We have created a new feature on our website kwak INSIGHTS to inform you continuously on the Premium Rate Number Market, its perspectives, trends and outlooks.

Issue No. 1 will be an interview with kwak‘s Chief Executive Josef Bruckschloegl on market turmoil in 2013, false friends in PRN and kwak‘s view on the PRN market 2014.

KWAK INSIGHTS

The PRN market saw turbulent times in 2013. Some market players lost more than 40% of their volumes. Should we be concerned? 

Josef Bruckschloegl

You‘d better be! 2013 was not just turbulence but turmoil. I remember World Telemedia in Amsterdam where I heard horrible stories about decline and immense frauds and chargebacks. I heard about liquidity issues and a lot of known faces where missing.

How about kwak in 2013? Did you also lose volume?

Yes, we did. But fortunately less than most others! And we had hardly any fraud! So at the end it was not a record year, but a very good one.

You mention fraud! What are the biggest risks at the moment?

There are plenty of people in the market who lost money last year. They were cheated or did not have successful campaigns or whatever. Now a lot of them are eager to turn their losses around and take more than healthy risks.

What‘s your analysis on Premium Rate Markets in 2014? Will it get worse? 

No I don‘t think so. There will be further market consolidation and I am sure some players will disappear. But at the end of the day we‘ll see more and cleaner traffic this year. The market has become more professional.

Can you explain “more professional“ to us? 

The Premium Rate Number Market has grown up. When I was hired by kwak in 2009 there were a lot of cowboys in the market. Guys who were out for a fast buck. Now we are dealing with the biggest telcos in the world. A valuable part of the telecom and media economy. And out of this the professional standards of the PRN industry are developing rapidly.

What is the role of kwak in this development? 

We are at the vanguard of this development. We are the ones who continuously push the standards. We were the first who managed to pay on time like a Swiss watch. We were the first who brought Access Lists to the market, we set the standard for a modern client portal, we launched the first Access Tracking App globally and we still have a bunch of ideas how to carry this industry into an awesome future.

It‘s not my style to be modest – nor is kwak‘s role in the market to be modest. It‘s the feedback of our customers and partners that keeps us confident.

What is this feedback? Why do you think you serve customers and partners better than others do? 

Because we say what we do and do what we say! You have so many false friends in this industry that trust and reliability is the only asset you really can count on.