23% respectively of the total value of the<br />
IoT market in 2030.<br />
Transforma Insights also publishes a full set of<br />
what they term ‘Hyperconnectivity’ forecasts,<br />
which provide forecast information on all<br />
connectivity technologies within a device,<br />
rather than just the highest embedded<br />
technology. Focussing first on wide area<br />
network (WAN) devices, Transforma Insights<br />
expect that by 2030, 47% will include 5G<br />
mMTC technologies (i.e. NB-IoT and LTE-M,<br />
plus successors), with a further 20%<br />
Continue to the next page<br />
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INSIGHT<br />
incorporating non-mMTC unlicensed LPWA<br />
technologies. Furthermore, device shipments<br />
incorporating 2G will fall to almost zero by<br />
2030, and almost no devices will ship with 3G<br />
beyond 2025.<br />
Asia, particularly China, Japan, South Korea<br />
and India, will lead the charge in replacing 2G<br />
with 5G mMTC technologies. In 2025, for<br />
instance, Japan will have 36% of WAN devices<br />
shipping with mMTC. In comparison, the figure<br />
for Europe is just 16%.<br />
A number of increasingly significant trends are<br />
creating a need to understand the blend of<br />
different technologies used on each device.<br />
The old dynamic of mobile ‘generations’,<br />
where the latest devices tended to be multimode,<br />
supporting the present and all previous<br />
generations, has been well and truly buried in<br />
the last few years.<br />
Increasingly 3G has been skipped, as a<br />
relatively expensive technology that delivers<br />
no additional benefit of coverage or capability<br />
in most countries. Transforma Insights also<br />
sees 2G being increasingly omitted from<br />
devices as network switch-off looms.<br />
Or another example is NB-IoT devices which<br />
use LTE connectivity for over-the-air (OTA)<br />
firmware updates; it is no longer the case that<br />
the highest embedded technology necessarily<br />
represents the ‘main’ way that the device will<br />
communicate.<br />
incorporating non-mMTC unlicensed LPWA<br />
technologies. Furthermore, device shipments<br />
incorporating 2G will fall to almost zero by<br />
2030, and almost no devices will ship with 3G<br />
beyond 2025.<br />
Transforma Insights’ Global Forecast Report<br />
can be accessed here.<br />
The growth of Low Power Wide Area (LPWA)<br />
technologies is also creating an additional<br />
requirement to understand the nature of<br />
multi-mode devices. Developers are likely to<br />
use a more diverse blend of technologies to<br />
achieve their goals than would have been the<br />
case historically.<br />
One example would be LTE devices with Sigfox<br />
or LoRa back up for fault alerting, for instance.<br />
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INSIGHT<br />
KEEP IT SIMPLE. <strong>MEF</strong>’s NEW RECIPE CARDS EXPLAIN THE<br />
FUNDAMENTALS OF RICH MESSAGING<br />
By TIM GREEN<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> FEATURES EDITOR<br />
Does the messaging industry do enough to<br />
explain the basics of rich messaging to<br />
complete beginners? Costs? Channels? How<br />
to get started? Perhaps not. Which is why<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> has just launched six ‘recipe cards’…<br />
Imagine you are talking to a brand for the first<br />
time about the power of A2P messaging. You<br />
go into great detail about personalisation, twoway<br />
engagement and speed of response rates.<br />
Then your subject raises a hand and asks you<br />
this question.<br />
“What does A2P mean?”<br />
You might not have to imagine a conversation<br />
like this. If you are a messaging provider, you<br />
may have already experienced many just like<br />
it.<br />
Every industry has its own conventions and<br />
jargon. Insiders get excited about every new<br />
market innovation. And we forget that, for<br />
those on the outside, the details of our<br />
business mean nothing. They don’t even know<br />
the basics.<br />
Messaging provides a perfect example. We talk<br />
about ‘origination’ and ‘termination’. We still<br />
use acronyms such as ‘A2P’.<br />
Meanwhile many of the business customers<br />
we target are still using email.<br />
As a content person for the <strong>MEF</strong>, I’ve seen this<br />
disconnect many times; I’ve been to DMEXCO<br />
and MADfest and seen the blank-eyed stares<br />
from marketing professionals when the talk<br />
turns to business messaging.<br />
It got me thinking. <strong>MEF</strong> does so much great<br />
work supporting industry initiatives around<br />
messaging. We facilitate discussions, propose<br />
best practice schemes, advise on technical<br />
roadmaps and so on.<br />
All great stuff. But have we done enough to<br />
sell the basic idea of messaging to an audience<br />
that knows nothing about it?<br />
Perhaps not.<br />
So, I came up with the idea of a recipe card – a<br />
simple ‘one page’ PDF that can explain a topic<br />
clearly. Just like a culinary recipe card, it walks<br />
through the required ingredients, the ‘cooking’<br />
method and the time needed to complete.<br />
With <strong>MEF</strong> working on a virtual event based<br />
around rich messaging, it made sense to apply<br />
the concept first to this area.<br />
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INSIGHT<br />
And to make the information even more ‘real’,<br />
we also asked imimobile to create a scannable<br />
QR code for each card. Readers can scan it to<br />
access a demo.<br />
It was a fun project to work on. Einstein said:<br />
“If you can’t explain something simply, you<br />
don’t understand it well enough.” It’s true.<br />
Putting yourself into the mind of a complete<br />
beginner forces you to strip away all the<br />
complexity and focus on the benefits.<br />
But we needed to make sure all the details<br />
were correct. So, we asked the team at<br />
imimobile to help. They agreed straight away.<br />
Together we started work on six cards:<br />
•Google Business Message<br />
•WhatsApp<br />
•Viber<br />
•Google Verified SMS<br />
•Google Verified Calling<br />
Each card provides a simple walk-through for<br />
any brand that knows little (or nothing) about<br />
the channel and wants to get started. It<br />
answers basic questions such as:<br />
What does the channel do? –Information<br />
about the features available in the channel –<br />
and any restrictions it specifies.<br />
Where can you use it? – Number of<br />
addressable users. Live country deployments.<br />
That was certainly the case with the recipe<br />
cards. Working on the project also helped to<br />
clarify the differences between the various rich<br />
messaging options.<br />
For example: Apple Business Chat doesn’t<br />
permit promotional campaigns – only<br />
customer support conversations; You get a<br />
green tick verification if your business meets<br />
the WhatsApp Business criteria; Any company<br />
with a Google My Business account can switch<br />
on Google Business Messages.<br />
You’d be surprised how many messaging<br />
insiders don’t know this stuff. After we ran a<br />
session on the recipe cards at our recent <strong>MEF</strong><br />
Connects: Business Messaging, we received<br />
quite a few comments from members<br />
admitting to this.<br />
So it’s great to officially launch the six recipe<br />
cards. They’re free for anyone to download<br />
now, and we hope that anyone in the<br />
messaging space will share them with a<br />
curious ‘newbie’ contact.<br />
Cooking method – How to set up Information<br />
about creating a business account, getting<br />
authorised, testing and more.<br />
Cooking time – A timeline to show how long it<br />
takes to launch live services.<br />
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INSIGHT<br />
THE RISE OF MOBILE CITIZENSHIP<br />
By GMS<br />
In this guest post, Global Message Services<br />
(GMS) examine how the mobile ecosystem is<br />
evolving, the ways in which consumers and<br />
businesses are adopting new technologies<br />
and services as well as the impact of COVID-<br />
19 on digital identity.<br />
As the world becomes more digital, and<br />
mobile phones become both more widespread<br />
and more vital to people’s lives, governments<br />
and their ministries are adapting to meet their<br />
citizens’ needs and capabilities better.<br />
Connecting remote communities<br />
In Africa, in particular, mobile<br />
internet connectivity is vital since fixed<br />
connections are limited and rarely reach more<br />
rural areas. Mobiles are therefore an essential<br />
form of contact. Utilities and Governments<br />
rely on SMS to notify and inform large portions<br />
of the population, and 3G and 4G internet<br />
connections are crucial to people’s ability to<br />
access government or banking services – the<br />
alternatives being lengthy trips to make inperson<br />
visits.<br />
This pattern is being replicated in other rural<br />
or remote areas, for example, in the ‘fixed<br />
wireless broadband’ deployments of 5G in the<br />
US. The need to install wire or fibreoptic cable<br />
connections has historically limited broadband<br />
access for rural residents. Fixed wireless allows<br />
networks to provide high-speed internet in<br />
areas where it would otherwise be difficult to<br />
do so.<br />
Digital government services<br />
Official uses of mobile communications are<br />
varied, and many mirror those used in the<br />
commercial sector. For instance, in Ukraine<br />
GMS has helped Ternopil authorities create a<br />
system by which residents of the region can<br />
receive SMS notifications regarding their<br />
electricity bills. In many cases, then, mobile<br />
citizenship is not much different from mobile<br />
customer service – the primary difference is in<br />
the entity sending the messages.<br />
Meanwhile, several countries, such<br />
as Pakistan, are exploring the use of mobile to<br />
provide various services such as digital birth<br />
registration and learning initiatives. In Austria,<br />
a similar initiative aims to vastly expand<br />
mobile access to government services via what<br />
they term ‘mGov,’ starting with the most<br />
heavily used services. This includes “passport<br />
renewal support (notification before<br />
expiration), birth registration, address<br />
changes, application for social security and<br />
health cards, requests for election cards<br />
and/or ballot papers, and support [for] citizen<br />
initiatives.”<br />
Analysts for the World Bank have<br />
highlighted how mGov initiatives are being<br />
used, across a variety of contexts, to improve<br />
citizens’ lives. They observe “[i]n Pakistan,<br />
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INSIGHT<br />
India, and Uganda education authorities use<br />
mobile phones to monitor teacher attendance<br />
and absenteeism in schools.” Other uses<br />
include ‘mobile money’ – the ability to transfer<br />
money, even without a bank account –<br />
increasing social accountability, and alerting<br />
citizens to extreme weather events.<br />
The impact of Covid-19<br />
Government use of mobile communications<br />
has also notably helped adjust to the impact of<br />
the ongoing pandemic. Like many enterprises<br />
looking to reassure and retain customers<br />
during the outbreak, governments turned to<br />
SMS messaging as a quick, convenient, and<br />
ubiquitous channel with which to inform their<br />
citizens about the dangers posed by Covid-19,<br />
as well as the measures they were<br />
recommending to stay safe.<br />
dubious cures to impersonating government<br />
agencies as a means to steal people’s money<br />
and identities. This only highlighted the need<br />
to crack down on spam and fraudulent<br />
messaging to protect subscribers from those<br />
seeking to exploit exceptional circumstances.<br />
Mobile identity<br />
Even setting Covid aside, governments and<br />
their agencies are increasingly investing time<br />
and resources into making sure that digital<br />
identity services, such as Singapore’s<br />
SingPass or Italy’s SPID, are available on<br />
mobile. This includes building mobile apps and<br />
ensuring that authentication processes are as<br />
convenient as possible.<br />
As <strong>MEF</strong> CEO Dario Betti observed at the time:<br />
“The business messaging channel is a reliable<br />
tool in case of emergencies, and it should be<br />
fully utilised in these situations with new use<br />
cases made available to governments and<br />
agencies fighting the war on Covid-19.”<br />
Many governments also began launching apps<br />
to help track the virus’s spread, apps that<br />
needed identity management and<br />
authentication. In Singapore and many other<br />
countries, the government created an app<br />
to identify Covid cases and those with whom<br />
infected persons may have come into contact<br />
with, as well as tools to help citizens check in<br />
to hotspots and locate public health services.<br />
Of course, the increase in messaging regarding<br />
Covid, and the public’s natural concern,<br />
created a situation ripe for fraud. Scammers<br />
tried to use SMS for many things, from selling<br />
“Like many enterprises looking<br />
to reassure and retain<br />
customers during the<br />
outbreak, governments turned<br />
to SMS messaging as a quick,<br />
convenient, and ubiquitous<br />
channel with which to inform<br />
their citizens about the dangers<br />
posed by Covid-19, as well as<br />
the measures they were<br />
recommending to stay safe.“<br />
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INSIGHT<br />
Given the data’s sensitivity, these systems<br />
must be as robust as possible. 2FA<br />
authentication is a good first step, but it can<br />
be made stronger. Meanwhile, those designing<br />
digital and mobile identity tools will have<br />
many practical questions to sort out – not<br />
least so they can work out how these tools will<br />
interact with multiple organisations and<br />
determine what personal data is visible to<br />
which services.<br />
The key players<br />
So who are the main stakeholders, beyond the<br />
citizens themselves? Who may gain from a<br />
move to mobile-based citizenship? And<br />
perhaps most importantly, what is the main<br />
challenge each will face in ensuring its<br />
success?<br />
1. Operators are central to the mobile<br />
ecosystem, and actually stand to gain from the<br />
increasing use of mobile by the state and civil<br />
society. Notifications from agencies and<br />
ministries, to say nothing of the increase in<br />
2FA traffic to authenticate citizenship apps,<br />
will be sure to grow revenues for MNOs.<br />
However, to take advantage of this<br />
opportunity operators will need to<br />
demonstrate their reliability and security.<br />
Closing networks and improving security will<br />
be vital to assure governments that their<br />
citizens’ information and identities are safe.<br />
2. Governments and their ministries want,<br />
even need, to communicate with their citizens<br />
in the most direct way possible. People are<br />
becoming more accustomed to immediate<br />
access to consumer services, thanks to the<br />
prevalence of mobile devices, and there is no<br />
reason governments should not offer the same<br />
thing. SMS and apps like Viber are ideal<br />
tools to improve the responsiveness and<br />
transparency of government communications.<br />
Government-supported apps and mobile<br />
access to services should also employ robust<br />
identity management with 2FA and identity<br />
assurance tools.<br />
3. Enterprises In several of the mobile identity<br />
solutions we refer to above, provision is made<br />
for private enterprises to verify identities and<br />
offer login credentials via the governmentadministered<br />
identity service. Enterprises are<br />
also often deputised to provide outsourced<br />
services by government departments, with<br />
decidedly mixed results. In both cases, the<br />
upshot is that enterprises that become<br />
integrated with government-to-citizen<br />
connections will need to ensure the highest<br />
standards for dealing with individuals’ data<br />
privacy and sovereignty.<br />
Conclusion<br />
There are a growing number of examples and<br />
ample evidence that mobile is the way to<br />
address the challenges of modern citizenship<br />
and participation.<br />
Using mobile connections, apps, and<br />
communications channels is the logical<br />
extension of an increasingly technological<br />
world. It stands at the intersection of mobile<br />
engagement, digital engagement, and a<br />
government’s drive for improved efficiency<br />
and transparency in dealing with its citizens.<br />
This post originally appeared on the GMS Blog<br />
and is reprinted here with kind permission<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
37
INTERVIEWS<br />
5 <strong>MINUTE</strong>S WITH… Identidad Technologies<br />
In our 5 minutes with profiles, <strong>MEF</strong> members<br />
talk about their business, their aspirations for<br />
the future and the wider mobile industry.<br />
This week, Luisa Sanchez, VP of SMS and<br />
Communication Solutions introduces Identidad<br />
Technologies.<br />
What does Identidad Technologies do?<br />
Identidad Technologies is an international<br />
telecommunications and technology enabler.<br />
We have a range of products and services<br />
categorized into the following lines of<br />
business:<br />
• Wholesale: International Voice Carrier and<br />
SMS A2P Aggregator<br />
• Yellow Push: Multichannel/Omnichannel<br />
platform for communication solutions.<br />
• IoT: End to End Flexible Industrial IoT<br />
solution.<br />
• Network Solutions: Connectivity and IP<br />
service.<br />
When did you launch and what growth have<br />
you seen?<br />
Identidad was established in 2002. Throughout<br />
our 19 years in the industry, we have earned a<br />
reputation for being trailblazers and leaders in<br />
Voice and SMS for the Latin-American and<br />
Caribbean markets.<br />
With technology and innovation at our core,<br />
we have maintained a lean and efficient<br />
operation and generated over 30% gross<br />
income growth year over year. Our nimble and<br />
dynamic infrastructure has allowed us to hit<br />
and exceed our growth targets while making<br />
our operations and resources extremely<br />
efficient.<br />
We have leveraged our business platform to<br />
introduce new products and services to our<br />
portfolio and managed to sustain a steady<br />
growth path despite the erosion in the Voice<br />
market over the past five years, and most<br />
recently in the face of the Covid-19 recession.<br />
Continue to the next page<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
38
INTERVIEWS<br />
What are your main goals?<br />
Identidad is focused on accelerating our<br />
growth trends in our existing markets while<br />
innovating and positioning our retail products<br />
in the B2B segment and increasing our<br />
footprint in new markets for Voice and SMS.<br />
Additionally, we are driving an increased focus<br />
towards providing managed services to MNO’s<br />
and MVNO’s where our market expertise can<br />
contribute to their bottom lines and bring<br />
efficiencies of scale.<br />
Where do you see yourselves in three years’<br />
time?<br />
Our objective is to continue evolving from<br />
wholesale voice and SMS aggregator towards a<br />
complete communications service provider for<br />
MNO’s, MVNO’s and enterprises.<br />
What aspect of mobile is most exciting to you<br />
right now?<br />
It is fascinating to see that the massive<br />
adoption of mobile communications and<br />
devices has resulted in a global population<br />
that is more connected than ever before in<br />
history.<br />
The amount of data and accessibility that<br />
mobile provides has opened opportunities for<br />
even the smallest businesses to connect with<br />
their customers easily and frequently. This has<br />
driven companies to operate on a “mobilefirst”<br />
strategy and accelerate usage and<br />
development of new channels.<br />
What’s the most critical issue that will hit<br />
mobile within the next 12 months?<br />
The pandemic accelerated the adoption and<br />
usage of virtual meeting solutions, which<br />
resulted in changes in bandwidth and system<br />
requirements to workforce management.<br />
We expect that throughout the next 12<br />
months, more adjustments will appear as the<br />
world’s workforce returns to the office, travel<br />
restrictions are eased, and the “new normal”<br />
calls for an increase in applications and<br />
communication solutions that can help<br />
prevent a future pandemic. The “new normal”<br />
will demand better and faster networks and<br />
yield increased costs but not necessarily<br />
increased revenues and sales.<br />
Apart from your own, which mobile<br />
companies are the ones to watch in the year<br />
ahead?<br />
The mobile ecosystem is growing and evolving<br />
very fast. We are closely watching two types of<br />
companies in the year ahead: Lean and<br />
dynamic companies who have proven that<br />
they can swiftly innovate or change course in<br />
the face of market challenges and companies<br />
who are on M&A mode looking to increase<br />
their market penetration and/or footprint.<br />
LUISA SANCHEZ<br />
INDENTIDAD TECHNOLOGIES VP OF SMS<br />
AND COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
39
<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />
THE MOBILE PHONE MARKET AFTER LG – WHAT NEXT?<br />
The smartphone is going through another<br />
revolution, a corporate revolution. LG is the<br />
latest big vendor to throw the towel and<br />
putting a stop to its phone unit, like Ericsson,<br />
Motorola, Nokia, Blackberry, HTC, Alcatel and<br />
many other manufacturers before.<br />
The number of brands in the space is thinning<br />
fast with few “premium players” remaining on<br />
top – Apple and Samsung dominate the<br />
segment and very few contenders are left to<br />
fight for third place. A number of vendors are<br />
chasing the low margin/low cost /low<br />
innovation segment: simple smartphones for<br />
the masses. This is not a segment of interest<br />
for an established electronic brand such as LG<br />
or Sony – they would dilute their brands and<br />
engineering know how. LG realised that ‘stuck<br />
in the middle’ was a pretty bad scenario:<br />
unable to charge a premium, but too<br />
expensive a build for a low retail price.<br />
According to <strong>MEF</strong> Data, in January 2021, LG<br />
accounted for 2.6% of all smartphones in use<br />
globally. Apple and Samsung each have more<br />
than 10 times that figure. (See chart on next<br />
page).<br />
Huawei is still number 3 in the ranking for<br />
installed base with 13.7% despite having<br />
stopped its steadfast growth in 2020 after<br />
issues with a USA ban and its related supply<br />
chain issues (0.2% growth).<br />
Instead Xiaomi is looking squarely at the<br />
premium position and hopes to overtake<br />
Huawei in installed base (it is already number<br />
three in new device shipments) it scored a 2.9<br />
p.p. increase since 2020.<br />
The top 4 vendors represent 81% of the overall<br />
smartphone installed based, Apple and<br />
Samsung 58.3% together. It is difficult for<br />
other players to reach this scale and the<br />
marketing and loyalty factors these companies<br />
are establishing.<br />
The multi-colour, multi-shape mobile phone of<br />
the 2000’s is now the grey slab smartphone.<br />
LG tried hard to innovate on form factor: it<br />
introduced a T shaped phone, and a banana<br />
like curved phone. None was a clear success,<br />
form factor has not proved enough to generate<br />
differentiation in the market.<br />
LG has lost $4.5 billion so far on its mobile<br />
phone unit overall. On April 5, LG announced<br />
that it will wind down this unit by 31 July 2021<br />
(expect LG phones to be on shelves/ecommerce<br />
sites until the end of 2021).<br />
Fittingly, Apple’s new product presentation<br />
two weeks later included a new colour for the<br />
iPhone 12 (purple) and support for an object<br />
finder accessory linked to the iPhone (AirTag)<br />
Continue to the next page<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
40
<strong>MEF</strong> DATA<br />
and easier user experience / integration with<br />
its new iMac personal computer, the<br />
presentation itself was a Hollywood style<br />
movie with special effects. The difference is<br />
stark: the soft and software skills of Apple vs<br />
LG’s manufacturing expertise.<br />
Recently, incremental advancements were<br />
mostly about cameras. However, by now there<br />
are more camera lenses on the back of a<br />
smartphone than blades in Gillette’s razor. We<br />
might have plateaued the camera feature war<br />
with night vision, 4K video, and 100x zoom –<br />
way beyond most consumer’s potential<br />
demand.<br />
The soft innovation around the ease of use of<br />
peripherals (watches, loudspeaker, assistants<br />
etc) and the software collating them is what is<br />
generating loyalty today. This ecosystem-play<br />
and strong marketing have towered simple<br />
manufacturing prowess.<br />
The smartphone market is becoming very<br />
mature, the epitome for a change in the<br />
market. However, competing successful<br />
ecosystems have failed to break into the<br />
mobile market: Amazon, Microsoft and<br />
Facebook have all tried.<br />
The real threat to the status quo today is the<br />
discussion on regulatory intervention: breaking<br />
up ecosystems by governments is the most<br />
likely agent of change. There are multiple<br />
reviews on Google’s and Apple’s role in the<br />
market and the vertical integration in their<br />
ecosystems. It should not be a surprise, the<br />
only recent significant change to the market<br />
dynamics, Huawei’s weakness, has been<br />
produced by a USA ban. However, the<br />
potential of intervention is effectively remote<br />
in the short term.<br />
More concretely, we should expect more<br />
market concentration by the main players<br />
Google, Apple and Samsung, and possibly<br />
more brands throwing the towels just like LG.<br />
And yes, expect one bigger and better camera<br />
lens on the back of your next smartphone.<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
41
ANTI-FRAUD, INTERCONNECTION, TRUST<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> and its members are actively supporting the ecosystem with key initiatives to develop the<br />
market, free it from fraud and support for superior long terms customer experience. Let the <strong>MEF</strong><br />
team know if you would like to join some of these activities.<br />
Anti-Smishing – UK SMS Protection Registry<br />
• UK quarterly Funding Committee meeting held – with a review of last quarter and planning for<br />
further development and project direction. Further discussion to be held re ongoing trial status.<br />
Detail presented on next development sprint.<br />
• Some Banks reporting reduction in ‘courier fraud’ since Royal Mail Group engaged with the<br />
Registry with one stating ‘Loses significantly reduced following on-boarding of Royal Mail Group<br />
to the Registry’<br />
• New UK merchant engagement continues & onboarding ongoing<br />
• Approx 60 brands now being protected by UK Registry<br />
• Latest Registry Development Sprint completed – further development scoped for next sprint<br />
• Flubot android & ‘courier’ scams impacting consumers/banks<br />
• Media interest (Which?, Sunday Times etc) in Registry/scams – expect this to increase with<br />
Flubot/courier issues<br />
• Merchants report long-number/SIM-farms present ongoing major issue along with URL registries<br />
such as Namecheap who continue to provide most of the worlds fraudulent URL’s<br />
• New Ireland registry progressing well and ready for launch in next few weeks with strong<br />
merchant interest – just awaiting finalising of T&C’s.<br />
• New Singapore registry also progressing well and ready for launch in next few weeks – again just<br />
awaiting finalising of T&C’s<br />
01<br />
SMS Code of Conduct– Signatories<br />
o The new version of the SMS Code of Conduct is in place, if you would like your company to<br />
Insight become & Interaction a signatory and stop fraud and grey-routes please contact James at<br />
Updates & james@mobilecosytemforum.com<br />
Actions<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> Open Report RCS Business Forum – Interconnection<br />
Messaging – Yearly Consumer Surveys in Field<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> Survey<br />
o(10 Major<br />
countries):<br />
vendors<br />
Consumer<br />
in the<br />
Trust,<br />
RCS<br />
Security,<br />
ecosystems<br />
A2P, Smartphone<br />
have joined<br />
User,<br />
forces<br />
Direct<br />
to<br />
Carrier<br />
provide<br />
Billing<br />
a clear path to<br />
interoperability and messaging interconnection in the industry. <strong>MEF</strong> is hosting the meetings<br />
7<br />
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 trust,<br />
security and privacy on mobile is now available. Download the<br />
report here.<br />
2021<br />
A2P BUSINESS<br />
MESSAGING<br />
REPORT - APR 2021<br />
SMARTPHONE SURVEY<br />
REPORT - MAY 2021<br />
SECURITY IN MOBILE-<br />
JUNE 2021<br />
43
ABOUT <strong>MEF</strong><br />
Mobile Ecosystem Forum is a not-for-profit global trade<br />
body that acts as an impartial and authoritative champion<br />
for addressing issues affecting the broadening mobile<br />
ecosystem. We provide our members with a global and<br />
cross-sector platform for networking, collaboration and<br />
advancing industry solutions. The goal is to accelerate the<br />
growth of a sustainable mobile ecosystem that delivers<br />
trusted services worldwide. Established in 2000 and<br />
headquartered in the UK, <strong>MEF</strong>’s members are active<br />
across Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North and Latin<br />
America.<br />
<strong>MEF</strong> provides a community that offers Insight (reports,<br />
surveys, market guidance); Interaction (events,<br />
networking, visibility) and Impact (advocacy, code of<br />
conducts, industry initiatives).<br />
To join the <strong>MEF</strong> communities please email info<br />
admin@mobileecosystemforum.com.<br />
Contact Sam if you’d like to contribute an article.<br />
If you would like to explore the range of <strong>MEF</strong> Member<br />
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then please contact Susan.<br />
Follow us on LinkedIn, register for the member area<br />
and subscribe to <strong>MEF</strong>’s newsletters to keep up to date<br />
with <strong>MEF</strong> activities throughout the month.<br />
DARIO BETTI<br />
CEO<br />
SUSAN FINLAYSON-SITCH<br />
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS<br />
JAMES WILLIAMS<br />
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS<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 />
FRANCES TIDEY<br />
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF<br />
DHONI IBRAHIM<br />
DESIGNER<br />
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />
44
© 2021 Mobile Ecosystem Forum Ltd.<br />
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