Wi-Fi, M2M Likely to Offer More Roaming Growth Opportunities for Operators than Legislation, MACH Survey Finds

EU roaming regulation not likely to create significant changes in usage patterns, survey says

Luxembourg, 26th June, 2012 – The biggest growth opportunities in the roaming market for operators today exist in areas other than regulation, according to a survey conducted by MACH, the leading provider of cloud-based managed communication services. Wi-Fi and M2M both generated the most interest amongst delegates and industry experts at MACH Insights 2012.

The survey, which questioned more than 100 representatives from global mobile network operators and CSPs, found that more than three-quarters believe Wi-Fi (79 per cent) and M2M roaming (77 per cent) represent a great opportunity for revenue generation. Conversely, more than half (57 per cent) of respondents felt that roaming regulation is not likely to create significant changes in usage patterns, and that reducing the retail price of data to €0.20 / Mbyte is not sufficient to create positive price elasticity in the roaming market.

Rasmus Holst, Senior Vice President, Market Offering, MACH, observed: “The results of this survey demonstrate that many operators believe Wi-Fi to be a key access technology and are already looking at how to successfully market new Wi-Fi offerings to capitalise on previously untapped revenue streams. It is also encouraging to see the recognition of growth potential in M2M roaming. As one of the real mega-trends in the mobile industry, M2M roaming is becoming an increasingly attractive opportunity for the international telecoms sector.”

“On the other hand, it is surprising to see that legislation specifically designed to encourage the uptake of roaming services within the EU, had such a negative impact on respondents. In recent years, operators have seen an unprecedented growth in mobile data usage, presenting a tremendous opportunity for effective mobile data monetisation. However, in our survey only a small minority of respondents (28 per cent) felt that this will help increase operator revenues,” Holst added.

More than three-quarters of respondents stated that they believe Wi-Fi and M2M roaming will create significant revenue for operators within the next five years. A third (32 per cent) stated that they believe the revenue from M2M will come even sooner – within two years. When asked about their intentions to make these services available to customers, 45 per cent of operators cited that they plan to offer Wi-Fi roaming within the next two years, with one fifth (19 per cent) intending to roll it out within the next six months. Similarly, 22 per cent of operators questioned are already offering M2M specific roaming agreements, with 42 per cent of operators expecting to put these in place within the next two years.

-ENDS-

About the Survey

MACH Insights is recognised in the industry as a leading conference in the mobile calendar. Providing in-depth coverage of roaming topics, the renowned conference delivers the latest views and opinions of leading independent experts in the field. The survey data was collected from 110 delegates, a mixture of global mobile network operators and CSPs.

About MACH

MACH connects and monetizes the telecom world with its comprehensive and growing portfolio of cloud-based communication services, called MACH Embrace. It provides its 650 operator customers with solutions to monetize mobile data, simplify interoperability between networks, optimize wholesale processes and protect revenues. MACH is the largest provider of data and financial clearing solutions for wireless roaming and operates the globe’s largest and fastest growing open connectivity roaming hub, Link2One. It inserts the operator in the content and application value chain and serves the reseller and wholesaler community with its A2P messaging solutions. Headquartered in Luxembourg, MACH has offices in 12 countries. Its customers include Orange, Telefonica, T-Mobile, Telus, Verizon Wireless and Microsoft, as well as enterprise messaging customers like KLM. For more information, visit www.mach.com.

Enquiries

MACH
Eileen Preston, Global PR Manager
[email protected], +44 7860 456193

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article/press release are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the approved policy or position of the GSMA or its subsidiaries.

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