Global GRPS roaming required for success

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Enabling international roaming for general packet radio service (GPRS) is a prerequisite for the take-off of the new mobile data service, according to GPRS Roaming: Technical Options and Strategic Implications, a new report published by Analysys, a global advisor on telecoms and new media.

The report forecasts that GPRS subscriber numbers in Western Europe will approach 6 million by the end of 2002. However, this will only be achieved if roaming to GPRS users' main travelling destinations becomes possible within the next six months.

"While very little GPRS data revenue will be derived directly from roaming," said the report's lead author, Katrina Bond, "it is critical for attracting early adopters, particularly business people who want to access email and corporate applications when travelling." According to Analysys, roaming models currently employed for GSM networks are inadequate for the increased complexity of billing and providing a consistent method of access for the broad range of services that are being introduced over GPRS networks.

GRX model

Mobile operators are in the process of evaluating two alternative models for connecting roaming customers to GPRS services: via the Internet, or using a GPRS roaming exchange (GRX) as a hub for routeing GPRS data along private IP connections. 

The report argues that the GRX model will dominate for GPRS roaming because of the additional quality of service (QoS) and security it provides, and because of the level of control it affords operators over the services their customers can access. The GRX model also favours another group of companies: those IP backbone providers and roaming brokers that are establishing themselves as GRX providers. 

As well as having an important role in carrying GPRS roaming traffic, some GRX providers will be able to provide hosting facilities and act as a marketing channel for mobile portals and ASPs. In addition, some GRX providers could extend their role further into content management, but in doing so should seek co-operation from their mobile operator customers.

Complementary services

Written by Katrina Bond, David Wilkins and Michael Kende, the report evaluates the ISP and GRX models of GPRS roaming, and assesses the current progress in implementing the latter model by mobile operators and GRX providers. It also analyses the potential role for GRX providers in complementary services, and the implications for the marketing channels pursued by mobile portals and ASPs. Recommendations are provided for mobile operators, GRX providers, and content and application providers.

Topics covered in the report are:

▪ How many GPRS customers are there in Western Europe now, and how will that number grow over the next five years?

▪ How much revenue will GPRS services generate, by service type?

▪ How should I communicate GPRS prices to customers?

▪ Which operators are pricing GPRS access by volume, time, WAP-page counts, and unmetered tariffs?

▪ How do current GPRS prices compare to GSM prices for file transfer and browsing services?

▪ What are the most appropriate pricing policies for GPRS network access?

▪ How can value-based pricing maximise revenues for the wide range of GPRS services that are being introduced, including file transfer, messaging, collaborative working applications, non-premium infotainment services, premium infotainment services, and e-pay and m-commerce?

▪ What are the five key actions that mobile operators and other providers of GPRS services should be pursuing in order to maximise the GPRS revenue opportunity?