Asia Pacific accounts for only six percent of global LTE data roaming

SHANGHAI, China – June 29, 2017 – LTE from Asia Pacific makes up just six percent of all data roaming traffic globally, according to a study released today by Syniverse that analyzed inter- and intra-regional traffic across over 1,000 mobile operators in six key geographic regions.

“Our study shows that even as major operators in Asia invest in 5G, there is still much to do to expand LTE across Asia and connect the region with the rest of the world,” said Mary Clark, Chief Corporate Relations Officer and Chief of Staff at Syniverse. “Mobile users worldwide expect the same range of service experience overseas as they do at home – everything from basic voice calling and messaging to high-speed video streaming and social media access. Consequently, our data suggests that routes across the globe need to deploy the secure IPX backbone that’s central to accelerating the maturity of LTE networks.”

Asia Pacific represents a diverse region that is home to 2.7 billion mobile users and includes some of the world’s most advanced mobile operators and markets. However, just over a quarter (26 percent) of Asia Pacific’s total outbound data roaming traffic to the rest of the world is LTE. The analysis shows that the Asia Pacific region (including Australia and excluding India), lags behind other regions globally in LTE roaming traffic.

Asia Pacific also imports just 8 percent of the world’s total LTE data roaming traffic. In comparison, Latin America imports 55 percent, North America 23 percent, and Europe 11 percent. Of the incoming LTE traffic to Asia Pacific, 62 percent is intra-regional, meaning that it originates from other Asia Pacific countries.

“Enabling high-quality, reliable LTE roaming across Asia and the world is essential for mobile operators to drive revenue, growth and innovation,” Clark said. “Time is of the essence, as LTE roaming will be expected by visitors from around the world that travel to Asia for major events, including next year’s Winter Olympics in South Korea, the 2019 Rugby Union World Cup in Japan, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.”