Orange Wholesale has published an industry insight report analysing the irreplaceable core strengths of A2P SMS amid pressure from WhatsApp Business, flash‑call verification, RCS and other messaging channels. It also dissects two major industry challenges: rising pricing and widespread fraud, and lays out evaluation criteria for enterprises choosing A2P service providers.
Report statistics show roughly 2 trillion A2P SMS messages are sent worldwide each year for use‑cases such as one‑time‑password verification, banking alerts and order notifications. While the overall market keeps growing, SMS’s share of total A2P‑messaging volume is projected to drop from 92 % in 2023 to 66 % by 2028. OTT services expand rapidly with fast‑growing revenue for WhatsApp Business. Flash‑call verification has failed to achieve mass adoption and is exploited by fraudsters creating security risks. Apple’s RCS support introduces new market dynamics, yet large‑scale RCS roll‑out will still take at least two to three years.
Two prevailing pain points trouble the A2P sector: operator tariff hikes push up SMS costs and drive enterprises toward alternative channels. Around 20 billion fraudulent SMS circulated globally in 2023, inflicting approximately €1.1 billion in brand losses; fraudulent traffic accounts for 5 % of total A2P‑SMS volume.
Despite competition and risks, A2P SMS retains unique advantages: it reaches all mobile devices, requires neither internet access nor app installation, boasts an open rate as high as 98 %, delivers timely and stable delivery, and supports system auto‑fill for one‑time passwords, making it the preferred channel for OTP scenarios. The report states reliable providers must deliver stable delivery performance, elastic scaling capacity and robust anti‑fraud capabilities. Orange Wholesale outlines its technical countermeasures against grey routes and phishing scams and participates in anti‑fraud industry working‑groups including i3Forum. According to Juniper Research forecasts, global A2P‑SMS volume will hit 3.4 trillion messages in 2028, representing a 55 % increase compared with 2024. Enterprises should select trusted SMS providers to guarantee communication quality for global end‑users.
