“An online consumer survey of more than 2,000 smartphone users in the UK and Germany, carried out by billing firm Mach and research agency Opinium in April, found significant demand for direct operator billing, suggesting it could be the preferred payment method of choice for apps and in-app purchases.”
James Middleton.
Carrier billing is an interesting alternative to the OTT threat by filling one of the holes in the OTT value chain. It is a mechanism whereby payment for products/services are approved by the customer to go onto their carrier bill rather than having to authorise credit card payments. For the customer it is more convenient and faster. It appears to be a mechanism for CSPs to monetise their products, particularly over mobile delivery platforms.
This isn’t a traditional model that OSS vendors have delivered to. If carrier billing does prove to be a successful strategy for the CSPs world-wide then the OSS vendors will undoubtedly develop more of these capabilities in their future product suites.