Digital Lifescapes

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 reducti...

The total number of roaming connections is anticipated to grow 350 percent over the next five years, with the growing presence of 5G and IoT roaming devices being major driving factors. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research , growth in global roaming clearing revenues will reach $2.5 billion in 2024. This 30 percent increase will be driven by the rise in 5G roaming connections as mobile service providers continue 5G network expansion. 5G Roaming Market Development For network operators and clearing houses to capitalize on this opportunity, Juniper says they must focus on implementing new technologies and new growth strategies. A major trend is the growth in Internet of Things (IoT) roaming devices, anticipated to reach 595 million globally by 2028. While this brings opportunities, mobile operators see limited revenue per Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) connection. Clearing houses can help by providing highly scalable cloud-based services to handle increasing dat...

When you consider all the industries most impacted by the economic disruption in 2020, telecom service providers likely do not come to mind. However, global mobile communications revenue was significantly impacted last year. Moreover, within the United Kingdom, the situation for incumbent mobile service providers will become even more complex and challenging during 2021, and beyond. All because of Brexit. International Mobile Roaming Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the number of international mobile roaming subscribers dropped by 73 percent to 243 million globally in 2020 -- caused by travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Juniper analysts predict that an improvement in mobile roaming subscriber numbers will take until 2024 to exceed 2019 levels; reaching 918 million by 2024, as the international travel industry embarks on a prolonged recovery from the long-term impacts of the pandemic. The new market study finding...

Mobile roaming enables customers of one mobile provider to use the network of another when the subscriber’s 'home network' is unavailable. As a result, network operators acquired agility in releasing new mobile communication services. Over the next five years, mobile network operators must ensure they can offer new 5G services to subscribers when roaming away from the home network. However, the majority of providers will launch offerings through alliances of sub-regional bilateral packages to gain access to other networks. Global Wholesale Roaming Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the global number of roaming subscribers will reach 1.1 billion by 2024 -- that's rising from 900 million subscribers in 2020. This represents a growth of 28 percent over the next four years. The new research forecasts that the wholesale roaming model will be crucial to mitigating threats from high data traffic generated by emerging tech...

Mobile roaming allows customers of one network operator (home network) to use the network of another network operator (visited network). The visited network is normally outside the geographical coverage area of the customer’s home network. Mobile roaming has traditionally provided network operators with an opportunity to gain additional service revenues. However, regulatory policy interventions, such as the EU law to abolish roaming in member states, is having a negative impact on roaming revenues for many network operators across the globe. Mobile Roaming Market Development According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, mobile network operator revenues from international mobile roaming are expected to recover slightly, following a decline in 2017 after the introduction of RLAH (Roam Like at Home) in Europe and other markets. However, overall mobile roaming revenues are expected to stay flat over the next 4 years, representing around 6 percent of total operator b...

Telecom network operator revenues from international mobile roaming are expected to experience an 11 percent decline in 2017, as service providers introduce ‘Roam Like at Home’ packages in key markets -- including Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. ‘Roam Like at Home’ enables mobile users to utilize their monthly voice, data, and messaging allowance while roaming on other service provider networks, without incurring additional charges. Implications for Mobile Service Providers Juniper Research forecasts that the annual revenues, worth an estimated $54 billion in 2016, will decline to $48 billion in 2017 as revenues generated from increased usage in many markets fail to offset those lost by lower roaming charges in the EU countries. "This decline in global revenues is due to a 33 percent fall in European roaming revenues, following the EU regulation to end roaming surcharges," said Nitin Bhas, head of research at Juniper Research . While they expect roaming tari...

The global telecom service provider Wi-Fi equipment market totaled $713 million in 2015. The market has grown consistently year-over-year since 2007, due to the ongoing deployment of Wi-Fi as a wireless internet access offering for public hotspots. Now, Wi-Fi growth in the telecom carrier realm is increasingly being driven by a diverse customer base and emerging technologies -- including Hotspot 2.0, 802.11ac and network functions virtualization (NFV), according to the latest worldwide market study by IHS . By 2020, the worldwide carrier Wi-Fi market is forecast to reach $1.5 billion, and have a cumulative size of over $6.8 billion from 2016 to 2020 based on two market segments: standalone Wi-Fi access points predominantly deployed by fixed-line operators, cable multiple system operators (MSOs) and wireless internet service providers (ISPs). Plus, dual-mode Wi-Fi and cellular access points deployed by mobile operators. Technology innovations continue to deliver positive impact...

Juniper Research has valued network operator worldwide revenues generated from mobile roaming at nearly $90 billion by 2018 -- that's compared to $57 billion this year. This growth will represent over 8 percent of the global operator billed revenues by 2018. Juniper notes that these revenues will largely be driven by increasing data usage, primarily from a reduction in roaming charges. Data roaming represented an estimated 36 percent of the global mobile roaming revenues in 2013. Silent Roamer Upside Opportunity However, the findings from the latest Juniper market study revealed that with increasing global travel, there is an increasing prevalence of silent roamers. Silent roamers exercise caution, or do not use voice and data services at all while roaming, and represent a non-user segment -- essentially a lost opportunity. This behavior presents a huge challenge to mobile network operators both in terms of customer satisfaction and revenue expansion. "This is...

More smartphone users expect mobile Internet access when they travel abroad, it's a growing trend. Juniper Research has valued mobile network operator revenues generated from data roaming at $42 billion by 2018. This data usage will represent 47 percent of all global mobile roaming revenue, compared to an estimated 36 percent in 2013. Juniper notes that these revenues will be driven by rapidly increasing data usage, as operator migration towards 4G will induce subscribers to take advantage of faster broadband networks, while reductions in roaming charges will spur more frequent and heavier usage. Why 4G LTE will Drive the Roaming Business The new Juniper study found that with LTE deployments increasing and set to grow exponentially in all markets around the world, it will continue to fuel the explosion of roaming data usage. However, they also note that in order to achieve the full potential of LTE roaming, successful business models towards end-users and between mobile n...

Demand for multiple mobile profiles presents sizable opportunities in both developing and developed markets. In emerging markets, using more than one SIM card is common and is mainly driven by bargain hunting. In Botswana, for instance, the number of mobile subscriptions reached 152 percent of the population in 2012, even though only 66 percent of the population used mobile phones -- meaning that most mobile users held more than one SIM card. Savvy mobile network operators that are addressing the demand in three ways: dual-SIM handsets, traveler offers and virtual numbers -- according to the latest market study by Pyramid Research. The recent comprehensive study examined the multiple identities opportunity and how mobile network service providers are addressing it. Incentives for multiple mobile identities are different in developing and developed markets and the study took an in depth look at three main approaches to address the market. This assessment included case studies ...

Infonetics Research released excerpts from its latest carrier Wi-Fi and hotspot survey, which explores the drivers, strategies, models and technology choices that are shaping mobile network service provider Wi-Fi deployments. "Best-effort WiFi is no longer good enough; mobile operators need carrier-class sophistication," said Richard Webb, directing analyst for microwave and carrier WiFi at Infonetics Research . Next-gen carrier WiFi has evolved to enable operators to deliver the same quality of experience as mobile networks through closer integration with the mobile RAN. Hotspot 2.0 will go a long way to building the bridge between the technologies from a technical standpoint, but operators are still figuring out how to position WiFi within their broadband offerings and which service models will generate the most revenue. According to the Infonetics assessment, mobile network offload of data traffic is not enough; WiFi has got to pay for itself -- by becoming a new s...

With the advent of network technologies such as 3G and 4G, mobile data traffic has been growing at an unprecedented pace and is increasingly outstripping the available mobile network capacity. The introduction of smartphones, tablets, and other devices has been driving mobile data growth. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, almost 50 percent of data traffic generated by these mobile phones, tablets and other 3G/4G connected devices, will be offloaded to Wi-Fi and Small Cell networks this year. This is equivalent to 10 billion movie downloads or 9,000 petabytes (PB) per year being offloaded from mobile operator’s networks. The Juniper market study found that while mobile network operators were benefiting from much needed relief on their over-subscribed networks, they were potentially losing monetization opportunities on the lost data usage. In response, mobile service providers are actively partnering with existing Wi-Fi networks and launching their own car...

Juniper Research forecasts that mobile data roaming revenues will grow by 21 percent per year between 2012 and 2017, reaching over $35 billion in 2017 -- driven by an increasing number of active roamers using data services while abroad. However, Juniper notes that the number of people not actively using any data services still fear the unknown cost of mobile network provider fees, as this continues to be markedly higher when compared to potential voice roamers. Silent roamers, as they are called, exercise caution or do not use voice and data services while roaming and represent a significant non-user segment. Powered by the proliferation in smartphones and a dramatic growth in data usage, data roaming is being seen as a key growth driver for mobile network operators -- albeit with cost-effective packages coupled with subscriber control over usage. The Juniper market study found that the majority of mobile customers were using voice services when roaming abroad, but this activit...