Somos Report Argues Texting-to-Toll-Free Market Remains Broken
Dysfunction in the texting-to-toll-free (TTF) market is harmful to consumers and businesses, said a white paper by QSI Consulting, paid for by Somos. “Although commercial relationships in the mobile-to-mobile texting market have been working well, many of the same monopoly…
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characteristics that plagued traditional voice communications for years, requiring constant oversight by the FCC, are now affecting the TTF market and causing consumer harm,” Somos, which administers a toll-free number platform, said in a news release. Toll-free numbers are being text-enabled without the knowledge of subscribers or carriers, the paper said. An aggregator monopoly “is stifling innovation and hindering market development,” it said. Aggregator revenue sharing agreements with the major mobile carriers are also disrupting the market, the paper said. “Our study chronicles significant and demonstrable market failures in the texting to Toll-Free ecosystem,” said Jim Webber, QSI senior vice president: “For example, with little effort, we were able to duplicate a scenario in which Toll-Free numbers could be text-enabled without the authorized subscriber’s knowledge or the supporting voice carrier’s concurrence.”