There is little doubt that the mobile industry is a thriving one, and that it generates a great deal of revenue for companies. A significant – and growing – source of revenue in the mobile space is generated through roaming charges. And, according to a report by Jupiter Research, a large portion of that roaming revenue will come from data roaming usage. In fact, the research firm estimates that the total global revenue will reach $80 billion dollars by 2017.

This total will represent more than eight percent of operator billed revenue by that year, representing a significant increase over the $46 billion in revenue generated by roaming in this year. A large opportunity exists in the Wi-Fi and machine to machine (M2M) roaming spaces. “There is an increasing number of SIMs used not just within handsets but within an M2M capacity. Operators need to encourage M2M roaming, especially within the telematics segment, via partnerships with global operators,” said Nitin Bhas, author of the study “Mobile Roaming: Challenges Opportunities & Market Forecasts, 2012-2017.”

One area that will not represent a large growth sector is SMS roaming. In the same report, Bhas stated, “As data roaming costs are further reduced and smartphone owners find so-called OTT (Over-the-Top) services – such as eBuddy (News - Alert) and Whatsapp – a cheaper alternative, the average spend per SMS roaming will decline over the forecast period.”

Many regulatory bodies are mandating lower roaming fees, but some industry experts, like Gary Kim (News - Alert), feel that this will actually help. Lowering the price of a product tends to increase the consumption of that product, after all, so people who were reluctant to pay exorbitant roaming charges may be more likely to pay smaller fees, and therefore become greater revenue sources.

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