4 May 17 2017-05-04 06:03:28
Fortumo OÜ 
Time for our monthly overview of the biggest stories from the mobile industry!
On the carrier billing front, without a doubt the biggest news came out of India. The local regulatory body has finally given a green light to making carrier billing available to prepaid SIM users, 95% of the country’s population. This is expected to significantly boost the popularity of carrier billing in one of the largest mobile ecosystems of the world, but there is also a downside to the change.
If you want to dive deeper into data on carrier billing, check out our dynamic data map for an overview of user spending behaviour in 90+ markets.
For stories from the mobile industry in April, check out the overview below.
General mobile
- Business Insider: The smartphone is eventually going to die, and then things are going to get really crazy
- Balancing Act Africa: African regulation for the coming digital future – getting beyond the mobile paradigm for more competition
- Dazeinfo: The Most Preferred Smartphone Brand in India: The Meteoric Rise of Xiaomi
- Business Insider: Spotify is hiring people to cook up hardware as innovative as the Amazon Echo
Payments
- TechCrunch: Uber rival Grab makes first major acquisition to build out its payments platform
- Entrepreneur: How Digital Wallets and Mobile Payments Are Evolving and What It Means for You
- Finextra: The case for a future with cash
- Bloomberg: Microsoft's Minecraft Set to Launch its Own Currency
E-commerce
Digital content
- The Tech Portal: Netflix eyes $1Bn fundraise with latest debt offering, to be utilized for new content & acquisitions
- Bloomberg: Dropbox Secures $600 Million Credit Line Ahead of Expected IPO
- Variety: Streaming Platform Iflix Expands Into Middle East, Africa
- Wired: Tinder’s New Desktop App Pushes You to Actually Talk to People
- CNET: Pandora's $10 Spotify rival opens up for anyone to join