BICS, a global provider of wholesale carrier services, has announced a rapid increase in the number of operators deploying LTE roaming during the last year, with its services now available in 75 countries. According to BICS, operators using BICS' IP exchange (IPX) platform can offer customers access to LTE roaming sessions with over 150 operators, through either direct connections or peering agreements.
The global mobile roaming provider said that following its launches in Asia, North America, Europe and Africa during 2013, last year saw widespread adoption of its services in countries across the globe, including Russia, South Africa, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Poland and Rwanda.
Following the launch of over 360 commercial LTE networks across 124 countries throughout last year and with more launches including around 49 commercial deployments of LTE-A in the pipeline for this year, BICS said that operators must arrange a whole new set of commercial agreements and technical interconnections to support this all-new IP signalling infrastructure, built on IPX, to replace the SS7 signalling network.
Mikaël Schachne, VP Mobile Data Business, BICS
The growth in the number of networks offering LTE roaming services last year was astounding. We can now expect carriers to begin utilising the whole spectrum of services enabled by IPX, including deploying next generation voice services and value added packages for subscribers, to further enhance services for their own customers and incoming roamers.
