Google RCS – a “new kid on the block” to shake things up in the messaging arena?

Google RCS to bridge the gap between Android and iOS

Google RCS – a “new kid on the block” to shake things up in the messaging arena?

Google RCS is a protocol designed to enhance the capabilities of traditional SMS (Short Message Service) and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). It leverages IP (Internet Protocol) networks to enable a richer and more interactive messaging experience. What sets RCS apart? It allows users to share high-resolution images and videos, provides read receipts to when a message has been read, supports dynamic group chats with the ability to add or remove participants, and, most importantly, incorporates end-to-end encryption ensuring that the content of messages remain private and secure.

Since 2019 however, RCS messaging is supported on Android devices and using Google’s servers rather than the mobile phone network’s servers. Google currently offers RCS chat worldwide via its Android Messages app to all users who install and use it as a default texting app. With Google’s rollout of RCS as Android’s primary texting platform for Android Messages, many Android phones already come with Android Messages installed. For a clearer picture, Android has a 71.74% mobile operating systems’ market share globally.

What`s the buzz all about?

In November 2023, Apple unexpectedly announced that it is bringing support for RCS on the iPhone in 2024, after publicly declaring that Apple will never integrate RCS on iPhone in 2022. On the other hand, the announcement is not as surprising, considering the fact that the Digital Markets Act is due to come into force this year in the EU. The Act compels Apple to make its proprietary messaging service available on other platforms such as Android and Windows or face a fine of 10% of its global turnover.

But, according to Apple, iMessage isn’t going anywhere. It will continue to be the messaging platform used for all communication between iPhone users. RCS will simply supplant SMS and MMS and exist separately from iMessage when available. SMS and MMS will also continue to be available as a fallback when needed.

New opportunity for OTT bypass on the horizon?

iPhone users will be able to elevate their messaging experience, sending and receiving higher-quality personal messages to their contacts. P2P messaging is not going anywhere, instead it will further cement personal messaging as the preferred communication method for every smartphone user.

For the traditional P2P SMS arena this development indicates a further decline in messaging. Since most smart phones will likely come with support for iMessage or RCS, which can now communicate without the need for SMS, the latter will actually be difficult to access. In A2P messaging, the protocols are different with Rich Business Messaging (RBM) on the Android side and Apple Business Messaging on the iOS side. The protocols remain separate. A2P SMS should continue its dominance in this area with strong growth in business messaging still forecast into the future.

Although this news comes as a surprise, it is rather a negative one for OTT messaging platforms who have been hijacking P2P messaging for years. Given that Google RCS is expected to be integrated into the default messaging app on smartphones, there is a high potential for it to become a preferred channel for A2P messaging. This could open up various opportunities to sidestep traditional operator interconnection channels, allowing the termination of international originating messages over operators’ data networks at a reduced or even no cost. Such a scenario could lead to substantial revenue losses for mobile operators. Assessing the precise impact of Google RCS adoption on the messaging market is premature, given the multitude of unknown variables. Rest assured, Mobik`s forensics team is closely monitoring these developments, dedicated to staying informed and ready to support our customers in every possible way.

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How an OTT app changes the game for mobile operators

WhatsApp, with its extensive user base and robust communication features, has become a preferred platform for not only messaging but also voice and video calling. Only recently did the Meta-owned application introduce a new feature that makes the lives of mobile operators even harder.

A whole new opportunity for OTT bypass fraud

OTT apps offer voice calls that affect the international voice call termination process. A call that originates as a classic voice call can bypass the terminating operator and reach the user on an OTT app without the caller and the callee even knowing the difference. The operator who was supposed to terminate the call is bypassed and stripped of its revenue.

WhatsApp added another add-on to their service. Subscribers can now receive calls from unknown numbers, usually from “unexpected” locations, not listed in their phone books. This opens the doors to fraudsters to bypass international termination by creating dedicated WhatsApp Gateways. Fraudsters abuse the platform with hundreds of smartphones which terminate international calls originating on legacy networks and reroute them via the wholesale chain to end up on the gateway used by them.

Based on reports from operators, malicious users are making calls from phone numbers with international codes from countries such as Ethiopia (+251), Indonesia (+62), Kenya (+254), Malaysia (+60) and Vietnam (+84), among others. This leads to substantial revenue loss for the operator.

Voice traffic monitoring and DPI analysis to the rescue

Operators need to tackle this challenge in a smart and cunning way by combining voice traffic monitoring and enhanced next-generation DPI data traffic analysis. And OTT Guard offers the optimal combination of both. It efficiently detects OTT traffic on the network and separates fraudulent OTT calls from legit OTT calls. After detecting and isolating fraudulent OTT traffic, it is up to the operator to decide further actions with flexible OTT Guard policy regulations.

More about OTT Guard.

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It’s complicated. Diverse aspects of network management

Business is not easy for Communication Service Providers. The fast-paced landscape in the telecommunication industry is demanding agility, scalable transformation and dedication to quality of service.

Many providers, especially mobile network operators are being forced into considerable investments in order to secure their revenue streams. Capital investment into network infrastructure is significant and inescapable in order to provide for the upgrade to the next generation.

Mobile network operators struggle with legacy solutions

Already burdened with the transition to a 5th generation of mobile networks (5G), operators struggle with insufficient know-how and legacy system solutions in areas of revenue assurance and fraud protection. These are becoming more and more ineffective and cause operators inability to recognize existing revenue leaks.

Fraudulent activity persists in all segments of network traffic (SMS, voice, data) and is becoming more severe, scalable and easily accessible.

As data network traffic continues to increase, correct traffic classification and subscriber security become important issues and areas of competitive advantage for operators. With most of data traffic being encrypted existing systems offer limited visibility and leave operators blind regarding usage and subscriber behavior.

The need for visibility has never been greater

Ensuring quality of service is paramount to attracting and retaining subscribers as the landscape grows competitive and diverse. Operators must have access to in-depth overview of the needs, behavior and consumption of their subscriber base.

Product development and market communication demand a 360 view of the customer in order to be able to reach for innovative and customized offerings that help nurture their subscriber base and stimulate ARPU. Management od complex and extensive product portfolios demand a lot of internal resources while product development and marketing departments strive to harness the potential of big data.

Must haves for competitive advantage

At the end of 2020 almost 60% of carriers expected to invest more in fraud monitoring / prevention infrastructure in the next 12 months according to the GLF Fraud Report. But this is only one of the areas we expect to be the battleground for business prosperity and competitive advantage:

Revenue assurance & fraud prevention: combating fraudulent activity requires up-to-date systems and evolving knowledge capabilities that most MNOs lack.
Advanced network analytics: traffic classification and subscriber security become important issues and areas of competitive advantage for operators.
Customer intelligence: customer centric products that respond to subscriber needs demand a 360 view of their behavior, usage and preferences that only big data can provide.

Our solutions are dedicated to help solve problems and advance operator capabilities in all three areas.

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How OTT apps became the hooligans of call termination

Smartphone penetration has opened the door to applications making a big difference in user behavior. A desire for continuous and cheaper communication channels has fueled the development of over-the-top (OTT) applications.

OTT applications bring almost nothing but gain to subscribers. They take care of their messaging and communication needs in one place with polished user experience and favorable fremium services. What is not to like?

OTT bypass has cleared a new way to erosion of traditional voice revenues

Most of OTT apps offer integration with classic voice systems, which further compounds their divide. The fact that basic usage of OTT applications is free increases their mass adoption but also offeres app manufacturers free access to large subscriber bases.

While the thirst for easy-to-use and efficient mobile channels is quenched by OTT app expansion, a door for additional revenue leakage at the level of network operators has also been opened.

OTT apps offer services such as voice calls that affect the international voice call termination process. A call that originates as a classic voice call can bypass the terminating operator and reach the user on an OTT app without the caller and the callee even knowing the difference.

The operator who was supposed to terminate the call is sidestepped and stripped of its revenue.

How OTT fraud occurs

Most common OTT fraud activities occur when voice wholesale operators or originated telecoms operators deliberately terminate the international voice minutes through Viber or WhatsApp. Both OTT applications are commonly used by fraudsters to bypass international termination.

Viber, as an OTT company, is terminating such international calls via the app for free on networks globally while collecting all the international interconnect revenue. Viber itself is also a wholesale voice and SMS operator and is interconnected with hundreds of international operators to terminate their own traffic or traffic of other 3rd party operators.

WhatsApp is the most popular OTT app for voice and messaging and is abused by fraudsters to terminate international calls through a system similar to SIM box gateways.

Fraudsters are using such platforms with hundreds of smartphones to terminate international calls originating on fixed or mobile networks and such calls are routed via the wholesale chain and ending up on the OTT gateways used by fraudsters.

Detecting OTT grey routes requires an intelligent hybrid of voice and data fraud prevention

Battling OTT bypass calls that do not originate between two OTT app users requires thorough combat.

It needs to combine voice traffic monitoring with enhanced DPI for data traffic breakdown. This way, operators can differentiate between all forms of data traffic and at the same time separate the traffic for each individual OTT application. After detecting and isolating fraudulent OTT traffic, it is up to the operator to decide further action.

Mobik’s OTT Guard does just that. It detects OTT bypass calls and leaves the operator the decision of how to handle these occurrences. Based on our comprehensive technology in voice and data fraud prevention it takes advantage of our enhanced next-generation DPI capability.

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Declining Voice Revenues? Check Your Network for OTT Bypass Fraud

How Operators Can Successfully Monetize Flash Calls

The global messaging A2P market is further expected to grow to reach almost 80 billion USD by 2027. But the A2P business has another developing arena – A2P Voice as a channel for user authentication which is currently being capitalized on only by providers of user verification services. Mobile operators again stand to lose ground as this trend erodes the steady A2P SMS revenue streams. Faced with the dilemma of not being able to charge for dropped call methods such as flash calls, mobile operators need to equip their capabilities with a comprehensive A2P monetization solution in both SMS and Voice A2P.