A2P messaging trends for 2026

In 2026, A2P messaging no longer feels like a single channel. It feels like a system of permissions: who you are, what you’re allowed to send, when you’re allowed to send it, and how the network will treat you if you break the rules — an evolution that can be seen in the governance expectations laid out in sources like CTIA’s Messaging Principles and Best Practices. For years, the industry story was mostly about reach and volume—more routes, more throughput, lower cost per message. That era is ending. The new story is about trust, because trust is now being priced and enforced through requirements expectations.  Continue reading to learn about 2026 A2P messaging trends. 

The fraud economy is still the hidden engine of change 

Operators have always filtered spam and fraud, but the posture has changed: if the network can’t confidently identify the sender and intent, the message is increasingly treated as potentially harmful — a pattern that aligns with the industry’s quantified focus on harmful traffic.

That’s why frameworks like US 10DLC – regulated ten-digit long codes, mandatory for sending out A2P SMS – matter beyond North America: they normalise the idea that A2P traffic should be attributable, with brands and ecosystem participants verified before sending.

Mobilesquared’s Global A2P SMS report foresees a move toward legitimacy: domestic white-route traffic climbs from 80.6% in 2024 to 86.5% in 2029, while domestic grey traffic and AIT drop sharply, and brand spend on harmful traffic also decreases. The report underscores the industry’s push to reduce fraud, with incentives aligning around stronger enforcement and attribution.

Cleaner traffic doesn’t automatically mean bigger revenue 

A cleaner ecosystem doesn’t guarantee bigger margins. In fact, enforcement often reshapes both pricing and volumes — which is indicated by Mobilesquared’s projection: domestic white-route spend (including fraud) will decline from $29.1B in 2024 to $23.3B in 2029, while Juniper Research says losses from AIT peaked at $2.1 billion in 2023 and will fall owing to A2P SMS traffic migration. Its report forecasts that global A2P SMS traffic will fall from 1.9 trillion in 2023 to below 1.5 trillion by 2029, making AIT a less valuable proposition for fraudsters. The study also found that click monitoring and behavioural analysis will enhance an enterprise’s ability to detect bots and reduce AIT fraud before the SMS request is sent.

So 2026 becomes a year where A2P leaders stop treating SMS as “cheap volume” and start managing it like a measurable business instrument — because when harmful traffic and grey routing shrink, the value conversation shifts from “how many messages did we push?” to “how much fraud did we avoid and how much conversion did we win?”.

Global pricing 

Mobilesquared’s analysis of A2P SMS pricing indicates that the average global international termination rate (ITR) reached $0.10059 in 1Q 2025, the first time the global average has exceeded $0.10, and they explicitly argue that $0.10 should be a ceiling rather than the midpoint. Distribution is broad: 93 markets sit above the global average, and 107 below it.

Among above-average markets, pricing is mostly concentrated in the $0.10–$0.20 band: 42 markets are priced at $0.10–$0.15 and 37 at $0.15–$0.20, while 14 are priced at $0.20–$0.30 and none are over $0.30.

Regionally, higher pricing is weighted toward Africa and Asia (each with 6 markets over $0.20), and Mobilesquared notes that only North America and Western Europe have every market priced below the global average; Western Europe also has the highest number of markets in the $0.03–$0.10 band.

The “Top 10 ITRs” list highlights where international A2P costs can become a planning constraint: Madagascar ($0.272089) leads, followed by Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Libya, Indonesia, Myanmar, Comoros, Azerbaijan, and Egypt (all above ~$0.217). Mobilesquared notes that this top tier is mostly in Africa and Asia, with Azerbaijan singled out as an exception.

The A2P messaging trend for 2026: international A2P budgeting and routing should treat pricing as a destination-portfolio problem. Many markets are now in the $0.10–$0.20 range, while a few destinations require tighter routing, fraud management, and potential channel substitution.

Richer channels aren’t replacing SMS — they’re surrounding it 

SMS still has the superpower nobody else fully matches: near-universal reach. But the experience layer around business messaging is changing rapidly as RCS becomes a more practical enterprise channel in more markets — especially after the iOS milestone.

In 2026, enterprises stop asking “SMS or RCS?” and design for orchestration: rich flows where supported, SMS fallback where not, and consistent measurement approaches reflected by the Cisco/Webex RCS Business Messaging whitepaper and GSMA ecosystem direction.

Where this gets commercially interesting for MNOs is that the surrounding layer isn’t just RCS. It’s also programmable communications and network capabilities exposed via APIs — and this is where white-label CPaaS can expand revenue opportunities without forcing every operator to build a full developer platform from scratch. The industry is standardising and industrialising network API monetisation through initiatives such as the GSMA Open Gateway and its alignment with TM Forum on API monetisation at scale. Meanwhile, market forecasts suggest meaningful upside: Juniper Research projects network API revenue will exceed $8 billion globally by 2030. The takeaway for 2026 is straightforward: if SMS is the universal reach layer, then CPaaS + network APIs are the monetizable control layer—identity, fraud prevention, authentication, QoE, and programmable messaging that enterprises can consume inside their own workflows.

So the “surrounding” strategy becomes a product strategy. MNOs can keep SMS as the dependable baseline, push RCS when it improves the experience, and use white-label CPaaS to package multi-channel messaging (SMS, RCS, OTT apps like WhatsApp and Viber) plus network API capabilities under the operator’s brand — aimed at enterprise customers who want outcomes, not routing complexity. This lines up with the broader B2B telecom push that argues operators can preserve and expand their role in enterprise communications by integrating CPaaS-style capabilities, as discussed by McKinsey. 

Closing thoughts 

For mobile network operators, the 2026 A2P shift means messaging is now a network-trust business, where verified identity, permitted use cases, compliant timing, and enforceable governance determine deliverability and value. This A2P trend with mean cleaner traffic and fewer grey routes to improve ecosystem health, but won’t always boost margins. Operators must focus on trusted completion, enterprise outcomes, and managing international A2P as a portfolio with tighter controls in high-risk markets. Strategically, SMS remains the universal reach layer, RCS is positioned as an experience upgrade, and the main growth opportunity lies in white-label CPaaS and network APIs, enabling operators to become trusted enterprise communications providers.

If you are looking to secure your network and diversify your revenue streams, reach out to our team!