Manx Telecom completes blockchain PoC with Minima to show future of payment for telcos

Minima, a global decentralised blockchain protocol that runs in full on mobile phones, has completed a successful proof of concept with the Isle of Man based mobile operator, Manx Telecom.

The trial saw Manx Telecom send tokens on Minima’s blockchain, from one phone to another, granting network access without touching any of the operator’s existing billing systems.

Minima’s solution manages access to mobile services via a decentralised blockchain, involving the sale and acceptance of tokens as proof that the user is eligible to access the desired services, replacing the centralised and complex legacy approval systems.

Telcos can sell tokens that represent 100 SMS messages, or 1GB of internet data and accept payment back in tokens when the user requires these services. A permissionless blockchain allows decentralised payment at one of countless base stations without requiring approval by the main operator. Users can then independently create secondary markets for token resale and exchange.

Growing consumer demand for data and increasing numbers of networked devices puts Telcos’ charging and billing infrastructure under pressure. To realise the 5G vision for connected devices, the basis of charging and settlement must change, to avoid it becoming an industry bottleneck.

Now the technical effort and cost of relaying a message from a video doorbell is like that of watching a movie, but at a fraction of the revenue for the operator, according to the official press release. It costs a mobile operator USD 6 per year per account to connect to a single device which is prohibitively expensive.