According to telecommunications research carried out by Revector, a mobile anti-fraud specialist, almost 60 per cent of operators believe that OTT bypass is the single biggest threat to revenues, highlighting the detrimental effect the practice is having on the telecommunications industry.
The initial responses to the survey have shown a substantial reduction in revenues as a direct result of OTT bypass, with one network operator experiencing almost a 50 per cent decrease in termination revenue. A year-on-year decline in revenues has coincided with an increase in customer complaints, with 90 per cent of operators reporting poor call quality as the reason for most customer complaints.
What is OTT bypass?
OTT bypass takes place when VoIP providers, such as Viber, WhatsApp and Skype, terminate traditional voice calls within their own applications via the internet. This not only takes a significant amount of revenue away from the operators but also has an effect on the end user. Call quality is often poorer and other services such as voicemail and caller ID can be affected. Using OTT applications can also impact data plans, leaving consumers unaware that they are potentially facing an increased monthly phone bill.
What can operators do?
What this research has shown is that more than 70 per cent of operators are aware of OTT bypass occurring on their network, yet are unsure of what options are available to limit its impact. Operators can invest in technology to counteract and negate the damaging effect OTT bypass has on its business.
Revector’s OTT detection and elimination service is the only fully tested and proven OTT service on the market. Tested on live networks it identifies and eliminates OTT bypass and protects networks by monitoring OTT threats in real time, helping to return call termination revenues to the operators. As new OTT providers gain traction and decide to target termination revenues, Revector can identify these in a matter of days, saving networks’ revenues immediately.
If you are a telecommunications service provider interested in taking part in the survey then please contact partner@revector.com
We will share the full results soon!
