Retail Roaming Market: 2026-2031

Description

Overview

Our Retail Roaming research suite for mobile network operators (MNOs) and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) provides detailed analysis and strategic recommendations for the next era of retail roaming. Juniper Research defines retail roaming as roaming services delivered to human mobile subscribers’ home SIMs, with retail roaming revenue referring to revenue generated by MNOs and MVNOs from the end users (either enterprise or consumer), rather than wholesale revenue.

The report projects retail roaming to drop by more than a quarter; necessitating a complete redesign of MNOs’ and MVNOs’ retail roaming offerings and business strategies. It identifies travel eSIMs as the catalyst for the market’s decline - with both MNO-owned and third-party travel eSIMs rapidly gaining market share due to lower costs and improved user experiences - as well as close integration into travel ecosystems and booking flows. At the same time, regulatory pressures are compressing revenue; further reducing future revenue opportunities for MNOs and MVNOs.

The insightful report provides strategic analysis and recommendations for how MNOs and MVNOs can manage these changing market conditions. Additionally, it delivers analysis and recommendations for the different business models used to monetise retail roaming.

The research suite comprises several different options that can be purchased separately, including access to a data and forecasting document, a strategy and trends document detailing critical trends in the market, and strategic recommendations for increasing retail roaming adoption and usage over the next five years. It also includes our Competitor Leaderboard for IPX providers, which can be purchased separately, that contains analysis and market sizing for 16 leading IPX providers.

Collectively, these elements provide a critical tool for understanding the retail roaming market; allowing MNOs and other stakeholders to optimise their future business strategies and product or service development, and providing them with a competitive advantage in the market.

All report content is delivered in the English language.

Key Features

Key Takeaways & Strategic Recommendations: In-depth analysis of key development opportunities and findings within the retail roaming market. This is accompanied by strategic recommendations for MNOs wanting to maximise revenue growth in the retail roaming space.
Market Dynamics: Insights into major trends and opportunities in the retail roaming market, including analysis of how regulatory and competitive pressures are reshaping the roaming market, how country-level changes are unfolding, and what operators must do to adapt.
Benchmark Industry Forecasts: The suite provides five-year forecasts for the market growth of retail roaming, including outbound roaming subscribers, split by 4G and 5G roaming; silent roamers; and a total market value for retail roaming.
Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard: Key player capability and capacity assessment for 16 leading vendors in the IPX market; featuring detailed analysis of each vendor’s offering and how they compare within the market.

Market Data & Forecasting Report

The market-leading research suite for the Retail Roaming market includes access to the full set of forecast data of over 12,000 datapoints and 23 tables. Metrics in the research suite include:

Total Number of Outbound Travellers
Total Number of Mobile Roamers
Total Roaming Usage, Split by SMS & MMS, Voice, and Data
Total Roaming Data Traffic, Split by 4G and 5G
Total Number of Silent Roamers

Juniper Research’s Interactive Forecast Excel contains the following functionality:

Statistics Analysis: Users benefit from the ability to search for specific metrics, displayed for all regions and countries across the data period. Graphs are easily modified and can be exported to the clipboard.
Country Data Tool: This tool enables users to look at metrics for all regions and countries in the forecast period. Users can refine the metrics displayed via a search bar.
Country Comparison Tool: Users can select and compare specific countries. The ability to export graphs is included in this tool.
What-if Analysis: Here, users can compare forecast metrics against their own assumptions; featuring three interactive scenarios.

Market Trends & Strategies Report

The report thoroughly examines the Retail Roaming Market, with detailed analysis of key market trends, threats, and country-level considerations. It also provides strategic recommendations for how MNOs can maximise their success in the market, including how to improve the customer experience and adjust to changes in the market.

Competitor Leaderboard Report

The IPX Providers Competitor Leaderboard report provides detailed evaluation and market positioning for 16 IPX vendors. Vendors are positioned either as an Established Leader, Leading Challenger, or Disruptor & Challenger; based on capability & capacity and product & positioning scoring assessments.

These vendors include:

A1 International Business
Arelion
Bayobab
BICS (Proximus)
China Mobile International
Comfone
e&
iBASIS
Orange Wholesale
Sparkle
Syniverse
T Wholesale
Tata Communications
Telefonica Global Solutions
TNS
Vodafone Procure & Connect

This competitive analysis document is centred around the Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard; a vendor positioning tool that provides an at-a-glance view of the competitive landscape in a market, backed by a robust methodology.

1. Market Trends & Strategies Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways & Strategic Recommendations

1.1 Key Takeaways
1.2 Key Strategic Recommendations

2. Retail Roaming Market Landscape

2.1 Introduction
2.2 Retail Roaming Market Outlook
- Figure 2.1: Global Retail Roaming Revenue ($m), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
- Figure 2.2: Total Number of Silent Roamers (m), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
- Table 2.3: 2026 Select Regulator Changes to Eliminate Roaming Charges
- Figure 2.4: iPhone Travel eSIM Management Screenshot
- 2.2.2 4G LTE Market Outlook
- Figure 2.5: Global 4G LTE Roaming Traffic by Retail Roamers (PB), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
  - i. VoLTE Roaming
  - Table 2.6: 2G & 3G Network Sunsets in 2026 (Pg 1 of 2)
  - Table 2.6: 2G & 3G Network Sunsets in 2026 (Pg 2 of 2)
- 2.2.3 5G Non-Standalone Market Outlook
- Figure 2.7: Global 5G Retail Roaming Traffic (PB), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
- 2.2.4 5G SA Market Outlook

3. Mobile Network Operator Monetisation Trends & Strategies

3.1 Introduction
3.2 Rebranding and Rehabilitating Mobile Roaming
- Figure 3.1: Global Travel eSIM Revenue ($m), 2026-2030
3.3 Are Travel eSIMs a Threat to Retail Roaming and Mobile Network Operators?
3.4 Key Business Models for Retail Roaming Monetisation
- 3.4.1 PAYG
- 3.4.2 Free Retail Roaming
- 3.4.3 Flat Fee Roaming
- Figure 3.2: Vodafone UK’s Recent Flat Fee Roaming Price Changes
- 3.4.4 Roaming Bundles
- Figure 3.3: Bharti Airtel International Roaming Bundle (Pack), August
  - i. Regional Roaming Bundles
  - Figure 3.4: Examples of Regional Offers by Travel eSIM Providers
  - ii. Basic Access Bundles
3.5 Roaming Loyalty Ecosystems
- 3.5.1 Retail Roaming as the Foundation of Travel Ecosystems
3.6 Strategies for Before Arrival and Predicting International Travel Intent
3.7 Welcome SMS
- Figure 3.5: Example of a Welcome SMS
3.8 Roaming Dashboards
3.9 Personalised Retail Roaming Offers & Bundles
- 3.9.1 International Traveller-built Retail Roaming Bundles

4. Case Studies in Retail Roaming

4.1 Case Studies
- 4.1.1 Smart Communications and Roaming Wallets
- 4.1.2 Vodafone Idea and Niyo
- 4.1.3 Revolut’s MVNO and Travel Ecosystem
- 4.1.4 LG U+ and Lunar New Year Promotion

5. Country-level Analysis

5.1 Introduction to Country-level Analysis
5.2 North America
- Table 5.1: Total North America Retail Roaming Revenue ($m), Split by Country,2026-2031
- Figure 5.2: Total North America Outbound Travellers ($m), Split by Country,2026-2031
- Table 5.3: Examples of Retail Roaming Pricing by US and Canadian MNOs
5.3 Latin America
- Figure 5.4: Total Latin America Retail Roaming Revenue (Excluding Other Latin America), Split by Country, 2026-2031
- Figure 5.5: Latin America, Total Number of Outbound Travellers, and Proportion of Outbound Travellers Using Retail Roaming, 2026-2031
5.4 West Europe
- Figure 5.6: Average Revenue per Outbound Retail Roamer in 2026 ($), Split by 8 Key Regions
5.5 Central & East Europe
- Table 5.7: Central & East Europe Key Retail Roaming Statistics, 2026-2031
- Table 5.8: Proportion of International Travellers Using Retail Roaming (%), Central & East Europe, Russia, and Turkey, 2026-2031
5.6 Far East & China
- Figure 5.9: Total Number of Outbound Retail Roamers (m), Far East & China, 2026-2031
- Table 5.10: Total Retail Roaming Revenue Far East & China ($m), Split by China and Rest of Far East & China, 2026-2031
5.7 Indian Subcontinent
- Figure 5.11: Total Number of Outbound Retail Roamers (m), Split by Country, 2026-2031
- Table 5.12: Total Indian Subcontinent Retail Roaming Revenue ($m), Split by Country, 2026-2031
5.8 Rest of Asia Pacific
- Figure 5.13: Total Rest of Asia Pacific Retail Roaming Revenue ($m), 2026-2031
- Table 5.14: Leading Retail Roaming Markets in Rest of Asia Pacific ($m), 2026-2031
5.9 Africa & Middle East
- Table 5.15: Total Retail Roaming Revenue ($m), Africa & Middle East, Select Countries, 2026-2031

2. IPX Providers Leaderboard Table of Contents

1. Competitor Leaderboard

1.1 Why Read This Report
- Figure 1.1: Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard: IPX Vendors and Product Portfolio (Page 1 of 2)
- Figure 1.1: Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard: IPX Vendors and Product Portfolio (Page 2 of 2)
- Figure 1.2: Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard: 16 Vendors
- Figure 1.3: Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard: 16 IPX Vendors & Positioning
- Table 1.4: Juniper Research IPX Providers Competitor Leaderboard Heatmap: 16 Vendors

2. Vendor Profiles

2.1 Vendor Profiles
- 2.1.1 A1 International Business
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.2 Arelion
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - Figure 2.1: Arelion’s IPX Services
  - Figure 2.2: Arelion Product Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.3 Bayobab
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.4 BICS (Proximus)
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.5 China Mobile International
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.6 Comfone
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - Figure 2.3: Comfone IPX Network
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.7 e&
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - Figure 2.4: e& Connectivity Map
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.8 iBASIS
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.9 Orange Wholesale
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - Figure 2.5 Orange Wholesale IPX
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.10 Sparkle
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.11 Syniverse
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.12 T Wholesale
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.13 Tata Communications
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.14 Telefonica Global Solutions
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.15 TNS
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - Figure 2.5: TNS Voice IPX
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
- 2.1.16 Vodafone Procure & Connect
  - i. Corporate Information
  - ii. Geographical Spread
  - iii. Key Clients & Strategic Partnerships
  - iv. High-level View of Offerings
  - v. Juniper Research’s View: Key Strengths & Strategic Development Opportunities
2.2 Juniper Research Leaderboard Assessment Methodology
2.3 Limitations & Interpretations
- Table 2.6: Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard: IPX
2.4 Related Research

3. Data & Forecasting Table of Contents

1. Introduction & Methodology

1.1 Introduction
- Figure 1.1: Proportion of International Travellers That Use Retail Roaming Globally (%), 2026-2031
1.2 Forecast Methodology & Definitions
- Figure 1.2: Retail Roaming Market Forecast Methodology

2. Market Summary & Future Market Outlook

2.1 Total Number of Outbound Retail Roamers
- Figure & Table 2.1: Total Number of Retail Roamers (m), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
- Figure 2.2: Proportion of Outbound Travellers Using Retail Roaming (%), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
- Figure 2.3: Total Number of Silent Roamers (m), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
2.2 Total Number of Voice Minutes Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers
- Figure & Table 2.4: Total Number of Voice Minutes Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers (bn), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
2.3 Total Number of SMS and MMS Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers
- Figure & Table 2.5: Total Number of SMS & MMS Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers (m), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
2.4 Total Cellular Data Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers
- Figure & Table 2.6: Total Cellular Data Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers, Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
- Table 2.7: Total Retail Roaming Data Traffic (%), Split by 4G LTE & 5G, 2026-2031
2.5 Total 4G LTE Data Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers
- Figure & Table 2.8: Total 4G LTE Data Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers (PB), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031
2.6 Total 5G Data Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers
- Figure & Table 2.9: Total 5G Data Generated by Outbound Retail Roamers (PB),
2.7 Total Revenue from Retail Roaming
- Figure & Table 2.10: Total Revenue from Retail Roaming ($m), Split by 8 Key Regions, 2026-2031