Latest Technological Innovations and Developments in the Messaging Landscape

By Ricardo Martins – VP Global Sales Messaging at iBASIS .

During his Keynote presentation at the CC-Mobile Messaging Summit in Berlin 2023, Ricardo Martins provided us with a comprehensive overview of the company's dedication to fostering innovation, its strategic focus on telecommunications, and the impact of emerging technologies.

In line with our company's 25-year history, we have been at the forefront of innovation. Today, our focus is on telecommunications innovation and the latest developments in the field—a mission that aligns seamlessly with iBASIS's DNA. As the third-largest wholesale carrier in voice, we hold numerous patents and have a rich legacy of inventing IP technology a quarter of a century ago. This enduring commitment to innovation not only resonates deeply within our organization but also forms an integral component of our strategic vision.

In terms of strategy and why we've ventured into the messaging domain, it's crucial to highlight that our roots in voice provide a strong foundation for exploring and accelerating new services. Messaging, in particular, has emerged as a pivotal domain in this regard. Brands are allocating increasingly more resources to messaging, which undoubtedly fuels technological innovation.

Speaking of technological innovation, where should we begin? There's so much to cover. At iBASIS, we closely monitor certain trends, with guidance from our CTO and innovation committee. We've observed that artificial intelligence is starting to yield practical results and applications. Additionally, the growth of IoT and the deployment of 5G worldwide are significant trends we're witnessing. These new technologies introduce fresh solutions, opportunities, and challenges that we must address.

Let me provide some concrete examples of how artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning are pertinent to our daily operations. We're continuously assessing how these technologies can enhance the value, efficiency, and optimization of our services to customers, internal processes, and the development of new products. We've identified numerous areas across our portfolio in voice, mobile messaging, IoT, and cloud where artificial intelligence and machine learning can be applied. These include data-driven decision-making, customer experience enhancement, network optimization, flash call authentication, fraud detection, and pricing analysis. These real-world activities can all benefit significantly from the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

As an illustration, consider the adoption of flash calls in the market. This trend has been on the rise, not just within the messaging domain, but also as a top-three voice carrier globally. Given our substantial voice traffic, we're leveraging supervised learning and machine learning to swiftly detect flash calls. This enables us to empower mobile network operators (M&Os) to make informed decisions on whether to monetize or block such calls. This ongoing process represents a continuous improvement effort, backed by our internal data scientists. I want to emphasize that this isn't a distant vision but a reality actively happening at iBASIS today.

Furthermore, we're deeply committed to fraud detection and security, which are paramount concerns for us. By employing AI, we're identifying trends and abnormal patterns in real-time, enhancing our network security, and safeguarding privacy and data protection. These are just a few of the tangible use cases where we've already witnessed the applicability of technological advancements.

In addition to the example of artificial intelligence I've already provided, we explored what other innovations might be on the horizon in the telecommunications industry. For us, four areas stood out: the utilization of SS7 (iBASIS being a tier one player with an SS7 network), the application of new business channels like RCS and WhatsApp for business, the integration of next-generation firewalls to better protect networks, and the emergence of richer API interfaces in the form of the new generation of APIs. These ideas represent iBASIS's vision.

Some of these elements are already integrated into our daily operations, while others are part of our product roadmap. IoT is undeniably one of our key areas of growth focus. The potential synergies between IoT and messaging remain a topic for internal exploration. Nonetheless, considering that both IoT and messaging are integral to iBASIS's strategic axis, we anticipate their inclusion in our roadmap in the near future.

When addressing the intricate problem of rising grey and black traffic, a pressing concern in our industry, I believe that the solution to this complex issue entails a combination of behavioral and commercial adjustments, complemented by technological innovation such as AI and machine learning. This combination has the potential to significantly reshape the landscape. While behavioral and commercial factors remain paramount, the incorporation of technologies like SS7 can aid in mitigating artificial traffic, offering a potential solution to this challenge. The crucial consideration here is how these innovations are deployed, as they can be harnessed in both positive and negative ways depending on the strategy and intentions of the users.

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Watch the full video version of this Keynote presentation on our CC-Media Portal: public.carriercommunity.com/media-channels/cc-webinar-live/past-cc-webinar-live

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