The Future of Phone Number Verification

For over two decades, SMS OTP (One-Time Password) authentication has been the foundation of user verification, but rising prices and emerging fraud risks are pushing the need for change. Meta has been advocating the use of Carrier APIs (silent Auth). Telenor Linx’s CEO Stig Waagbø plans to host this chat with Christiaan Brand from Google and Pushpendra Singh from Meta—two of the industry's foremost leaders in phone number verification. This Fireside Chat will delve into the future of phone number verification, focusing on how API-based solutions, leveraging real-time connections with mobile operators, are solving traditional problems: slow delivery, interception risks, fraud, and poor user experience. Together, they oversee the daily verification of 1 billion phone numbers and are shaping the next generation of authentication.

This isn’t just about new technology—it’s about survival in an industry under transformation for the MNO. As developers move away from unreliable SMS OTPs, seeking modern alternatives that are faster, safer, and more efficient, the telco industry must redefine its role in the phone number verification space.