Between 2012 and 2025, global mobile data traffic grew more than 50% annually while operator service revenue increased less than 1% per year, according to McKinsey figures cited by Iris.
Telecom operators bring something financial apps often spend heavily trying to build: customers, verified identities and distribution.
That can be particularly powerful in emerging markets.
“In the U.S. the operator is like one rail among many,” Ava Labs Chief Business Officer John Nahas told CoinDesk. In markets such as Bolivia, by contrast, “the mobile carrier is often the rail that people do everything on.”
That is why Iris expects its initial expansion to focus on Latin America and potentially parts of Africa and Asia rather than the U.S., Nahas said.
VIVA offers an early test of whether that model can translate into better economics for carriers. Nahas said a super-app product used by VIVA helped reduce churn among prepaid mobile customers by 33% while increasing their lifetime value by 35%.
“When you start to see numbers like this, it just starts making a lot of sense,” he said, adding that Iris now needs more real-world case studies.
Stablecoins behind telecoms
Iris runs on a dedicated Avalanche Layer 1, giving the network control over its settlement, operating and compliance requirements. USDi serves as the settlement asset, while also giving VIVA the option to hold eligible operating reserves in dollars.
In VIVA’s case, using U.S. dollar stablecoin for settlements also means having the option to hold eligible operating reserves in U.S. dollars, which is particularly relevant in markets with volatile local currencies.
