Juniper Research, the foremost experts in the global roaming market, predicts there will be over 1.5 billion inbound roaming connections in 2024, which are expected to rise to 2.4 billion by 2028.
The new global report assesses the wholesale roaming landscape across 60 key countries, forecasting the market for 5 years. The top 5 countries for inbound roaming subscribers in 2024 are identified as:
1. US (164 million)
2. France (147 million)
3. China (136 million)
4. Spain (70 million)
5. Mexico (66 million)
Together, these countries will account for over 583 million inbound roaming connections; representing 40% of the global market share next year. The research identified factors such as strong tourist markets, and established and comprehensive roaming agreements as key to high numbers of inbound roaming connections in these 5 countries. Specifically, VoLTE roaming readiness and contingencies for 5G and IoT connections will prove critical in maximising the return on investment for wholesale roaming revenue.
Report author Elisha Sudlow-Poole commented: “As roaming networks become increasingly complex, operators must invest in identification tools to ensure they can accommodate the predicted influx of inbound roaming connections over the next 5 years, especially as the travel industry is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels for the first time in 2024.”
Revenue Driven by Data-centric Use Cases
The analysis forecasts global wholesale roaming revenue will rise from $7.1 billion in 2023 to $27.6 billion by 2028. Specifically, this growth of 286% over the next 5 years will be driven by the proliferation in the demand for data-centric use cases, including IoT over VoLTE and 5G networks.
Therefore, the research urges operators to invest in strong network analytics and device identification tools either in-house or via third-party roaming providers to enable detection of data-intensive roaming connections to provide accurate billing settlements; maximising wholesale roaming revenue.
