That is almost a tenfold growth, or a growth of 900% in just four years, said Juniper Research, which carried out the study.
Juniper Research said that this growth will require the development of new roaming tools that are able to autonomously identify roaming connections as 5G connectivity proliferates.
Report author Elisha Sudlow-Poole commented: “An inability to detect roaming connections that use valuable network bandwidth risks diminishing the user experience for the operator’s own subscribers.”
The research identified AI-based real-time analytics and roaming fraud mitigation services as two critical solutions that will enable operators to protect their networks against an influx of data traffic from roaming subscribers.
Sudlow-Poole said: “To maintain high-quality services for their subscribers, operators must invest in roaming solutions that can efficiently identify roaming connections that consume large amounts of cellular data.”
The research predicts that amidst the growth of 5G roamers, these emerging traffic analytics and anti-fraud solutions must enable the enhanced identification and authentication of roaming connections over 5G networks.
However, given the increased complexity of 5G networks, it anticipates current roaming analytics services will be insufficient in monitoring 5G roaming connections, and the subsequent increase in mobile roaming data.
To maximise the benefits from these new 5G roaming services, operators must invest in 5G next-generation cores (NGCs), which are highly virtualised and can more efficiently assess traffic and connectivity.
By deploying NGCs, roaming vendors can better protect networks’ processing power and signalling capabilities amidst rising levels of roaming data consumption. This will ensure a continuous level of service essential to attracting high-spending enterprise customers.
