According to In-Stat, hotspot usage is on the rise. One of the key concerns with the hotspot market over the past several years was whether there was a large enough audience of potential users for this service. While the market has increased over the past several years, there seems to be a more marked jump in usage this year. Many players report double digit usage growth month to month, and providers that have been very guarded on usage rates, such as T-Mobile, are now releasing information, which signals a positive shift in usage. This sudden trend in increased usage is largely a North American phenomena, as Asia Pacific usage has always been fairly robust, and Europe continues to have lower usage rates (often associated with the higher cost of access in that region). According to the Q2 2005 In-Stat Hotspot End-User Survey, nearly half of the 579 respondents use or have used hotspot services. Furthermore, 20 percent of respondents use these services frequently. While still slightly over half of the market has not used hotspots in the past, all respondents at least might consider using the service, with 17 percent indicating strong intent to do so. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents that have used hotspots indicated plans to use the services more in the future. While 20 percent anticipated using the service at about the same level as they currently do, only 2 percent had plans to use the service less.
As international travel rebounds to pre-pandemic levels in 2025, the mobile communication roaming market is at an inflection point. Emerging technologies and changing customer preferences are challenging traditional wholesale roaming agreements between mobile network operators (MNOs). The global wholesale roaming market is projected to more than double, from $9 billion in 2024 to $20 billion by 2028. This surge will be fueled by the expanding deployment of 5G Standalone (SA) technology, which enables real-time roaming connections and activity monitoring. But beneath this headline figure lies a complex landscape of regional variations and technological mobile service disruptions. Global Mobile Roaming Market Development Western Europe dominates inbound roaming connections, largely thanks to its Roam Like at Home (RLAH) initiative, which eliminates roaming charges among member countries. Meanwhile, the Indian Subcontinent is emerging as a growth hotspot. Between 2024 and 2029, inbou...