Business Chief Europe Magazine March 2016 | Page 14

TECHNOLOGY
SINCE THE EU began the introduction of legislation to reduce roaming costs in 2007 , the mobile industry landscape has changed completely , from one dominated by voice and messaging to an ecosystem revolving around data usage . This evolution has also had a profound impact on the demand for roaming services , with reliance on data usage leading to demand for constant connectivity .
This has been nourished by the ease of accessibility allowed by smartphones , and roaming bundles offered by the bigger operators in most major European markets – many of which offer LTE roaming while abroad . The quality and speed of data connectivity is a vital element in encouraging growth . In some markets such as the UK , where all major service providers offer LTE , operators are now allowing domestic upgrades from 3G at no extra charge . And it ’ s no surprise that consumers expect the same level of service while outside of their home market .
How will the EU roaming regulations impact this ? Not that significantly . Many of the operator bundles already in place are priced to encourage usage at the same level when business and consumer customers leave the country . Those paying standard roaming tariffs are likely to be encouraged to increase the amount of data used while abroad , carrying a margin for both the visiting and subscriber networks .
Although service providers are now relying on a decreased margin per unit , ARPU is actually likely to sustain due to the explosion in traffic volumes . This is in addition to an anticipated decrease in ‘ silent roamers ’ – subscribers who turn off cellular services when they are outside of their home country .
The availability of high-speed roaming services and price reductions seen in recent years have already caused a dramatic increase in data roaming volumes , further lowering the cost will cause an even more drastic rise .
LTE roaming to become a worldwide opportunity The European summer holiday season sees an annual rise in roaming traffic from holiday-makers venturing further afield , armed with their mobile devices . Since 2014 , double-digit
14 March 2016