Digital Lifescapes

Mobile messaging today encompasses both the more traditional forms of messaging and the popular Over The Top (OTT) messaging services from providers such as WhatsApp and WeChat. Communication has never been so rapid or efficient, with new technologies and apps driving demand. One of the key developments has been the growth of OTT mobile messaging services. Where Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) once saw a good portion of revenue come from SMS, MMS and voice calls, OTT players have offered people a free option -- in the form of messages which can be sent over Wi-Fi or Internet connections, driving demand away from mobile operator networks. OTT Messaging Market Development Juniper Research forecasts that OTT messaging applications -- such as WhatsApp and WeChat -- will see adoption grow from 2.3 billion unique users in 2016 to 4.2 billion by 2021, representing a growth of over 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). According to the Juniper assessment, the OTT vendors will ...

Mobile network service provider revenue loss from 'grey route' application-to-person (A2P) traffic will amount to $62 billion over the next 6 years, despite the increased deployment of security measures, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. Historically, the A2P service offering was used for mobile alerts or as a billing methodology and transport for simple content and services -- both for one-off downloads or actions (such as voting) and for recurring transaction payments. The study discovered that the high levels of grey route traffic -- essentially A2P messages masquerading as P2P (Person to Person) messages and delivered via non-interconnected routes -- could be attributed by the scale of the price differential between A2P and P2P. Mobile Messaging Market Development Today, the trend has become more pronounced as mobile network operators have offered high-volume, low cost SMS bundles to cope with the challenge of Over-the-Top (OTT) mes...

Most modern smartphones can connect to Wi-Fi routers for broadband internet access. Voice calls placed over that connection, via a software app that converts voice to data, can provide superior quality communication when compared with the cell provider's mobile network. There are now numerous ways to apply this capability, essentially bypassing the mobile network service provider's traditional offerings. As awareness of these use-cases increase, so does market adoption. Over the Top (OTT) voice app service providers are expected to see an increase in their revenues by 2020, reaching over $10 billion and representing a five-fold increase over the next 5 years, according to the latest global market study by Juniper Research . Moreover, their market study uncovered that OTT mobile software application providers -- such as Skype and WhatsApp -- would experience a significant rise in traffic and revenue potential as 4G network roll-outs accelerate, thereby increasing their cap...

Once again, the bring-you-own-device (BYOD) to work phenomena will help to elevate personal communications within the typical office or factory environment -- thanks to the ongoing adoption of smartphone apps in the workplace. Today, Wi-Fi is being used to connect a variety of devices, besides notebook PCs. Many consumers already use their home Wi-Fi connection to improve the communication capabilities of their smartphone while indoors. They use Facebook WhatsApp for impromptu chats with friends and family and Google Hangouts Dialer to make high-quality voice calls to anywhere in America, for free. Naturally, they expect the same type of benefits at their employer's facilities. Consumer and Enterprise Mobility Advances The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments increased 7.0 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2014 (4Q14), according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The ente...