Sometimes I think I'm one of the only reporters covering things like back-end billing infrastructure for wireless networks.

It started because Qpass, which provides services to many carriers, was based here in Seattle. But now, it's been more than a year since the company was bought by Amdocs, which must be prompting others to care, too.

Qpass still has a large presence in Seattle, along with another Amdocs subsidiary called OpenMarket.

The Washington Post (via PC World) today featured a story on the two divisions and how they ensure that transactions over mobile phones are secure.

The story explained that to get paid through SMS, mobile vendors need to get a numeric "short code" from a mobile operator for customers to text-message to a phone number. After the customer sends the message, what they bought typically shows up directly on the phone. A charge appears on the subscriber's next bill, and then the content provider gets paid.

But here lies the problem: The story said the process is full of holes, according to content providers and analysts.

Apparently, there are at least two companies trying to solve this problem: OpenMarket and Bango.net.

For more information, check out the article.