Market analysts Juniper Research has revealed which countries are the most roaming-friendly this year, as well as how many connections, on a global scale, we can expect in the next five years.
The firm claims that in 2024, there will be more than 1.5 billion inbound roaming connections, and by the time we reach 2028, there will be more than 2.4 billion inbound roaming connections worldwide.
By analyzing the wholesale roaming landscape across 60 “key” countries, Juniper Research set out to forecast the market for five years. Hence, the top five countries for inbound roaming subscribers next year will most likely be the United States (164 million), France (147 million), China (136 million), Spain (70 million), and Mexico (66 million).
Tourism and roaming agreements
Combined, these five countries will make up 583 million inbound roaming connections, or roughly 40% of the global market share. Strong tourism, as well as “established and comprehensive” roaming agreements, are the key reasons behind these numbers, Juniper further explains. Elaborating on the latter, the researchers said VoLTE roaming readiness and contingencies for 5G and IoT connections will prove “critical” in maximizing the ROI for wholesale roaming revenue.
“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,” commented Elisha Sudlow-Poole, who authored the report.
Finally, global wholesale roaming revenue is expected to increase from $7.1 billion this year, to $27.6 billion in five years. That represents a 286% increase in half a decade, driven mostly by the proliferation in the demand for data-centric use cases, which includes IoT over VoLTE and 5G networks.
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