We're half way through the year, and it's clear the Premium SMS landscape is changing significantly. Here are some of the key trends we're seeing at Golive! Mobile this year:

1) Apps & Micropayments

The exploding mobile app ecosystem is creating both opportunity and carnage in the mobile billing industry. The carriers have warmed to in-app micropayments using premium SMS, and companies like Boku, Zong, and many others including us are jumping in aggressively.  I would say this is by far the most explosive trend in our industry at this time, and an undoubtedly positive one.

Some players -- most notably Thumbplay -- appear to be using the app phenomenon to transition out of operator billing and towards credit card billing and other more direct end-user billing models. That clearly makes sense as a diversification play, but from what we're seeing operator billing remains vastly more profitable for the app developer due to a better user experience.

2) The Refund Revolution

The carriers seem to have finally figured out the key to ensuring compliance  -- watch refund rates. In the past 12 months virtually all carriers have implemented compliance policies centered around refund rate thresholds. While all slightly different from each other, these new policies give content providers a fair and objective compliance framework...something which was sorely lacking in previous years. Rogue content providers can easily be identified and weeded out, and those with healthy refund rates can operate with a higher level of confidence.

3) Galvanized Carriers

With several new billing methods threatening the operator billing model, the U.S carriers are encouraging innovation in the off-deck industry like never before. Risks are everywhere for traditional operator billing and the carriers know it.  Apple's iTunes Connect  is grabbing huge dollars in app land, and several new mobile banking and credit card processing initiatives are threatening to steal even more share from operator billing. With the carrier "walled gardens" all but gone, dozens of well capitalized companies are all vying to become the dominant mobile payment method.

These external threats, in the form of third party billing platforms, are galvanizing the carriers. Suddenly, flexibility has come to a once incredibly rigid bunch. Verizon is in private beta for WAP billing, is warming to many previously barred campaign types, and launched a fairly robust MMS solution which even supports inbound MMS to a short code. AT&T has been installing new managers in the off-deck team who seem exceedingly more creative and flexible than previous generations -- they're now green lighting higher price points, new campaign types, and are also reportedly playing around with WAP billing.