A2P SMS: Key Applications in India

Over the last few years, the use of SMS for personal communication has considerably reduced, with most users preferring OTT messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. In fact, the consumer SMS market is a decelerating market.

But this does not mean SMS is dead. On the contrary, enterprise SMS, or A2P in particular (Application to Person), has a stellar story and will grow almost in double digits in the next few years.

All the notifications you receive, like OTP, bank statements etc., are examples of A2P SMS. This market had a shot in the arm during the pandemic. There was a surge in digital transactions; many government alerts were being sent and other app notifications.

But the key driver for this sector going forward will be IoT. When we speak about IoT, there are various ways devices can communicate. To put things in context, we can consider IoT bifurcated into cellular and non-cellular IoT. For cellular-based IoT, all notifications run through SMS, making it a huge opportunity, considering the M2M SIM market is growing reasonably rapidly (in its mid 20’s).

Emerging verticals such as healthcare would also help propel the growth story of A2P SMS, with automation being the critical business lever.

Also, for a country like ours, where mobile penetration is very high and for a segment which still relies on feature phones, A2P SMS remains one of the most cost-effective and yet secure ways to reach out to a large cross-section which resides not only in urban metros but also in the hinterland.