Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column where C-level executives and advisory firms from across the mobile industry share unique insights and experiences.
Text messaging this week reached the ripe old age of 22. Over the course of its lifetime it has had ups and downs, shifted from novel to trendy to criticized and back, but has always remained indispensable and widely used. Originally envisaged as a service information channel that would make use of unused signaling resources, text messaging has since grown to become the most widely used mobile messaging platform and is the source of inspiration behind popular over-the-top messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook Messenger.
Developed in the 1980s as a part of the GSM standard, the first ever text message with the words “Merry Christmas” wasn’t actually sent from a phone, but from a computer – up until this point mobile phones hadn’t needed to support a messaging function. It should come as no surprise that, when text messaging did become mainstream, the first mobile phone to support texting was a Nokia.
Rise to fame
It wasn’t until mobile operators dramatically improved the user experience in the late ’90s and early 2000s that text messaging really took off. As new features and options were added, users embraced this relative novelty and soon there was no turning back. Spearheading the development of text messaging were the Scandinavian countries and the U.K., but the global spread of messaging fever soon followed in a variety of ways. The text messaging boom in the U.S., for example, came as text voting was introduced for the “American Idol” television show.
In time, text messaging proved to be flexible and reliable enough for corporate use and, building on its origins as an application-to-person channel, text message marketing was born. Growing demand created an entire industry to fill the void that mobile operators were not able to support or were simply not interested in; providing text messaging services to businesses and organizations, and developing an ecosystem of providers, carriers, businesses and mobile users.
A2P text message takes over
The A2P industry was largely left to its own devices. Although text messaging was being used for legitimate marketing purposes – allowing brands to increase visibility and engage consumers in a new way – it also gave rise to the phenomenon of unsolicited messaging. However, as the market matured, A2P text messaging providers worked together with regulators, industry associations such as the GSMA and carriers to eliminate privacy concerns and security issues, affirming the potential of the technology and its role in mobile telecommunications. Text messaging companies rather than carriers are still the main drivers behind innovation in text messaging technology, and are often seen by the carriers as equal partners in shaping this dynamic ecosystem.
The cost of text messaging is inseparable from the progress of mobile telecommunications in general. As mobile data and smartphones became more widely available and affordable, new options for texting started to appear and what was once a major source of revenue for carriers became bundled and commoditized. Indeed, in recent years person-to-person text messaging traffic has experienced a downward spiral, but text messaging as a mobile channel overall has yet again proven itself as reliable, flexible and popular enough to thrive.
In fact, A2P text messaging traffic volumes and carrier revenues from A2P text messaging are increasing steadily worldwide, reflecting the reality that while people don’t use text messaging as much for personal communication, they are happy to receive promotional messages, discount coupons or important notifications via text message. Texting is familiar and unobtrusive, and for this reason read rates of text messages exceed 90% – a marketer’s dream, and a figure email can only dream about.
However, the use of text messaging does extend beyond marketing, as banks and other financial institutions are taking advantage of the strength of this messaging channel. For example, by integrating databases with text messaging gateways, banks can provide users with real-time notifications about account activity from deposit receipts to fraud alerts.
Secure, flexible, complementary
Banks have also picked up on the fact that text messaging is inherently secure because of its deep integration into core telecoms signaling and has been bolstered in recent years by the introduction of advanced security solutions to the market, testing text messaging against strict certificates. This has opened the gates for the financial industry to deploy an even wider range of applications through A2P text messaging, such as delivery of card PINs and other sensitive information. Developers also have come to see text messaging as a complementary technology to enhance security; even Internet giants like Google and Facebook make use of text messaging.
This year in particular has thrust text messaging into the spotlight, as high-profile security breaches have seen a wide-scale roll out of text messaging-based two-factor authentication due to its adoptability and simplicity. Rather than relying on an authenticator app or additional piece of hardware like a key fob, it immediately turns any mobile phone into an extra layer of security, which in the current climate is a major strength of text messaging.
Text messaging: building a dialogue
The use of text messaging does not stop there. It caters for a much wider range of business needs, complementing marketing campaigns and customer engagement initiatives. Using flexible, developer-friendly APIs to integrate text messaging, both Web and mobile apps get a new dimension and improve user experience. Whether for two-factor authentication, customer service or advertising, developers are at the forefront of harnessing the ubiquity and popularity of text messaging. Text messaging now goes beyond A2P with two-way messaging that allows businesses to make use of the interactivity the platform can offer. Two-way text messaging creates a dialogue between a consumer and a brand. It also facilitates consumer engagement, data collection, loyalty schemes and perhaps most evidently, consumer services. Many call center software designers add text messaging modules as they recognize its value for both the enterprise and the mobile user.
Robust and here to stay
One of the major advantages of text messaging over virtually any other mobile channel is the fact that it just works. On any type of mobile phone, from basic feature phones to the latest smartphones, text messaging is consistent and reliable. It’s a robust channel that’s ideal for emergencies, allowing public services to broadcast information, or as a fall-back option for mobile users when voice or data services are down. The growing number of cities and counties across the U.S. rolling out text-to-911 services is just one example of how the scope of text messaging is growing around the world.
To put it simply, text messaging is not going anywhere. It might be 22 years old, but the way in which it continues to adapt and evolve marks it as a technology that will continue to stand the test of time.
