5G is quickly becoming the predominant network for mobile communications. In 2023, there will be 1.6 billion 5G connections, with growth forecast to reach 6 billion in 2028.
Mobile network roaming connections are anticipated to grow 350 percent over the next five years, with the growing presence of 5G and IoT roaming devices being major driving factors of this growth.
To capitalize on this demand, data and financial clearing houses must identify the key drivers, as this will allow them to produce targeted services, optimized to help providers in monetizing these trends.
5G Mobile Roaming Market Development
According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the average revenue leakage per 5G roaming connection will decrease from $1.72 to $1.20, as mobile network operators leverage artificial intelligence (AI) based solutions.
Mobile service provider revenue leakage refers to the value of services provided but not monetized by the network operator.
This reduction in revenue leakage will most likely be driven by the implementation of AI-based segmentation solutions to monetize data-centric mobile network roaming users.
Specifically, this approach allows mobile network operators to reduce 5G standalone revenue leakage through the improved allocation of resources and new pricing -- reflecting its higher Quality of Service (QoS).
The difference is that 5G standalone networks leverage the 5G core, while 5G non-standalone relies on 4G mobile network infrastructure.
Moreover, AI-based segmentation will enable network operators to better monetize emerging roaming services, using AI machine learning models to detect traffic types and segments in real-time.
"AI-based segmentation will differentiate enterprise traffic by use case, enabling premium billing of mission-critical 5G standalone connections, thus reducing revenue leakage," said Alex Webb, research analyst at Juniper Research.
Juniper's analysts recommend that mobile network operators implement AI segmentation tools to help them reduce revenue leakage from 5G roaming on standalone networks.
The higher throughput and lower latency offered by these mobile networks need to be reflected in the network operators' pricing model.
By separating standalone from non-standalone roaming traffic, network operators will be able to apply individual pricing strategies for each of these networks -- ensuring pricing reflects QoS.
Outlook for Mobile Roaming Applications Growth
According to the Juniper assessment, network operators must utilize these tools to identify enterprise traffic suitable for use case dedicated network slices, as this reduces revenue leakage, by optimizing network resource distribution.
That said, I believe data and financial clearing houses must also invest in solutions that mitigate the impact of restrictive government regulations on roaming prices that are diminishing operators’ ability to grow roaming revenue.
Therefore, these solutions must include the further development of regulatory management apps that centralize mobile network roaming compliance.