Stefano Nicoletti, Head of MEF’s Sender ID Registry in the UK, explains more about the resilience of A2P SMS, with Spain seeing 88.6% of texts as A2P in 2024. The UK and France also showed strong growth, while Belgium and the Nordics declined. Despite shifts, high per-capita use highlights SMS’s continued role as a trusted communication channel.
Spain’s telecommunications regulator, CNMC, has reported a notable uptick in Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS traffic, underscoring the resilience of traditional messaging channels. According to data released on 25 July, A2P SMS accounted for 88.6% of all text messages sent in Spain in 2024, totalling 6.87 billion messages—a 17% year-on-year increase.
Interestingly, P2P SMS also experienced a modest rebound, rising 4.2% to 704.2 million messages, reversing a multi-year decline. However, other legacy formats such as MMS and Premium SMS services continued their downward trajectory. MMS volumes fell 15.4% to just 4 million messages, reflecting diminished use in entertainment and fundraising contexts.
European Landscape: Diverging Trends
Spain’s A2P growth mirrors broader European patterns, though with notable national divergences. In the United Kingdom, telecoms regulator Ofcom reported 20 billion A2P messages sent in 2023–24, with the market valued at approximately £400 million annually. This growth has been partially driven by rising termination rates, prompting Ofcom to propose a termination cap for A2P SMS of 1.96 pence per message to curb excessive fees. This is still in consultation.
France also saw robust expansion, with A2P traffic reaching 14.2 billion messages in 2024—a 6% increase year-on-year—representing 72% of total SMS traffic. Belgium, by contrast, reported a slight decline in non-residential messages (a proxy for A2P), down 1.2% to 1.17 billion, comprising just 17% of total SMS.
The Nordic region presents a more cautionary outlook. Sweden recorded a steep 30% drop in A2P volumes to 3.8 billion messages, while Norway saw a 3% decline, with A2P accounting for only 11% of total SMS traffic—the lowest among surveyed countries.
Per Capita Usage Highlights Enduring Relevance
Despite regional disparities, per capita figures reveal the enduring relevance of A2P SMS. In Sweden, each person received an average of 359 A2P messages in 2024, followed by the UK (296), France (219), and Spain (141). Even in markets anticipating decline, such as Belgium and Norway, A2P SMS remains a significant channel for trusted communications.
A2P SMS remains a cornerstone of enterprise and institutional communication across Europe. Spain, the UK, and France exemplify its resilience, while Belgium and the Nordics may be early indicators of a broader shift. Nonetheless, the sheer volume of A2P messages per capita suggests that, for now, SMS remains a trusted and indispensable channel.
