OTT and MNOs: $182B Lost or $30B Opportunity?

Both, actually.

A new research by MobileSquared, sponsored by mobile interaction service provider, tyntec, finds that "‘Over The Top’ mobile internet communications services such as Skype and WhatsApp are set to cost the global mobile industry as much as $182 billion in lost voice and messaging revenue over the next four years .. Yet the research also identifies a potential $30 billion revenue opportunity for operators who work effectively in the OTT market".

See also "[ABI Research]: OTT Messaging Cannibalizes SMS Revenue" - here and "[Infonetics]: Despite All - SMS Revenues will Grow!"- here.

".. The research forecasts that the OTT market will be worth as much as $166.5 billion by 2016, with as many as 18% of subscribers using OTT services by 2016, up from just 2% at the moment .. The research quantifies the potential opportunities for operators in the OTT market, which is set to reach 1.32 billion users by 2016. There are a range of strategies that could help operators benefit from the growth of OTT. As well as charging users additional fees for using OTT, operators can create their own apps or deploy RCSe/Joyn-based initiatives to recreate the functionality of OTT within their own networks. However, the key opportunity for operators is to partner with OTT providers to integrate mobile numbers into their services".
  

See "Report: OTT Messaging Services to Create $30B Revenue Opportunity for Mobile Operators" - here.