Starhome Mach: roaming data usage across the EU increased by over 450% YoY in the peak travel weeks

EU operators now need to adjust wholesale and retail models, and closely manage network capacity

ZURICH, 14-Sep-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — In the 10 weeks since the regulation went into effect, roaming data usage across the EU Roam-like-at-Home region increased by over 450% in the peak travel weeks compared to the prior year. Starhome Mach’s unique research, based on the company’s clearing and signaling data analytics, as well as inputs from leading operators, indicates that EU residents are taking full advantage of the new regulations. Some operators have even seen their subscribers increase roaming data usage by up to 870% compared to the prior year. While a small part of the increase can be attributed to the estimated 60% ongoing global year-over-year increase in data usage, the vast majority of this impact is clearly due to the recent EU Regulation. At the same time voice traffic showed modest increases of up to 75%.

Despite the usual decrease in summer domestic traffic, the staggering demand for network services by roamers stretched the networks of leading travel destinations to the limit and, in some cases, beyond it. Leading inbound tourist countries have seen a 4x(!) and more increases in roaming data usage across their national network, with an astonishing impact at the local city level.

These phenomena, which Starhome Mach anticipated, have introduced new challenges for operators. At the subscriber level – how to handle regulation abuse by permanent roamers and abnormal use by roamers. At the network level – capacity overload and its impact on quality of service. Solving these challenges is critical for an operator to maintain a healthy and profitable business.

Starhome Mach foresees that operators will soon become more assertive with abusers, powered by sophisticated solutions that will help the operators to optimize their business models. Deploying Starhome Mach’s EU Regulation solution for both detecting permanent roamers and enforcing fair usage policies, together with the company’s Deal Analytics, effectively meets these challenges introduced by the new regulation.

“Operators have recognized the impact of the EU Roam-Like-at-Home regulation during the summer and now appreciate the urgency of implementing a smart solution to address the regulatory challenges,” said Starhome Mach EMEA General Manager Marom Ben-Menachem. “Roaming departments are being urged by management to leverage smart technologies like Starhome Mach’s to quickly and effectively comply with the regulation while protecting their business model.”

Starhome Mach will showcase their EU regulation solution at the upcoming Wholesale Agreements and Solutions (WAS) #6 conference that will take place in Marrakech, from September 25th until 28th, 2017.

About Starhome Mach
Starhome Mach enables seamless and secure roaming and IoT connectivity. In 1999 Starhome Mach revolutionized the Mobile industry with the introduction of its game changing international roaming solutions. With an exceptional customer base that encompasses more than 300 mobile network operators in over 130 countries, including 24 leading telecom groups, Starhome Mach provides a comprehensive portfolio of value-added global roaming for wholesale and retail, clearing, IoT connectivity and real-time anti-fraud solutions. Starhome Mach’s innovative solutions overcome the complex challenges and unexpected obstacles of the hyper-connected world to drive real-time business impact and deliver outstanding user experience. Simple as that.

For more information about Starhome Mach, visit www.starhomemach.com.

SOURCE:  Starhome Mach