Roaming revenues to fall 11% after EU ban: Juniper

The European Union’s elimination of roaming charges has pushed global mobile roaming revenue numbers down, according to a new report by Juniper Research. The EU recently said it was eliminating roaming charges after it came to an agreement on wholesale prices. Roaming revenues are now expected to decline 11 per cent globally in 2017, the Tuesday Juniper report noted, adding revenue decline is also largely due to the introduction of “roam-like-at-home” packages in markets including Europe, North America and Asia, it said. “This decline in global revenues is due to a 33% fall in European roaming revenues, following the EU regulation to end roaming surcharges,” Juniper research author Nitin Bhas said in a Tuesday press release. “While we expect roaming tariffs outside Europe to continue to be unregulated and to be significantly higher, operator focus will need to shift to innovative bundles and tailored pricing to preserve or grow revenues from travellers and immigrant workers.” A previous Juniper report noted that OTT messaging services will cost mobile operators more than a hundred billion dollars in 2017. However, analysts said data and new revenue services, such as an uptake in the Internet of Things devices, will soften that blow. Global mobile operators had roaming revenues of around $54 billion in 2015 and 2016, representing just less than six per cent of global operator revenues, the report said. It estimated that those revenues will decline to $48 billion this year “as revenues from increased usage in many markets fail to offset those lost by lower roaming charges in the EU.” The research also suggests, however, that revenues will rebound in 2018 as more active roamers and data usage increase significantly. Juniper also noted other factors impacting global mobile revenues, including increased competition in certain markets, with the launch of new mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), and social media interaction replacing voice and SMS conversations.

Roaming revenues to fall 11% after EU ban: Juniper

Brief | July 18, 2017

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Roaming revenues to fall 11% after EU ban: Juniper

Brief | July 18, 2017

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