The Mobile World Congress (MWC) held annually in Barcelona, is a significant event in the telecom industry, bringing together industry leaders to discuss and guide the industry’s agenda for the year ahead. This year’s event was attended by 60,000 participants, and although smaller than pre-COVID events, it still had the feel of an industry-guiding event. After participating in several panels and discussions, here are three takeaways:
- The Metaverse: The Metaverse is a digital environment that is predicted to change the way we work, play, shop, and socialize. It will be powered in part by the connectivity and bandwidth delivered by the telecom industry with communication within the Metaverse requiring driven through voice and messaging channels. As the communication channel is still taking shape, messaging providers need to monitor and adapt to changes.
- Rich Communication Services (RCS): After years of development, RCS is finally going mainstream, and niche marketing agencies are springing up around the service. Major brands have started implementing RCS into their customer communications. With over 1.2 billion global subscribers with RCS-capable devices, businesses using RCS are seeing higher conversion rates than email and standard text messages. The popularity of CPaaS platforms and fallback to SMS capabilities further support its growth.
- SMS Fraud Prevention: Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) is spearheading an industry initiative to create a technology-based solution to put an end to SMS fraud. Smishing and spoofing are fraudulent activities that cost billions of dollars every year, raising concerns about SMS message security. The working group will define the issue, gather ideas for a solution, look at existing solutions currently being developed, and develop a working solution.
Looking Forward: Mobile World Congress 2023 provided a glimpse into the future of the CPaaS industry. The Metaverse is coming, RCS is going mainstream, and efforts are being made to combat SMS fraud. Together these represent significant changes in the mobile landscape.
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