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MEF MINUTE Quarterly Issue 2

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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and event updates weekly<br />

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can opt out at anytime. Details of our privacy<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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JOIN <strong>MEF</strong><br />

Accelerating your mobile opportunity<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 ecosystem –<br />

locally and globally<br />

Access to global market analytics and resources<br />

Opportunities to shape the industry through<br />

collaboration and advocacy<br />

Exclusive access to member-only events<br />

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

and speaking opportunities<br />

SIGN UP NOW


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 />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<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 />

21


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 />

23


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 />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<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 />

29


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 />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<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 />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

31


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 />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

32


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 />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

33


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 />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

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35


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 />

Continue to the next page<br />

MOBILE ECOSYSTEM FORUM<br />

36


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 />

sponsorship opportunities available at any <strong>MEF</strong> Connects<br />

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 />

All Rights Reserved.<br />

Disclaimer<br />

Mobile Ecosystem Forum Ltd. makes no representation, warranty<br />

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