Premium SMS

This 175 page report is the first to detail the Premium SMS business in great detail. This seminal report outlines all the strategies, players and payment rates for different countries and parties. Premium SMS (P-SMS) is a concept to realize micropayment via SMS. It can be used by consumers to pay content by sending a Short Message (SM) to a "global" short code (normally 4-6 digits). The micropayment will be billed via the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) applying different tariff rates, either debited directly from the prepaid account (debit) or added to the standard postpaid invoice and thus making use of a billing method which is accepted by the consumer. P-SMS is internationally applicable and very easy to technically utilize in countries all over the world which have GSM networks.

Premium SMS is a very popular and convenient way for consumers to pay for content. It is hard to over-emphasize the importance of Premium SMS as a way to maximize revenues. In the USA, where IVR 0900 numbers are far less popular and credit cards are the most popular purchase mechanism (a totally different situation to what we see in the UK), the addition of P-SMS is likely to be truly like the "oil" for the mobile content industry which we expect to account for even greater popularity. Any portal operator, content provider, brand owner or network operator that does not have an aggressive and comprehensive strategy in relation to Premium SMS are, to put it in blunt terms, naive.