INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology
Global LTE roaming traffic growth
expected to continue in 2018 for EU
/////////////////////////////
G
lobal LTE traffic more than doubled
in 2017 and will increase by the
same volume in 2018, according to
annual research by BICS, a global wholesale
carrier for voice, mobile data and capacity
services. This marks a continuation of the
trend for year-on-year LTE traffic growth,
with BICS identifying a number of drivers for
this rapid surge.
BICS’ most recent data, gathered at the close
of 2017, shows that a total of 562 operators
now offer LTE services; an increase of 25% on
the previous year. The same period saw BICS
dramatically increase its market share, with a
third of these operators connected to BICS’
IPX (IP exchange) platform. The platform
allows customers to offer their subscribers
high quality data roaming with other MNOs,
MVNOs, MVNEs, fixed network operators, ISPs
and ASPs globally.
The summer months saw a 600–800%
increase in LTE data roaming traffic in the
EU compared with 2016, driven by the
EU’s regulation on wholesale roaming
charges which came into effect in June.
However, BICS estimates that around 20%
of subscribers in the EU have not yet taken
advantage of this new roaming setting,
having either been unaware of the ruling,
or been hesitant to utilise. As such, BICS
expects an even greater increase in LTE
roaming traffic in the region this year, as
knowledge of ‘Roam Like at Home’ among
subscribers increases and operators offer
more competitive packages. region, following in the footsteps of major
players who launched similar offerings
in previous years. Africa will continue as
a major growth area for LTE deployment
this year, being one of the only continents
with a large proportion of countries still not
offering any LTE services.
2017 was also the year in which LTE
roaming in Africa really took off. BICS’
latest data shows a growth in the number
of MVNOs and tier three/four operators
introducing LTE roaming services in the BICS’ IPX platform, including LTE
signalling, allows service providers to
exchange any IP traffic bilaterally with
any IPX destination, through a single
interconnection which manages service
quality. Operators are able to establish
roaming and inter-working agreements
with over 350 members on the network.
“As infrastructure improves and populations
and workforces become more globalised,
we’ll see an even greater number of
operators across the world offering LTE
roaming to ensure they stay relevant and
competitive,” said Mikaël Schachne, VP
Mobility Solutions, BICS.
Schachne continued: “Roam Like at Home
has upped consumer expectations for
high quality, affordable roaming services,
wherever they travel. Operators in other
regions will therefore look to emulate
a similar situation this year by banding
together to offer better packages to
subscribers while optimising traffic flow
and cost efficiencies at the back-end.
With BICS’ IPX Transport service, we’ll be
supporting operators as they move to an all-
IP environment, helping to democratise the
roaming experience.
“Finally, over the coming year we expect
LTE roaming traffic to be impacted by the
implementation of the EU’s General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), a focus on IPX
signalling security and compliance as well as
the overall decrease of data rates.” n
www.intelligentcio.com
INTELLIGENTCIO
85