Wireless users’ ability to take and make voice calls on various networks no matter what carrier’s brand name is stamped on their handsets-also known as roaming-is an invisible advantage that expands an operator’s footprint and keeps customers happy.
But when it comes to roaming for CDMA2000 1x EV-DO or UMTS data networks, subscribers can find themselves virtually tethered to whatever amount of infrastructure their chosen carrier has put in place. They may be able to fall back to a data network such as 1x or EDGE capabilities, but the data speeds are substantially slower and some of the high-end services they want may not run well or even be accessible.
Enter 3G data roaming, which would help carriers fill in service gaps and satisfy customers’ need for speed. During its recent analyst day, Alltel officials indicated that they were examining the possibility of signing domestic EV-DO roaming agreements, and other CDMA wireless carriers have indicated interest in similar plans.
“Data roaming is extremely important for us, as people rely on having data as well as voice [service],” said Barry Tishgart, director of product marketing for Sprint Nextel Corp.
However, as Manuel Maseda, manager of technology strategy for roaming clearinghouse Syniverse Technologies Inc., put it, “The second tier carriers are just now in the process of moving from 1xRTT to EV-DO, so the need to do EV-DO roaming is probably not there yet because they still haven’t widely deployed it in their home networks. … But it’s coming.”
On the GSM side, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is the only U.S. carrier offering UMTS high-speed data service, so domestic 3G roaming partners don’t yet exist for the company. However, the company did announce last week that it would include 100 megabytes of roaming in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia-where various countries offer UMTS high-speed networks-with its new GlobalConnect plans that also include unlimited domestic data access.
For U.S. CDMA carriers, there are potential challenges to implementing roaming agreements-challenges that may get even more complicated when the next evolution of high-speed data, EV-DO Rev. A, makes its way onto the wireless stage with the potential to support Voice over Internet Protocol. Some of the issues include how usage will be measured-in bits and bytes, or in minutes-and to what extent carriers and roaming clearinghouse services will be able to differentiate between, say, file downloads, voice calls, push-to-talk services and VoIP usage.
According to Maseda, the technology side of the equation probably won’t be all that difficult to manage, although he said that roaming may or may not be seamless depending on whether carriers use simple IP or mobile IP technology for their data networks. Still, he noted, 3G roaming could get messy if operators decide that they want to allow some applications to roam but not others, and if clearing and settlement companies such as Syniverse are expected to be able to differentiate among the types of data usage, when what they currently work with is the amount of usage.
Other potential snags revolve around how much proprietary tweaking carriers have to do as they implement their 3G networks. According to Alltel’s executive vice president of wireless wholesale, Kerry Brooks, Alltel wants its EV-DO network to accommodate users no matter what their home carrier might have modified in, for example, user authentication.
“We kind of want to be the roaming partner for everybody, so we are going to try to accommodate whatever flavor anybody has put in,” Brooks said.
Brooks added that Alltel is working on EV-DO roaming agreements with some smaller carriers and is interested in eventually joining forces with larger carriers in much the same way that voice and 1x roaming agreements have worked. He, too, also sees other carriers becoming more interested in high-speed data roaming as more customers take up the services and want to use them, regardless of where they are.
However, translating data roaming services into something that customers understand on their bills may be another story. Customers might be charged a flat rate for roaming, or possibly an increased per-kilobyte use rate-which could discourage them from accessing data services while roaming.
“I don’t think people are going to want to use it as much if they know they’re going to be charged like eight times more than usual, the way that voice used to be,” said Tole Hart, senior analyst for mobile communications at Gartner.
Verizon Wireless spokesperson Jeffrey Nelson noted that with the carrier’s current extensive EV-DO footprint, the carrier does not feel the need to roam with Sprint Nextel. Asked about potential EV-DO roaming agreements with Alltel Corp., Nelson said, “That is a discussion we’ll have down the road. Right now, our customers are being excellently served.”
He did note that when 1x roaming began, Verizon Wireless discovered that “you do have to figure out how your service … will be made whole. You do have some tinkering you need to do, but I’ve not heard that that is a very complicated process.”
When it comes to roaming agreements, Nelson said, the carrier has to look at its current coverage, which customers would benefit from the ability to roam and “whose customers they are.”
