GMS at WAS #18: Navigating the Future of Mobile Networks

2 min read

From October 16 to 19, 2023, GMS had the privilege of participating in the GSMA’s WAS #18 held in the beautiful city of Šibenik, Croatia. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with our industry colleagues and roaming partners and discuss the latest developments impacting our business.

Assuring the long-term viability of SMS

Mounting pressures on commercial models and a rise in fraud, especially due to the emergence of AIT, are posing a more significant threat to the A2P messaging market than ever before. GMS CEO Charles Upchurch joined other leading players from the business messaging world for a panel discussion titled “Existential Threats to the Future of SMS”. Led by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), the lively session also featured key findings from a Mobilesquared report on the same topic

The WAS#18 conference agenda touched on a host of other pertinent issues and included a dedicated session on the future of fraud and messaging. Here, Charles presented on another topic, “Safeguarding Profits: New Technologies Driving Real-Time Fraud Detection and Prevention”.

His solo presentation focused on three main areas:

1. Understanding the New Landscape: Charles started with an overview of the new market realities. He discussed the evolving threat landscape, focusing on the rise of sophisticated fraud schemes that operators need to combat: Artificial Inflation Traffic, RCS and OTTs, AI and Machine Learning, flash calls, and advanced spam.

2. Exploring Technological Solutions: Charles then delved into the new technologies that can help tackle these threats. He discussed the role of firewalls, the DPI platform for OTTs, advanced APIs, and mobile blockchain in detecting and preventing fraudulent activities.

3. Emphasising the Power of Innovation: Charles concluded his speech by accentuating that innovation and industry cooperation is the key to combating fraud. He highlighted the importance of staying ahead of the curve and investing in advanced technologies to safeguard profits and have a continuous protection system to avoid vulnerabilities.

Attendees came away from the presentation with a renewed understanding of the importance of staying ahead of the curve when it comes to fraud prevention and detection and with a wealth of practical insights and recommendations for achieving this goal.

GMS Team at WAS#18

Building solutions for the future – together

WAS#18 proved to be a valuable opportunity for our team, providing us with a dynamic platform to engage with our customers and partners.

GMS showcased several key offerings from our Messaging Hub and Messaging Protection suite of solutions, highlighting how they can increase network security and boost traffic monetisation. Our white-labelled CPaaS and AI Chabots solutions also drew significant interest among operators seeking to diversify their revenue streams.


Engaging in direct, face-to-face conversations with our customers gave us invaluable insights into their current challenges and pain points. This firsthand knowledge will be instrumental in our efforts to craft new and innovative solutions to meet their evolving needs.

We are excited about the future and look forward to continuing our journey in shaping the communications landscape together! See you in the 2024 events season!

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