MUMBAI: Looks like Whatsapp is about to have the last word quite literally. A new study by Juniper Research predicts that over-the-top (OTT) business messaging will leap from 390 billion messages in 2025 to more than 560 billion by 2027, powered by WhatsApp’s cutthroat pricing play.
Juniper’s latest A2P & Business Messaging Market 2025–2030 report finds that Whatsapp’s authentication rates 50 to 90 per cent lower than traditional A2P SMS one-time passcodes are helping it corner a sizeable slice of the enterprise communication pie. With prices this low, businesses are flocking to Whatsapp for their verification and alert needs, edging telecom operators out of the conversation.
“By first securing authentication traffic, Whatsapp is laying the groundwork to move into higher-value business messaging,” said Juniper Research senior research analyst Molly Gatford. “Once enterprises are onboarded for authentication, WhatsApp must upsell to marketing use cases, where termination fees are far higher and the real revenue opportunity lies.”
That’s not good news for mobile network operators, who are already losing ground in the lucrative business messaging arena. Juniper Research warns that if operators don’t adapt, OTT platforms could completely dominate enterprise communication in just a few years.
The report suggests that to keep up, operators must rethink their pricing strategy moving from flat SMS rates to use case-based pricing across SMS and RCS (Rich Communication Services). This, analysts say, will help enterprises understand the added value of RCS and prevent further migration to OTT channels.
To pull this off, telcos will need to partner with technology providers capable of using AI-driven tools and behavioural analysis to classify messages by use case at scale ensuring fair and accurate billing. “By adopting a use case-based pricing strategy that is consistent across SMS and RCS, operators will enable enterprises to better assess RCS’s added value over SMS,” Gatford explained.
Juniper’s new market suite offers one of the most detailed assessments yet of the A2P and business messaging landscape, with over 146,000 datapoints across 61 countries. And the big takeaway? The future of business messaging may not be in your inbox, it’s already in your Whatsapp chats.
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