The latest forecast puts the global mobile value added services (mVAS) market on a steep trajectory: rising from $869 billion in 2024 to a projected $2.6 trillion by 2031. A sector growing at more than 14 percent a year is rare in any part of the digital economy. In telemedia, it signals something more than momentum. It marks a shift in how people live, communicate and transact through their mobile devices. 

Smartphone adoption continues to rise, particularly in regions where affordability once held consumers back. Social media remains the gravitational force pulling billions of users online each day, creating the behaviours that lead naturally into mobile entertainment, content, messaging, and payment services. As this demand accelerates, operators and service providers worldwide are broadening their portfolios, experimenting with new formats, and pushing into markets that were once undeveloped. 

Taken at face value, this is a growth story. But sustained growth in mVAS has never been purely about volume. The organisations that benefit most from the coming wave will be those who balance innovation with control, scale with accountability, and growth with an ability to understand what is happening across increasingly complex value chains. 

This is where the opportunity lies: not simply in chasing demand, but in being structurally ready for it. 

A mVAS Market Driven by Behaviour, Not Hype 

Smartphones are now essential infrastructure in many households. They have replaced not one device but dozens, and with that comes a steady expansion in how individuals use mVAS. Browsing, messaging, financial services, entertainment, gaming, education, subscription content, merchant payments, identity: all of it now sits within reach of a single tap. 

The result is a broader, more active, and more diverse user base than ever before. People who would never previously have engaged with mobile content or services are doing so daily. Communities that were considered “hard to reach” are now reachable, simply because smartphone access has improved and costs have fallen. 

That behavioural shift is what drives the commercial curve. It is also what increases complexity. As more consumers use more services, in more markets, through more partners, the operational demands on MNOs, aggregators and CSPs rise in parallel. 

The challenge for the industry is not whether demand will continue. It will. The challenge is whether the ecosystem can grow responsibly and cohesively enough to capture the value. 

The Next Decade Belongs to Those Who Can Scale With Confidence 

Across the ecosystem, there are three capabilities that will determine who thrives as the market expands. 

1. Visibility, not just volume 

Growth introduces new services, new partners, new business models, and new user journeys. Without visibility across this landscape, opportunities are missed and risks compound. Operators need clarity on what is running through their networks. Aggregators need to understand the behaviours of the services they support. CSPs need a clear view of how their services appear to consumers in real-world conditions. 

When everyone sees the same picture, collaboration improves and the ecosystem functions more intelligently. 

2. Operational discipline that matches market pace 

As mVAS offerings multiply, manual oversight and fragmented processes simply cannot keep up. The organisations who succeed will be those who treat governance, onboarding, quality control and customer journey oversight as part of their operating model, not as a back-office burden. 

This discipline protects consumers, reduces costs, and gives operators and partners the freedom to innovate without destabilising the market. 

3. Consumer experience as a strategic priority 

Consumer expectations are rising, and rightly so. Fast-loading content, transparent payment journeys, consistent flows, dispute resolution, and straightforward opt-out mechanisms are essential. They create trust, reduce complaints, and support sustainable revenue. 

The industry has seen the consequences of neglecting this before. Growth without customer experience eventually slows. Growth built on trust compounds. 

What Each Part of the mVAS Value Chain Can Do Now 

The $2.6 trillion forecast is not automatically distributed. It will favour those who prepare. There are practical steps every stakeholder can take. 

For Mobile Network Operators 

• Strengthen collaborative frameworks with aggregators and CSPs to ensure transparency and reduce friction. 

• Build a clearer view of who is operating on the network and how services evolve over time. 

• Treat consumer trust as a commercial asset. When customers have confidence in mobile services, engagement rises across categories. 

For Aggregators 

• Position yourselves not merely as payment facilitators but as strategic partners who help operators scale safely. 

• Bring intelligence, governance and efficiency to the value chain by making service behaviour more predictable and transparent. 

• Support CSPs in building journeys that reduce complaints and improve conversion. 

For Content Service Providers 

• Recognise compliance, journey optimisation and customer care as part of product design. 

• Understand that operators expect demonstrable quality and transparency as the market matures. 

• Treat clear onboarding and complaint reduction as competitive advantages that open doors in new markets. 

Everyone gains when the ecosystem raises its collective standard. 

Collaboration Is the Real Differentiator 

Rapid growth tends to reveal structural weaknesses. The telemedia industry has experienced this cycle before. The lesson is always the same: those who collaborate early, share insight, and invest in readiness do not simply avoid risk; they unlock far greater commercial value. 

The next decade of mVAS will be shaped by partnerships that are closer, more data driven and more aligned to a common goal: giving consumers services they trust and enjoy, at scale. 

Operators cannot achieve this alone. Aggregators cannot deliver it without support. CSPs cannot grow sustainably without clear safeguards. But together, with shared visibility and a commitment to responsible innovation, the sector can capture the growth that is already on its way. 

The $2.6 trillion question is not whether the opportunity will materialise. It is who will be ready to take part in it. And that comes down to one thing: growth with control.