Fraud, revenue leaks cost cellcos €43b

Inadequate fraud management and revenue assurance processes cost the mobile industry $58 billion (€43.5 billion) in 2011, and the losses could rise fivefold by 2016 without remedial measures, Juniper Research claims.
 
Based on the 2011 figures, around 6% of global mobile revenues are currently disappearing through such fraud and revenue leakage, the research firm states. Operators' existing billing systems and processes have been unable to keep pace with spiraling cellular traffic, and the complexity of the billing environment has magnified the scale of revenue loss and left operators more vulnerable to fraud.
 
Juniper predicts operators can minimize losses with automated fraud management and revenue assurance systems.
 
With sustained investment into tackling the problem, Juniper forecasts that leakage can be cut to 4% of global revenues by 2016. This would translate to a nearly $15 billion improvement on 2011.