What Mediatel does

Mediatel is a UK-registered private micropayment solutions provider (legal entity: Sound Advertising Ltd, company number 03218628) operating from its London headquarters at 12 Brushfield Street, E1 6AN. The company delivers premium rate number (PRN) services, international and domestic SMS termination, voice wholesale, and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions through six offices spanning London, Hong Kong, Delhi, Marbella, Cairo, and Kiev. Mediatel claims direct relationships with more than 700 global carriers and coverage from over 50 destinations across approximately 200 countries, with three decades of continuous operation in international telecoms planning.

The platform centers on an IVR infrastructure that can be configured for client-specific applications or deployed as ready-made solutions for television shows and content services, complemented by a real-time statistics portal (carrierstats.com) with white-labelled sub-client views and minute-by-minute performance tracking, plus a Mediatel Access Android application for real-time route testing across countries and time periods. Underlying infrastructure supports voice, SMS, and data roaming termination across the multi-carrier network, with engineer-led deployment of premium rate and general audiotext applications within minutes. Customization services include number allocation, subaccount creation, and live call monitoring for downstream partners.

Mediatel generates revenue primarily through transaction-fee models: sharing call charges with service providers based on negotiated rates per destination, paying in GBP, USD, EUR, and CNY. UK-specific products include 078/079 Mobile Numbers generating 4.0p per minute on received calls, 070 Follow Me Numbers, non-geographic numbers, and the Payforit bill-to-mobile micropayment rail. Customers span four primary segments served through a horizontal segmentation approach: Mobile Network Operators, Content Providers, SMS Aggregators and Wireless Application Service Providers, and Tier 1/Tier 2 Telecommunications Carriers. The company employs 101-250 staff under founder/management ownership with no disclosed institutional backing, distributing through direct account management supplemented by self-service online tools across 10 languages.

Name

Mediatel

Legal name

Sound Advertising Ltd

Website

https://mediatel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

UK-registered private micropayment solutions provider (legal entity: Sound Advertising Ltd) delivering premium rate numbers, SMS termination, voice wholesale, and IVR services across 200 countries through 700+ carrier relationships, serving MNOs, content providers, SMS aggregators, and Tier 1/2 telcos from offices in London, Hong Kong, Delhi, Marbella, Cairo, and Kiev.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Micropayment Services

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

SMS & Mobile Direct Marketing Services (BPAFAKAI)

Keywords

• Premium rate numbers
• Micropayment solutions
• Telecoms consultancy
• Voice wholesale
• SMS termination services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Premium Rate Number Services: Mediatel provides international and domestic premium rate numbers, charging content providers for traffic termination. Revenue is generated through call charges shared with service providers based on negotiated rates per destination.
2. International SMS Termination: Long number SMS services enabling industries to generate mobile-originated SMS traffic. Applications include micro billing, competition lines, product feedback campaigns, and virtual mobile number solutions.
3. Voice Wholesale: Financing millions of minutes daily for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Telcos. Provides competitive voice trading terms and global termination at competitive rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mediatel provides international and domestic premium rate number (PRN) services, international SMS termination, and voice wholesale financing to mobile network operators and content providers. The company enables telcos and content providers to monetize voice, SMS and data roaming traffic through innovative micropayment mechanisms, covering over 50 destinations across 200 countries. Supporting services include IVR programming, a real-time statistics platform, and a mobile app for route testing.

Product overview

Mediatel is a global telecoms consultancy and micropayment solutions provider operating for over 33 years. The company offers a unified platform centered on premium rate number services (International PRN, Domestic PRS), complemented by SMS solutions (International SMS, Premium SMS, Long Number SMS), Voice Wholesale trading, and IVR programming services. Key supporting tools include the Mediatel Android Access App for route testing, a Real-Time Statistics Platform with white-labelled reporting, and UK-specific products like Non-Geographic Numbers, 070 Follow Me Numbers, and Pay for it payment services. The portfolio is marketed as a comprehensive suite enabling content providers and telcos to generate incremental revenue from voice, SMS, and data traffic across 200+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mediatel Voice: Voice wholesale division specializing in financing voice trades for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Telcos, handling millions of minutes daily with aggressive rates and quality services.

Products and services

• International Premium Rate Numbers (PRN) International premium rate numbers from over 50 destinations covering 200 countries globally, enabling TV shows, informational services, educational services, and conferencing services with per-minute revenue generation for callers. Targeted at content providers and telcos seeking to monetize inbound calls.
• Domestic Premium Rate Services (PRS) UK-based premium rate number solutions including non-geographic numbers, geographic numbers, and premium rate voice services for tracking marketing campaigns, generating revenue share, customer support, and technical advice lines.
• International SMS Solutions International SMS and Premium SMS (PSMS) services with terminations in UK, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, and Estonia. Includes long number SMS solutions for micro billing, competition lines, product feedback campaigns, and Virtual Mobile Number (VMN) applications.
• Voice Wholesale Mediatel Voice division providing voice exchange and financing services for telcos, working with Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers to finance millions of minutes daily. Offers competitive rates with quality service for high-volume international telecommunications companies.
• IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Solutions Customizable IVR solutions that can be tailored to business needs or used as ready-made solutions. Engineers can build premium rate and general audiotext applications quickly, routing calls to client platforms within minutes.
• Mediatel Android Access App Android mobile application allowing users to test premium rate number routes in real time, filter by country and period, manually dial test numbers, and receive email reports on working numbers. Version 1.2 available for download.
• UK Pay for it Trusted payment method for internet content on fixed or mobile devices, enabling purchases up to £30 charged directly to mobile phone bills, with clients observing approximately 29% increase in revenue.
• Non-Geographic Numbers UK non-geographic telephone numbers not linked to a specific geographic area or dial code, attractive for marketing purposes as they attract calls locally and nationally without geographic bias.
• 070 Follow Me Numbers Personal numbers where calls follow the user by routing to landline then mobile, ensuring calls are never missed. Includes free routing to any mobile or landline and most international destinations.
• 078/079 Mobile Numbers Fresh mobile number prefixes allowing organizations to adopt their own range of mobile numbers, specifically pick numbers, and route to any destination with revenue generating opportunity of 4.0p per minute on all received calls.

Quantifiable outcome

• Revenue generated from inbound calls with revenue share payments
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mobile Network Operators (Carrier Ecosystem)coreOthersMediatel has direct relationships with over 700 of the world's largest telecoms carriers. These carrier relationships ensure reliable payment flows and improved access to termination solutions, with the quality and rates passed on to clients. The company leverages these direct connections to provide premium rate number services across 200 countries.
• Tier 1 and Tier 2 TelcoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMediatel Voice division works with Tier 1 and Tier 2 telecommunications companies to finance millions of minutes daily. The company provides favorable financial terms enabling telcos to accelerate growth and maximize profitability in voice trading operations.
• PhonepayPlus (UK Regulatory Body)coreOthersMediatel works closely with PhonepayPlus (PPP), the UK regulatory body for premium rate services, to ensure compliance with industry codes of conduct. This partnership ensures Mediatel and its clients maintain proper regulatory standards in the premium rate industry.
• World's Leading Telecoms BusinessescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs longstanding members of the telecoms industry, Mediatel partners with the world's leading telecoms businesses to build long-term trusted relationships. These partnerships are based on openness, collaboration, and smart thinking with rigorous quality control standards.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fortumo: Fortumo (a Vonage company) offers carrier billing, SMS termination, and mobile micropayment infrastructure to digital merchants — directly comparable to Mediatel's SMS aggregation, long-number SMS, and Payforit-style billing products.
• BICS: BICS, the international wholesale arm of Proximus, operates one of the world's largest voice and messaging carrier exchanges — directly comparable to Mediatel Voice's wholesale voice/SMS trading with global Tier 1 telcos.
• iBasis: iBasis (a KKR-backed subsidiary of Tofane Global) is a wholesale international voice and mobile data services provider — directly comparable to Mediatel Voice's Tier 1/2 telco termination and daily-minute financing model.
• Boku: Boku provides carrier-billed mobile payments and digital content monetization globally — a direct competitor to Mediatel's Payforit and international SMS/Premium SMS micropayment solutions for content providers.
• Telestial: Telestial provides international premium rate numbers, callback, and VoIP termination services — a niche direct peer to Mediatel's international PRN and premium mobile number products for content providers and broadcasters.
• Sinch: Sinch provides global cloud communications (SMS, voice, WhatsApp, RCS) with deep carrier relationships and APIs — comparable to Mediatel's SMS and voice wholesale, though from a programmable CPaaS posture.
• IDT Corporation: IDT operates an international wholesale voice and SMS termination business alongside its Boss Revolution retail and Boss Money payments services — directly comparable to Mediatel's international PRN, voice wholesale, and micropayment offerings.
• Infobip: Infobip is a global CPaaS provider offering SMS, voice, and carrier-billed payment APIs with extensive MNO integrations — competing with Mediatel's SMS termination and voice wholesale services via a more programmable platform.

Emerging players

• Twilio: Twilio dominates programmable SMS, voice, and carrier-billed communications via APIs — competing with Mediatel's SMS termination and voice services but with a developer-first, software-stack posture Mediatel has not adopted.
• MessageBird: MessageBird (Bird) offers global SMS, voice, and omnichannel communications APIs with direct carrier connections — adjacent to Mediatel's international SMS and voice termination business but oriented to enterprise developers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Mediatel_intl
• Facebookfacebook.com/mediatel.intl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mediatel