Global Mobile Operators Need to Start Accelerating VoLTE Roaming
Mobile technology, as it has done over the past 50 years, continues to evolve. If mobile operators don’t adapt to new technologies and advancements in networks and devices, then they risk falling behind. And that puts them and their subscribers at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the world.
This also opens the door for increased subscriber churn and the loss of new potential revenues. Mobile network operators (MNOs) are vulnerable to competition without adaptation. This has become reality in recent years, as operators transition from legacy networks to new modern networks with VoLTE roaming.
The Need for VoLTE Roaming Agreements
For many operators, transitioning to modern networks showed them the need to reallocate spectrum from older networks. This necessary action freed up additional spectrum bandwidth for 4G and, more importantly, IP exclusive 5G, which demands spectrum. This creates an issue for operators retiring legacy networks to farm them out to their new platforms.
As it turns out, retiring an older network takes away the ability to support circuit switch fallback (CSFB), an essential part of roaming with 3G and 4G networks that allows mobile devices to connect with SS7/Diameter signaling to create voice connectivity, which in turn allows for data connectivity.
This is a huge issue for visited operators that do not support CSFB and only VoLTE, because they are missing out on inbound roaming revenues and creating an overall bad roaming experience for travelers entering their networks.
Benefits of VoLTE Adoption
There are many benefits to VoLTE, including improving connection times, data, and call quality that directly affect the user. Our research shows that around 80% of operators believe this, too, because they are predicting to have VoLTE roaming agreements in place by the end of 2024.
Quality is not the only thing affecting these decisions to support VoLTE, as 69% of operators confirm that the global retirement of both 2G and 3G networks will also accelerate their VoLTE roaming implementation plans.
How MNOs Can Adopt VoLTE
To propel the mobile industry, MNOs must invest in and support technologies that improve the performance of new devices and drive subscriber satisfaction. VoLTE roaming is one of these technologies.
Yes, this involves infrastructure and other costs, but the mobile industry must keep evolving. Otherwise, it becomes stagnant, slowing digital transformation to hit speed bumps or even worse, grind to a halt.
To understand the plans MNOs have for retiring legacy networks and implementing VoLTE roaming, download the recent infographic, developed by Mobile World Live.
