A report by Juniper research said that currently operator storefronts and portals account for about 7% of the 55.9 billion apps downloaded in 2012.
The launch of direct carrier billing applications through third-party storefronts has allowed operators to significantly increase revenues generated through their content.
Juniper Research research director, Dr Windsor Holde,n said that for the operator, the storefront and the developer, direct carrier billing is an increasingly attractive option.
"Storefronts and developers can monetise demographics which either do not possess credit cards or are unwilling to give out card details online; the operator can retain and enhance its role in the content value chain," Holden said.
Direct carrier billing will allow storefronts to enable payment among a far wider and diverse user base, both in developed and developing markets.
Additionally, the report suggests that storefronts including Google Play and Windows Phone Store are expected to enhance their share of app downloads over the following five years.
Amdocs product and solutions marketing vice president, Rebecca Prudhomme, said that direct carrier billing helps operators grow new revenue streams by leveraging their key asset: the billing relationship with consumers.
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"In 2012, we processed on behalf of our operator customers three times more Google Play purchases over Direct Carrier Billing than in the year before," Prudhomme said.
"This reflects operators’ important role in app store monetization and consumers’ preference for charging their mobile accounts.
"In the future, beyond payments, we expect operators to leverage their big data to enable personalization of various m-commerce use cases, from content discovery to coupon redemption."
