It is plausible that the values could be reached by 2025, which would mark a one-billion-dollar leap on the $87 billion recorded in 2020.
However, operators will need to accelerate their investments in rich media technologies to offset the loss of SMS revenue over the next five years. The report found that SMS messaging, a long-established revenue source for operators, will fall from $66 billion in 2020 to $61 billion by 2025, owing to declining P2P traffic.
Security must also be front and centre if the growth is to be achieved.
Research author Scarlett Woodford said: "Authenticating the source of messaging traffic via RCS is far more efficient at eliminating fraudulent traffic routes than traditional firewalls, however, RCS traffic must still be monitored for malicious and unwanted content. A failure to do so will diminish the value of rich media messaging services in the future."
The report assessed operator messaging services, including MMS, RCS, and SMS.
Looking ahead, it predicted operators are likely to take advantage of the growing interest in omnichannel strategies to foster increased investment in rich media messaging standards, including RCS and MMS. It urged operators to capitalise on premium pricing and advanced anti-fraud standards over these channels to accomplish this.
Referencing the US market, the country is anticipated to account for 54% of global MMS and RCS traffic by 2025. Platforms in the US offer a comprehensive portfolio of messaging products; enabling enterprises to leverage rich media messaging for high-value marketing use cases. Conversely, low-cost services, such as SMS, can still be used for simple use cases, such as one-time passwords.
