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3.5 Network roaming

Network roaming can be considered a form of

infrastructure sharing although traffic from one
operators subscriber is actually being carried and
routed on another operators network. However,
there are no requirements for any common network
elements for this type of sharing to occur. As long
as a roaming agreement between the two operators
exists then roaming can take place. For this reason
operators may not classify roaming as a form of
sharing as it does not require any shared investment
in infrastructure. When roaming agreements come
to an end they can be renegotiated either with the
existing host network or another operator with
minimal effort and transitional impact.
Roaming can be further divided into the following
categories:
National roaming.
International roaming.
Inter-system roaming.
3.5.1 National roaming
National roaming occurs between operators (that
are usually direct competitors) within the same
country code as they provide service within
the same geographic region or within different
geographic regions. Agreements permitting, users
are allowed to roam onto a host network if the home
network is not present in a particular location.
In the early days of network deployment this meant
that operators could compensate for lack of presence
and offer users contiguous coverage and service
using the same handset and SIM. This is particularly
useful in areas of low subscriber density where the
payback period for a dedicated site by each operator
may not be justified.

3.5.2 International roaming

This has similar characteristics to national roaming,
but occurs between operators within different
country codes. Users can continue to use their
handsets abroad and receive the same basic voice
service and any VAS they subscribe to (provided
that the host network is capable of supporting this).
On an international basis, roaming is complicated
by the fact that regulators dedicated different
frequency bands to the same technology in different
jurisdictions. Handsets need to be (and typically are)
capable of operating at different bands.
3.5.3 Inter-system roaming
Inter-system roaming occurs between networks
operating to different standards and architecture as
in the case of 3G and GSM roaming. Inter-system
roaming generally facilitates the introduction of
new standards and technologies as it provides a
mechanism for the new platform to offer coverage
from launch at a level associated with a mature
network. It helps build revenue quickly and
mitigates against any user perception that the
service will not be available to the same level as
with established networks and technologies.
Inter-system roaming imposes more challenging
requirements on user terminals and networks
as they have to be able to support calls on both
standards and maintain calls when changing
between standards. This additional complexity
may add to the cost of network operations and
maintenance in the short term, which may be offset
by additional roaming revenue. Examples of this
can be seen in many countries. In the UK, a national
inter-system roaming agreement existed between
Hutchison and O2. The agreement is understood to
have come to an end, with Hutchison awarding its
new roaming contract to Orange.