Roaming Quality Matters More Than Ever — Here’s How to Manage It
We’ve spoken before about how automation can improve roaming quality. But there’s another important angle that deserves a closer look: how operators can actively steer subscribers based on quality, not just price.
Roaming quality has never mattered more — and for some customer segments, it’s now business-critical.
Enterprise customers, IoT users, and VIP roamers are increasingly demanding a seamless, high-quality experience, even when travelling across networks that the home operator doesn’t fully control.
This rising demand presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
The Challenge: Roaming Means Less Control
When a subscriber roams, there are multiple visited networks they could attach to. Traditionally, Steering of Roaming (SoR) has helped operators influence which network the subscriber connects to — usually aiming to reduce costs by steering to the least expensive network.
But cost isn’t everything anymore.
Subscribers — especially quality-sensitive segments — care far more about consistent, reliable service: strong data connectivity, VoLTE registration, fast session establishment, and more.
Unfortunately, traditional steering doesn’t guarantee quality. And while MNOs can invest heavily to differentiate their domestic network quality, they have much less direct control when their subscribers roam.
The Opportunity: Steering for Quality, Not Just Price
The good news is: operators don’t have to leave roaming quality to chance.
Quality can, and should, become a decisive factor in steering decisions — especially for enterprise and IoT segments where service consistency is non-negotiable.
Today, most MNOs have access to quality metrics, such as those defined by the GSMA’s Global Roaming Quality (GRQ) standards in IR.81. Tools like Roam Insight can provide this visibility out of the box. These analytics reveal the real performance of visited networks, beyond just price points.
The next step is connecting these insights to the steering system — in real time — to actively steer subscribers towards the network that offers the best quality.
For example:
- Pre-emptive Quality Steering: When a subscriber arrives in a country, steer them toward the network with the highest GRQ scores — not just the cheapest one.
- Dynamic Correction: If a subscriber experiences issues — such as failure to register for VoLTE or persistent data session failures — automatically move them to another network that can meet their needs.
This moves the operator from passively monitoring roaming quality, to actively managing it, subscriber by subscriber.
How to Enable Quality-Based Steering
To make quality-driven steering a reality, the SoR system must:
- Accept quality data from analytics platforms like Roam Insight (or other 3rd party systems).
- Provide API-based integration to allow real-time updates to steering preferences.
- Enable dynamic, per-subscriber decisions without requiring manual intervention.
This is where Cellusys solutions are uniquely positioned:
- Roam Insight continuously monitors and classifies roaming network quality.
- Cellusys Steering of Roaming (SoR) enforces steering decisions based on real-time quality data.
- API Flexibility to integrate with other external quality or analytics sources if needed.
Together, this creates a live feedback loop between network intelligence and subscriber experience — ensuring the right subscribers are always steered to the right network, at the right time.
In Summary
Roaming complexity will only grow — with more devices, more technologies, and higher customer expectations.
Operators who can dynamically manage roaming quality — not just monitor it — will be best positioned to retain high-value customers and protect their roaming revenues.With the right combination of analytics and steering, quality isn’t something you simply react to. It’s something you can actively deliver.
Categorised in: Blog