How P2A (Person-to-Application) Authentication Becomes a Revenue Stream for Mobile Network Operators in 2026

The Overlooked Revenue Opportunity in P2A Authentication Traffic

P2A authentication traffic occurs when a user sends a message back to an application—for example, entering a one-time-password (OTP), confirming an identity, or engaging via a bot. Unlike traditional Peer-to-Peer (P2P) or Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging, P2A is often misclassified and treated as subscriber cost rather than monetized revenue.

Why does this matter? Authentication messages make up over 20% of global SMS traffic yet many carriers fail to monetize this effectively source. Instead, they treat it as a cost center, missing out on a significant revenue stream.

With global A2P and P2A messages surpassing 5 trillion annually, capturing accurate P2A flows promises millions in additional revenue. Forward-thinking carriers employing modern analytics and SMS firewalls have started seizing this opportunity, setting themselves apart in the competitive telecom ecosystem source.

Why Are MNOs Overlooking P2A?

The main culprit is legacy systems and classification bias. Traditional billing platforms group messages as either P2P or A2P, but P2A messages where user-initiated SMS heads towards applications, get lumped in as pure subscriber traffic and cost.

Many operators lack the tools to detect and classify P2A flows. Without visibility and proper analytics, this dimension of traffic goes unnoticed. There’s also a natural tendency to prioritize visible enterprise A2P traffic like marketing messages or alerts over user-originated authentication flows.

Lastly, increased competition from OTT applications puts pricing pressures on SMS revenue, making some networks resort to cost-cutting rather than tapping into new revenue streams.

The Business Case: How Carriers Are Monetising P2A Authentication Traffic

Alright, now to the good bit. What does this look like in real life and why should you care?

Example 1: Authentication Traffic at Scale

While operators may not publicly name themselves, research indicates that OTP or authentication flows have grown substantially. For instance, one source found that OTPs accounted for 88.6 % of total international A2P SMS traffic in 2022 and were projected to fall to 35-40 % of A2P traffic by some forecasts.That tells us authentication flows are huge.

Example 2: Monetisation via Classification

Imagine Operator X who used to treat subscriber-initiated “login SMS to application” flows as regular traffic. They then implemented analytics to identify these flows, engaged enterprise app partners (2FA, IoT onboarding), and established a revenue share for those flows. Suddenly these flows became a line item revenue rather than leakage. While specific names are rarely published, the model is gaining traction: e.g., partner firms that optimise A2P, P2P and P2A traffic reference working with operators to capture these flows.

Why it matters in 2025

• Demand for authentication, verification, and login flows is rising. More services, more devices, more log-in events.
• Messaging margins for traditional voice/SMS are under pressure, operators need new revenue lines.
• The technology and ecosystem (analytics, firewall, partner marketplaces) are ready.

Revenue modelling and commercial models

Operators are deploying models such as:

• Per-message billing for P2A authentication SMS
• Revenue share with aggregators or enterprise app providers
• Subscription or bulk-quota models for large enterprise authentication volumes

The advantage is that for many of these flows the user-initiated SMS was already happening — cost was being incurred but not monetised. By classifying it correctly and billing it, you transform cost into revenue.

Technical & Business Steps to Unlock P2A Authentication Revenue

Here are the practical steps, laid out as though we’re walking through together.

Step 1: Audit and classify your messaging traffic

You’ll want to know: how many user-initiated messages go from subscriber to application? What patterns exist? Use analytics tools to segment message origin/destination, to identify P2A flows rather than generic subscriber traffic.

Step 2: Implement fraud prevention and revenue assurance

Authentication flows are high-value but also attractive for abuse — grey routes, SIM farms, artificial traffic. One research found that the A2P SMS industry lost up to 18 % of revenue to fraud in 2022. Deploy SMS firewall and machine-learning classification to ensure you’re capturing legitimate flows.

Step 3: Create billing and partner frameworks

Set up how you will monetise the traffic: negotiate enterprise partners, aggregators, CPaaS providers; define pricing models; integrate billing systems to capture P2A flows correctly.

Step 4: Optimise routing and cost structure

Monetising revenue matters, but margin matters more. You’ll need to review termination costs, internal vs external carriers, routing optimisation so that the cost of delivering or handling that message doesn’t exceed what you can bill.

Step 5: Compliance and user experience

Because subscriber-initiated traffic may have privacy/consent implications, ensure you are compliant with regional regulations (GDPR, national telecom rules). Also ensure your monetisation doesn’t degrade the user experience for the end-subscriber or the enterprise partner.

Step 6: Go-to-market strategy

Once you have mechanisms in place, you need to market what you offer: highlight to enterprise apps that you can deliver reliable global reach for their authentication flows, present your monetised model, emphasise your security, delivery reliability and cost competitiveness.

Step 7: Define metrics and monitor

Track: volume of P2A flows captured, revenue per message, cost per message, fraud rate, subscriber complaints, enterprise churn. Use these metrics to optimise your model and scale up.

Risks, Challenges & How to Navigate Them

Because yes, this isn’t all without obstacles.

Misclassification or under-capture

If you mis-label P2A flows as standard subscriber traffic, then you will continue to lose revenue. Proper analytics is essential.

Fraud and bypass risk

Grey routing and artificial traffic remain big issues. One report says the SMS firewall market is being driven by the need to protect revenue streams. Without adequate controls you could capture traffic but find it contaminated by fraud.

Legacy systems and time-to-market

If your billing/OSS systems aren’t set up for dynamic classification and partner billing, implementation will take time. That delay means missed opportunity.

Regulatory or user-experience risk

If subscriber messages are being monetised in a way that feels opaque or unfair to the user, you could get complaints or regulatory scrutiny.

Navigating these means treating the opportunity as strategic: allocate resources, champion it at senior level, ensure risk mitigation is built in.

Why Now, and What It Means for MNOs

Here’s where I believe we step into higher ground. If you’re an operator in 2025 and you don’t treat this opportunity seriously, you’re choosing to remain in the commodity messaging business. But if you do, you position your network as a partner for enterprises that rely on authentication, verification and large-scale user engagement.

Think of it this way: the world is moving to more identity-based services, more device-onboarding, more “log in once and trust me” patterns. Every authentication event is an opportunity, but only if you capture the traffic.

By moving early you can:

• Establish a pricing leadership position before the market becomes saturated.
• Build reputation around secure, low-latency authentication SMS delivery (a differentiator for enterprises).
• Use your existing network assets (reach, brand trust, routing infrastructure) to monetise flows that others treat as cost.

In short: you’re not just monetising more SMS, you’re redefining the role of your network in an identity-centric digital economy.

Conclusion

P2A authentication traffic is growing, user-initiated flows are increasing, yet many operators remain on the sidelines. If you follow the steps we discussed, you can turn what looks like background traffic into meaningful revenue, build strategic enterprise relationships, and position your operator for the next phase of messaging.

I hope this gives you a clear roadmap and inspiration. If you’d like help drilling deeper into analytics frameworks, partner negotiation templates or cost modelling for this type of traffic, let me know — I’m happy to dig in with you.

FAQs

What is P2A authentication traffic and why does it matter for mobile operators?

P2A (Person-to-Application) authentication traffic occurs when a user sends a message to an app or service — for example, to verify an account or log in. These user-initiated messages are valuable because they represent authentication events that enterprises pay for. Monetising P2A traffic allows operators to convert previously cost subscriber messages into a steady enterprise revenue stream.

How can mobile operators monetise P2A authentication traffic?

Operators can monetise P2A traffic by identifying and classifying these messages separately from P2P flows, implementing billing frameworks, and partnering with enterprises or CPaaS providers. Common models include per-message billing, revenue sharing, or enterprise subscription bundles. The key is analytics-driven detection and fair, transparent pricing for enterprise-originated authentication flows.

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How much can MNOs realistically earn by monetising P2A authentication flows?

Revenue potential varies by region and user base, but industry estimates suggest MNOs can increase messaging revenue by 15–25% annually by properly monetising P2A authentication flows. Given that authentication makes up over 20% of global messaging traffic, even modest per-message pricing can yield multimillion-dollar incremental gains.