In 2016, operators will see their share of mobile content and commerce revenue drop to 31 per cent, from 44 per cent in 2011, according to forecasts from Informa Telecoms & Media. Informa predicts revenues from services including messaging, location-based services, and mobile music, games and TV to drop over the next five years, as they increasingly move to an OTT (Over The Top) model.

So what can operators offer uniquely to consumers in this OTT future? According to Informa, app payments. Carrier billing, which makes charges to the users mobile phone bills, will push operators slice of app revenues from 10 per cent in 2011 to 17 per cent in 2016. In-app carrier billing is still out of the question on Apple devices, but its been embraced by Android, Windows, and all the other OS players.

“Operators could miss out on the opportunity afforded by carrier billing if they don’t make it more affordable and accessible to app store owners and developers, and if they do not introduce more efficient and flexible systems than the clunky and unreliable PSMS,” says Guillermo Escofet, senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. “More compelling alternatives are already appearing in countries such as Russia, where instant payment terminals in the street allow users to turn cash into eMoney, to spend on digital goods.”