Customer Story
Monetizing the A2P messaging opportunity
How Unitel used A2P Monetization to generate new revenue and modernize their network.
Customer Story
Challenge: Turn incoming A2P messaging traffic into revenue and increase security for the network and subscribers
Solution: Deploy a managed A2P messaging service to effectively block incoming grey route messages
Results: A modernized messaging infrastructure with over 1m monetized messages per month and 60% reduction in OPEX costs
“Working with Sinch helped us streamline our processes and successfully block grey routes and monetize A2P messages. Automating our messaging reduced our staff’s workload by 60% – allowing them to provide clients a superior level of service”
Tulga Otgonbayar
CIO, Unitel Group
Unitel Group is a triple play operator that runs Mongolia’s first and largest 4G LTE network. With such a significant infrastructure investment, they help make even the most remote subscribers in the world’s most sparsely populated country reachable. This is great of course for anyone wanting to reach those subscribers but Unitel has not always been compensated for this value that they provide.
Could there be a way for an operator to simultaneously generate new revenue, boost security of the network, enhance subscriber privacy and increase customer satisfaction, all without making any new CAPEX investments?
With an expanding subscriber base and a growing global A2P messaging market, Unitel was aware that it did not have adequate control of incoming A2P messaging traffic to their network. Practically none of the incoming messages were coming in through legitimate channels and they were therefore missing out on valuable termination fees. The lack of control also left both its network and its subscribers open to illicit messages that can lead to security breaches, fraud and spam. Besides the direct impact on customer satisfaction, the illicit traffic also increased the load on customer services and diluted the trust in SMS as a marketing channel compounding the loss of revenue.
Unitel decided that the task of plugging the proverbial leaks in the network and managing A2P messaging traffic to turn it into a revenue generator needed to be done by a dedicated and experienced partner. This way Unitel could focus on doing what they do best – serving their subscribers.
Unitel selected Sinch for this task back in 2016 and have not looked back since.
After integrating Sinch’s robust SMS Firewall and signing an exclusive aggregator agreement, Unitel was able to close off their network to grey route SMS traffic and to direct these messages to legal and monetized routes. With Sinch managing the A2P traffic in a revenue share model, each message coming in has become a source of income rather than a strain on the network. What’s more, thanks to the flexibility of Sinch’s business model for A2P Monetization, Unitel has been able to use this new revenue to successfully modernize their messaging infrastructure without any significant CAPEX investments. Truly a win-win for Unitel!
Today, more than 1 million A2P messages received by their nearly 1 million subscribers are monetized each month generating a steady stream of revenue for Unitel. And thanks to the managed service from Sinch, Unitel’s staff are able to free up resources to focus on serving their subscribers.
Thanks to our collaboration in A2P services, Unitel has benefitted in more ways than just monetizing an important opportunity. Sinch and Unitel have built a strong relationship transforming and modernizing the operator’s infrastructure to be 5G-ready. Today Sinch provides both SMSC and other VAS services to Unitel and we expect to bring a broader wholesale services portfolio to further grow the lucrative wholesale opportunity.
