Editorial

KPMG to develop a real-time settlement network for telcos on Blockchain

Tie-up with Microsoft, R3 and TOMIA

Posted 24 July 2019 by Gary Flood


Big Four firm KPMG has announced an ambitious plan to turn Blockchain into what it styles a “real-time settlement network” for the global telecommunications industry.

Partnering with Microsoft and specialist Blockchain providers R3 and TOMIA, the idea is to help solve the issue of harnessing distributed ledger to more quickly track and settle interchange fees for telecoms companies.

‘Blockchain Technology’ on Flickr by surya s (c) All Rights Reserved

The firm claims worldwide international mobile data roaming revenue is expected to reach $31bn by 2022, but there are on-going challenges for telecoms companies caused by the “highly complex network of transactions that exist in the industry” in which they are left to manually manage settlements.

“Closing the financial gap associated with increased data usage across continents ultimately rests on the consumer’s shoulders,” argues the company in its official announcement of the tie-up.

The move into this potential Blockchain use case isn’t the first time the firm has made Blockchain bets; last month, its US arm started working with IBM, Merck and Walmart on a pharmaceuticals Blockchain project, while in February it signed a deal with another Blockchain pure-play, Guardtime, to beef up its digital transformation toolset.