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Wireless Operators Are Using Carrier Billing To Get In On Mobile Commerce Dollars

John Heggestuen   

Wireless Operators Are Using Carrier Billing To Get In On Mobile Commerce Dollars

Carrier Billing Share

BII

Carrier billing allows mobile users to buy digital goods like ring tones, music, apps, e-books, and in-app purchases by adding the cost of the purchase directly to their mobile bills.

While carrier billing is very simple and seamless from the consumer's perspective, it depends on a complex set of relationships between wireless carriers, app stores, platform vendors, and app developers. Those relationships also vary substantially country by country, depending on each market's mobile ecosystem.

The idea isn't new. In fact, carrier billing was the first method available to consumers for buying things like ring tones and wallpapers before the advent of smartphones.

But now a recent report from BI Intelligence finds that carrier billing technology has made some giant leaps forward and now offers a smooth, low-friction way for consumers to pay for digital content like apps and tokens within apps. It's got especially big potential in countries with low credit card penetration. But that said, it faces some major hurdles, in particular the high prices currently charged by mobile operators for providing carrier billing services.

In the report, BI Intelligence explains how carrier billing works, who is using it, and whether or not it has the potential to catch on for physical goods, beyond the world of digital content.

Access the Full Report By Signing Up For A Free Trial Today >>

Here are some of the key elements from the report:

In full, the report:

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