Ovum Report: International Carrier Billing Market to Reach $24.7 Billion by 2019

Led by Neomobile, a new Ovum report provides competitive insights on the future of carrier billing. Titled ‘Carrier Billing: Global Market Trends and Forecasts,’ the study elaborates on notable benchmarks and prospects within the space.

The report highlighted that carrier billing solutions are not limited to emerging countries, where mobile payments services are widespread. Based on the compiled data, the majority of the forecasted growth in the coming years will be from developed markets.

“I am pleased to announce our collaboration with Ovum on this report, which contains an encouraging growth forecast for global carrier billing revenue. Neomobile fundamentally believes in the value of carrier billing as a means to monetize the mobile internet, and is ideally placed to take advantage of growth in this exciting and lucrative market,” said Gianluca D’Agostino, chief executive of Neomobile.

Carrier billing technology includes the following components: direct operator billing, PSMS, and WAP/Web billing.

Perhaps the most gripping takeaway from the report is rate at which the industry is growing. In 2014, global carrier billing earnings were valued at $14.5 billion. This figure is expected to almost double by 2019, with a forecast of $24.7 billion.

Accounting for roughly 14 percent of the sector’s revenue in 2014, popular OS app stores such as Google Play, Apple App Store, BlackBerry World, and Windows Phone Store are expected to dominate the market within the same predicted timeline.

Online games, social media companies, independent stores and mobile content are the key segments driving industry. These areas are also where Neomobile’s current efforts are heavily focused on.

When it comes to regional contributions, the Asia Pacific is responsible for the largest slice of carrier billing revenues worldwide, with emphasis on the performance of China and Japan’s extensive online and web-based mobile offerings.

On the tricky rivalry between carriers and mobile payment platforms. D’Agostino adds:

“NFC and Carrier billing can and will coexist in the mobile commerce market, since they are not direct competitors. NFC solutions require proximity to the point of sale, and in the future they might replace credit cards or loyalty cards, but for the space of mobile payments of digital goods, regardless of the location and time, without any potential security or privacy issue related to a credit card information, carrier billing is definitely a better solution. Its advantages are simplicity and ubiquity, and a unique way of connecting both operators and developers, allowing seamless monetization in both emerging and developed markets worldwide.”