Operators losing out on major revenue

SWITZERLAND: Starhome Mach, the global leader in mobile inter-carrier network and clearing services, has examined data gathered over the past year from its Unity real-time analytics and business management service.

The results reveal many missed opportunities for operators to encourage silent roamers with data and voice packages.

- 68 percent of global roamers are still silent.

- 58 percent of EU roamers are still silent, despite regulations designed to lower costs.

- The number of roamers using data increased 10 percent over the past 12 months, while the number of roamers using voice decreased 5 percent.

- Only 56 percent use voice when roaming.

The introduction of special roaming packages and EU regulations are driving demand but not at the levels expected. The availability of high-speed LTE has fed consumer usage of data connectivity within their home networks, but they tend to shut down their digital lives while roaming due to the fear of bill shock. According to the data gathered, more than half of subscribers have yet to access a single kilobyte of data while roaming.

"Though data roaming is on the rise, substantial revenue opportunities still abound," said Guy Reiffer, VP Marketing and Partnerships at Starhome Mach. "As prices drop due to legislation and competition, operators can proactively respond by tapping into this significant silent roamer segment with compelling incentives that can change ingrained behavior."

Operators who use Starhome Mach's real-time Silent Roamers solution are able to identify and awaken their roamers thanks to its unique integration between clearing and network services. They target roamers with micro-segmented campaigns based on profiles and usage patterns and then track results and the impact on their business.

Dynamic pricing support on both the retail and wholesale levels provides maximum flexibility without impacting the operator's billing system. Operators are also using this technology to detect silent locations to pinpoint potential quality of service issues.