Roaming Solutions for Global Connectivity

• An effective solution to avoid unexpected charges for voice, SMS, and data services
• The optimal approach to maintain and enhance the loyalty of roaming subscribers unexpected charge incidents are causing significant issues for both customers and service providers.

Customers who roam often refrain from using their mobile devices due to concerns about usage costs, while subscribers who utilize services without considering expenses create challenges for mobile operators. The initial category fails to generate significant revenue, leading to dissatisfaction among subscribers who feel compelled to limit their use of conventional services. The second group of customers faces the potential for unexpected high charges when they receive unusually large monthly mobile bills. This outcome is even more disappointing than the initial one. Customers often express frustration towards Operators when they receive unexpectedly large bills. Meanwhile, Operators frequently face challenges in collecting substantial amounts from their subscribers, whether due to concerns about their reputation or other factors, yet they remain accountable for the total amounts owed to their roaming partners.

The SILAT Service Usage Control and Billshock Prevention System effectively addresses the majority of issues outlined above for all categories of services that subscribers utilize, including voice, data, and SMS. This service allows users to establish spending and usage limits according to predefined guidelines. The system can notify subscribers through SMS when they are nearing this threshold and will deactivate the service immediately once the consumption limit is reached. Implementing this solution will enable Operators to support their roaming subscribers in managing data roaming expenses, while also aiding in the prevention of fraud and misuse of flat-rate data roaming plans.

Essential Advantages

• Customizable consumption limits set by operators or subscribers
• Limitations tailored to a broad spectrum of parameters
• Daily and monthly consumption management with counters resetting at the end of each period
• Options to renew or extend the service period through SMS, USSD requests, or a web-based self-service portal
• Deployment options for subscription-based or mass services
• Diverse methods available for monitoring service and data usage
• Comprehensive CDR/EDR documentation for every transaction processed

• A solution to avoid accidental roaming in border regions
• Standard service available for all subscribers of the home network

Typically, subscribers do not actively switch networks while using them. However, the presence of blind spots or temporary coverage issues, such as congestion in specific areas, can lead to moments when connectivity is lost or services are disrupted. This situation often prompts users to seek out alternative networks. Consequently, near the borders of the home country, users might sometimes connect to a mobile network from a neighboring country, which may incur roaming fees or international call charges.

To mitigate potential claims, elevate service levels, improve customer care, and minimize costs and losses for home network operators and subscribers, it is preferable for home networks to retain their customers in these scenarios.

The SILAT Border Roaming Gateway (BRG) serves as a solution for mobile operators, enabling them to safeguard their subscribers from unintentionally roaming on foreign networks while remaining within their home country or zone. Implementing the system aids in preventing potential claims, elevating the quality of service, improving customer support, and minimizing costs and losses for home network operators and their subscribers.

Essential Advantages

• Assured protection against unintentional roaming
• Smooth experience for users and economical for providers
• Simple setup and service oversight
• SNMP compatibility for alert notifications
• Dependable and tested solution in the field

• Enhancing roaming connectivity and optimizing signaling traffic
• Exceptional performance for intricate or divided networks

The SILAT Gateway Location Register offers operators a unique opportunity to enhance their roaming connectivity and manage signaling traffic effectively. GLR collects comprehensive details regarding the inbound roamer’s profile at the time of initial registration and readily supplies this information upon any request from VLR, greatly minimizing the need for inquiries with HPLMN components. This approach significantly reduces various risks associated with SoR applicability, incompatibility issues, and other related challenges that could ultimately result in losing the roamer.
The primary benefits of GLR deployment include a reduction in the volume of signaling traffic between the Operator and the SCCP provider, as well as an enhancement in the efficiency of SoR systems implemented by home Operators, resulting from a decreased number of transactions that steering can be applied to. The implementation of SILAT GLR can enhance the retention of roamers within the Operator’s network.
SILAT GLR features robust and user-friendly statistics and CDR generation modules. The administration kit included with the system features specialized analytic tools designed for the effective analysis of inbound roaming traffic and its structure.

Essential Advantages

• Reducing the amount of signaling traffic between the Operator and the SCCP provider
• Adherence to all GSMA regulations without any additional signaling;
• Exceptional efficiency for intricate or segmented networks.
• Adherence to relevant ETSI standards and GSMA regulations
• Optimal performance for intricate or segmented networks

• A powerful resource for brokerage firms offering roaming services
• Very appealing as an investment

For MVNOs and smaller operators, the problems of optimizing alliance-level inter-operator collaboration and other similar issues are best addressed by a multi-IMSI roaming system. The goal is to enhance roaming coverage for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), smaller mobile operators, and independent mobile operators (called Roaming Clients) through the use of roaming agreements and subscriptions from larger mobile operators (called Donors or Roaming Brokers).

It is possible to deploy both conventional dual-IMSI roaming services and cutting-edge dynamic multi-IMSI roaming services on top of the SILAT Multi-IMSI Roaming Gateway. With multi-IMSI roaming, GSM/UMTS network users can access alternative roaming services through the guest network’s dynamically loaded alternative subscriptions. By implementing this solution, it is feasible to assign a local number to the roamer and grant them access to all local services. This way, they may make inexpensive or free local calls, cheap outbound calls, and take advantage of favorable data costs, all while maintaining accessibility through their main phone number.

The signaling changes system and the signaling traffic processing are both handled by the gateway, which can be located in either the client’s or the roaming broker’s network.

Advantages

• Supports a broad variety of roaming services
• Robust logging and maintenance capabilities
• Scalable to meet network expansion needs
• Configurable system to meet specific needs
• Reliability proven
• Compatible with all types of services – voice, SMS, GPRS (data)

• A unified response to two critical issues
• Tool that maximizes earnings from traveling

The SILAT Roaming Optimization and Visitor Retention Subsystems make up the robust Roaming Optimization Suite.

An effective solution, SILAT Roaming Optimization reduces network traffic for international calls, which in turn reduces costs for roamers and boosts operator income. Using the “optimal route,” a foreign subscriber can call another user on the same network by prefixing the number they want to reach. Without establishing a voice loop via the roamer’s home network, the system analyzes the position of the called subscriber and makes a call using optimal routing rules if they are discovered in the same network.

The goal of the Visitor Retention Subsystem is to enhance the operator’s income from incoming roaming services by implementing strategies that are designed to keep visitors. The system makes sure that roamers stay connected to the network even if there are temporary issues with communication, like no coverage, etc. Interfacing with the HPLMN and keeping the roamer alive is achieved through the usage of normal MAP Update/Cancel Location routines.

Among the many advantages are the following:

• a web-based administration kit.
• specialized analytical tools for effective analysis.
• powerful and user-friendly statistics and CDR generation modules.
• easy integration with mobile networks.
• a reduction in operator income and client loyalty.
• and a smooth integration process.

When it comes to providing a variety of services to subscribers, whether they are roaming in foreign networks or registered in the mobile operator’s network, the SILAT SMS Welcome system is an extremely efficient tool for mobile operators.

A variety of information can be sent to subscribers through the “Welcome SMS” and “Bon Voyage SMS” services, including details about the country, the network where the subscriber is currently registered, and rates for the main services, among other things.

Adaptable delivery scenarios, dynamic content delivery, network and subscriber blacklists, and SMS language control based on the visitor’s home country are all features of the system. The SMPP v.3.4 protocol is used for system-to-SMSC communication. Subscribers and roamers are more loyal to SILAT after receiving an SMS welcome.

An additional benefit of the conventional “Bon Voyage SMS” service is the Roaming Tariff Advisor. To avoid losing customers to “unexpected” roaming charges, operators might use this SMS-based service to notify subscribers of roaming tariffs based on their visited area.

Advantages:

• Quick and easy setup
• User-friendly web interface
• Choices for both groups and individuals
• Managing scenarios
• Support for several languages
• Dynamic content creation
• SMS feature for “Bon Voyage” and “Tariff Advisor”

• 100% conformity with all relevant GSMA rules and ETSI standards
• Network selection management that is flexible

The notion of steering roaming allows for robust and adaptable network selection management, which in turn encourages users to choose the “right” roaming network. The SILAT Steering platform, which was built to 3GPP standards, effectively handles a wide range of commercial and business-related outbound roaming optimization duties.

In order to ensure the most efficient deployment of Steering of Roaming services and to optimize roaming agreements and provide the required quality of service, the registration procedure control for outbound roamers is carried out in full compliance with IR-73, the main GSMA regulation document pertaining to the steering services. Various network selection factors, such as network priority, roaming KPI, traffic proportions, etc., may form the basis of the steering procedure.

Profile management for outbound roamers is just one of several supplementary jobs that the SILAT Steering platform can handle. With the use of the diameter front-end, LTE traffic handling is possible to provide LTE network steering services. Mobile operators can protect their users from inadvertently connecting to foreign networks while still in their native nation or zone with the help of the SILAT Steering Platform’s Border Roaming Prevention feature.

The advantages include:

• Real-time, flexible network selection management
• A steering mechanism that can take into account many network selection criteria
• Powerful tools for analyzing roaming traffic structures
• Interoperability with external SIM-based roaming management systems
• Ability to modify subscriber profiles
• Skilled tools for analyzing roaming traffic
• API for integrating with external platforms
• API for integration with external platforms

• Real-time surveillance of voice channels for roaming users
• Augmented SIM Box Detection capabilities

The Voice Quality Control solution enables operators to automate voice quality testing efficiently to meet client requirements and manage KPIs. The system conducts speech pattern comparison and quality assessment based on ITU-T Recommendation P.862. Furthermore, this platform facilitates the verification of seamless CLI transition between the Operator’s network and that of the roaming partner, in addition to voice quality testing. The technology additionally facilitates SIM Box identification capabilities to compare the CLI information transmitted by the calling party with that received by the called party. Methods based on SUP and CAMEL for CLI verification are supported.

Principal Advantages

• Efficient QoS monitoring
• Simplified interaction with network components
• Alerts upon quality degradation
• CLI verification assistance
• Adaptable configuration

• Obtain statistical data and comprehensive Call Detail Records (CDRs) for all processed calls
• Intelligent routing of calls for inbound roamers

This solution grants the Operator distinctive creative capabilities to offer local numbers for long-term business roamers. The number can facilitate incoming calls and enable the preservation of the primary number’s activities. There is no requirement to get an additional local account.

Roamers reduce the expenses associated with costly incoming calls and enhance proximity to their business partners due to the “presence effect” (eliminating the necessity to dial an overseas number from the subscriber’s current location).

The operator can implement the LNV solution to enhance income by introducing appealing services for inbound roamers and optimizing network traffic.

The SILAT LNV service is built in complete compliance with international standards and fully meets Operators’ needs due to its extensive functionality and seamless interaction with 3G/4G networks.

Principal Advantages

• Robust maintenance and reporting system
• Support for SS7/ISUP, SS7/MAP, and SMPP for network integration
• Horizontally scalable
• Routing management
• Management of system voice prompts
• Comprehensive logging system (CDR generation)
• Dynamic system configuration