Operator sunsetting timelines vary on a global level and preserving roaming interoperability between the generations has created a roadblock for operators.
The joint solution power by Mavenir’s cloud-native IMS effectively bridges this widening roaming gap between older 2G/3G networks and the newer 4G/5G technology.
“As mobile technology continues to evolve, safeguarding roaming between networks is crucial,” says Mikael Schachne, VP telco market at BICS.
“As a global communications platform company, our mission is to connect communities and create opportunities. With this partnership, we are ensuring operators around the world continue to provide excellent customer experience for their roamers, while leveraging our extensive reach and expertise to monetize potential opportunities.”
Without a solution to ensure smooth communications between the different networks on a global scale, the disruption to roamers could be very serious.
For example, a person coming from a 2G/3G operator who travels to a 4G/5G-only network will not be able to make voice calls in that location.
The VoLTE solution will bring together BICS’ reach in international roaming and Mavenir’s network software to address the issue.
For operators still providing 2G/3G services, their customers will benefit from a “seamless” roaming experience, even when visiting locations where the technology has been phased out.
For operators further along in the sunsetting timeline, they can welcome visitors onto their 4G/5G network to provide services and gain otherwise lost inbound roaming revenues.
“When talking about the future of the telecoms industry, a lot of focus is put on next-generation innovations, like 5G or even 6G,” says Ashok Khuntia, president of core networks at Mavenir.
“While these are of course important, we need to ensure we’re doing this in a way that doesn’t create blind spots that could cost operators revenue and potentially widen the digital divide.
“Mavenir’s Cloud-Native IMS helps evolve today’s mobile voice services, ensuring that operators around the world can continue to grow by delivering service parity, and facilitating voice continuity between the generations.”
