This has two important consequences. First, SMS as a service does not disappear. Modern SMS is delivered over LTE and IMS and will continue to function in an all‑IP world. What disappears is the last refuge of legacy machine-to-machine devices that never evolved beyond GSM. The millions of alarm panels, meters and terminals that still rely on 2G‑based SMS alerts now have a finite upgrade window.

Second, the industry loses the safety net that allowed outdated endpoints to limp along indefinitely. Migration to LTE‑M, NB‑IoT, or full LTE is no longer optional. For enterprises, this is less a technology issue than an operational one: device replacement, certification, fieldwork and long‑term connectivity planning must happen now rather than later.

Messaging in an all‑IP environment

Against this network backdrop, mobile messaging itself is evolving rather than disappearing. Person‑to‑person SMS volumes continue their slow decline, but application‑to‑person messaging remains resilient. One‑time passwords, delivery notifications, emergency alerts and service updates still rely on SMS because of its universality. The difference is strategic. SMS is no longer the default experience; it is the guaranteed fallback.

At the same time, richer channels are benefiting directly from improvements in the underlying network. With 5G Standalone, latency drops by tens of milliseconds, and uplink performance becomes more consistent. In practice, this means that interactive RCS messages, live agent chats, and in-thread payment confirmations feel noticeably more responsive. Tests show that rich media messages that take over a second to arrive on a clean 4G connection can arrive in roughly half that time on SA. That difference sounds small, but in conversational flows, it is often the difference between engagement and abandonment.

For enterprises, this shifts the economics of messaging. Rather than maximising volume at the lowest possible unit cost, value increasingly comes from completing a task within a single, trusted conversation. Identity verification, customer support, marketing, and payment no longer need to be separate journeys across different channels and apps. They can converge inside a continuous, authenticated exchange.

Re‑stitching networks and services

Taken together, these developments mark the end of an era defined by uncertainty. For two decades, mobile communications strategy revolved around what might fail. In today’s UK market, the more relevant question is what can be improved. Networks are fast enough, coverage is deep enough, and IP is consistent enough to support genuinely conversational services at a national scale.

Operators now have the opportunity to monetise quality rather than just capacity, exposing network capabilities in ways that support secure, low‑latency interactions. CPaaS providers are evolving from simple message routers into orchestration platforms that choose channels based on outcome, trust, and context. Enterprises, in turn, can redesign customer journeys around completion rather than clicks, using messaging as a primary interface rather than a supporting one.

Looking ahead: 6G and the future of conversations

Even as 5G Standalone matures, the industry has begun to outline what comes next under the broad banner of 6G. Formal standards are still years away, but the direction of travel is clear. 6G is widely expected to be AI‑native, with intelligence embedded throughout the network to optimise performance dynamically. It will likely integrate communications and sensing, enabling networks not only to carry data but also to understand context, such as location and movement, with far greater precision.

The integration of non‑terrestrial networks is also expected to be deeper in a 6G era. Satellite and high‑altitude platforms would no longer be exceptional fallbacks but part of the standard connectivity fabric, extending trusted messaging to remote and mobile environments with the same user experience and identity guarantees.

At the same time, the risks will increase. AI-driven fraud, synthetic media, and highly personalised social engineering will challenge existing defences. The counterbalance will need to be stronger, with provenance, continuous authentication, and privacy-preserving personalisation that keeps sensitive data on the device wherever possible.

Acting now to be ready later

The most important insight is that preparing for this future does not require waiting for 6G. The disciplines being developed today around 5G Standalone—identity‑first messaging, outcome-based orchestration, modern IoT migration, and tighter fraud controls—are the foundations on which future networks will build.

The UK’s mobile infrastructure has, largely unnoticed, become robust enough to support this shift. The opportunity now lies with those who use it. Messaging is no longer just a way to send information; it is becoming the primary interface through which organisations and consumers interact.

The rails are in place. The conversations are already moving. Those who design for a 4G‑first, 5G‑enhanced, and 6G‑ready world will define how trust, commerce, and communication operate in the UK for the decade ahead.