ANALYSIS : One app to rule them all. Telcos’ chance to end subscription churn

As digital services multiply, users are feeling overwhelmed by rising costs and fragmented offerings, writes Hamish White, CEO and founder of SaaS soutions provider Mobilise. 

Telcos already possess the foundations for superapp success. Their existing mobile apps provide a natural starting point for layering on new services that engage rather than exhaust consumers.

As competition intensifies and new players enter the market from adjacent industries, operators are in a prime position to modernise outdated VAS (value-added service) models, reduce subscription fatigue, and reassert their value in the digital economy.

A superapp is an all-in-one platform that bundles essential services  from mobile plans to entertainment and lifestyle into a single interface. Last year, Forbes estimated that the average US consumer spends nearly $924 per year on subscription services. And that’s before factoring in essential costs such as broadband and mobile contracts.

Research by YouGov found that 31 per cent of 2,000 UK consumers had cancelled at least one streaming service in the past 12 months, while 39% said they were likely to cancel a service soon. Managing subscriptions has become both a financial and logistical burden, with people juggling logins, payment cycles, notifications, and overlapping services.

Yet subscription fatigue can also be an opportunity. Telcos are uniquely positioned to evolve into digital-first brands and consolidate value by moving beyond legacy VAS into the realm of the superapp.

Unlike over-the-top players such as WhatsApp, Netflix, or Spotify, operators have direct relationships with customers. They control billing, customer identity, and the connectivity infrastructure which are valuable assets for building a multi-service platform. This makes telcos ideally placed to expand into superapp territory, offering multiple services through one streamlined platform.

Subscription churn is now a pressing concern for businesses. Users are increasingly quick to cancel services that fail to deliver clear, consolidated value.

Take Netflix: the company reported a strong Q1 but announced it would stop reporting quarterly subscriber numbers. Its stock fell 9.4 per cent, as investors worried the move signalled a slowdown in growth. Whether Netflix is concealing weakness or simply changing its reporting strategy is unclear, but the sharp reaction shows just how closely subscription figures are tracked as a measure of business health.

Telecom operators have long relied on value-added services such as streaming, gaming, and fitness bundles to differentiate their core offerings. But these models now feel outdated and they lack personalisation, operate in silos, and fall short of the integrated experience consumers expect.

Superapp success

A successful superapp is defined by diversity. Operators can embed many services into a single platform: mobile plans, financial services, entertainment, travel bookings, and insurance.

Fintechs and other challengers are moving into telecoms. Revolut has entered the mobile space, while companies such as Octopus (energy) and Monzo (banking) are exploring telecom offerings.

According to Gartner, more than half the world’s population will regularly use multiple superapps by 2027. The market, valued at $61.3 billion just three years ago, is forecast to reach $426 billion by 2030, an annual growth rate of 27.8 per cent.

Telcos also have the advantage of customer insights: call history, data consumption, and app usage. These datasets can power algorithms that deliver personalised recommendations — not only for telecom services, but also for travel, entertainment, and financial products. With this, the superapp becomes a true lifestyle hub.

Superapps offer a compelling answer to subscription fatigue. By consolidating fragmented services into a single, personalised platform, telcos can meet consumer demand for simplicity and value while carving out a stronger role in the digital economy of the future.