Enabling Affordable Mobile Roaming

For all SADC Citizens

Mobile Roaming Signalling Infrastructure,

Services and Clearing Houses
- Study Report

31 August 2017

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 ©2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever, without the
prior written permission.

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 Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge all the people that have made this study possible especially
all the operators who responded to the questionnaire and all those who provided contributions
during the discussions. There was no direct budget and funding for executing the study and use
was made of internal resources and the time to carry out the study and have the report ready for
presentation during the SADC Ministers responsible for Information and Communication
Technology during their meeting in Durban, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa from 4 to 7 September
2017

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 Disclaimer

The authors of this study report make no representation, warranty or undertaking (express or
implied) with respect to and does not accept any responsibility for, and hereby disclaims liability
for the accuracy or completeness or timeliness of the information contained in this document.
The information contained in this document may be subject to change without prior notice.The
opinions expressed in this study report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
view and position of the region

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 Table of Contents
Abbreviations 6

1.0 Executive Summary 8

2.0 Introduction 9
2.1 Establishment of Roaming Connection 9
2.2 Simplified View of Physical Roaming Infrastructure and Services 12
2.3 Purpose of the short Study 13
3.0 Voice, SMS and Data Roaming Authentication Infrastructure 13
4.0 Signalling System (SS7) Protocols and Signalling 15
4.1 Access Solutions to the International SS7 15
5.0 Findings and Recommendations 16
6.0 Conclusion 17

List of References 18

Annex 1: Questionnaire used to gather the data and information 18

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Abbreviations

This study report uses the following abbreviations and acronyms:

2G GSM Second Generation mobile services and networks – digital mobile service
3G UMTS Third Generation mobile services and networks – packet based service
3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project (ETSI)
BSS Business Support System
BTS Base Transceiver Station (as for base station)
CAMEL Customized Applications for Mobile Enhanced Logic (for prepaid
services)
CRASA Communications Regulators' Association Southern Africa
EDGE Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (faster data protocol for 2G)
ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
GRX GPRS Roaming eXchange
GSM Global System for Mobile communications
GSMA GSM Association
HLR Home Location Register (Local)
HPLMN Home Public Land Mobile Network
HPMN Home Public Mobile Network
HSDPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access (3G W-CDMA data protocol)
HSPA High Speed Packet Access
HSUPA High Speed Uplink Packet Access (3G W-CDMA data protocol)
IMR International Mobile Roaming
IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity
IOT Inter-Operator Tariff
IP Internet Protocol (used with GPRS/3G data transfers)
IPDR IP Data Record
ISP Internet Service Provider
IT Information Technology
ITU-T The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (formerly CCITT)
LTE Long Term Evolution (of 3G UMTS)
MB MegaByte
Mbit/s Megabit per second
MMS Multimedia Messaging Service
MNO Mobile Network Operator
MTR Mobile Termination Rate: fee charged by MNO to terminate call on
network
MVNO Mobile Virtual Network Operator
NDA Non-Disclosure Agreement (signed contract for confidentiality of data
gathering with MNOs)
NOC Network Operations Centre
NRA National Regulatory Authority
NRTRDE Near Real-Time Roaming Data Exchange

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OpEx Operating Expenditure
OSS Operational Support System
OTA Over-The-Air (e.g. for visitor activation)
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network
RAN Radio Area Network
SADC Southern African Development Community
SATA Southern Africa Telecommunications Association
SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node (for non-IP packet transfer in core network)
SIM Subscriber Identification Module, contains the IMSI and roaming network
list
SMS Short Message Service
SS7 Signalling System 7
STIRA Standard Terms for International Roaming Agreements
TAP Transferred Account Procedure (file of roaming charges, usually
wholesale)
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
VLR Visiting Location Register
VoIP Voice over IP
VoLTE Voice over LTE
W-CDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity, an IEEE standard for WLANs
WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

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1.0 Executive Summary

The aim of this report is to provide information and analysis on signalling and settlements for
regional and international mobile roaming service (IMRS). While the wireless industry has
witnessed spectacular developments in recent years, and is considered competitive in domestic
markets, there is a widespread perception among many stakeholders, including some within the
industry itself, that IMRS prices are unreasonably and inefficiently high. Industry observations
through various studies have highlighted that it is more expensive for a regional or international
roamer to make a call home than for a local mobile user, in that country, to make a regional or an
international call to the roamer’s home country. This report explains how dedicated signalling
supports roaming for both post and prepaid roamers. The report does not make recommendations
to SADC Members as any such options on pricing are work in progress being implemented and
coordinated by the Communications Regulators Association of Southern Africa.
The findings based on the questionnaire which was send out and industry discussions are that:
 Signalling is critical for roaming and without it there is no roaming
 Operators have bilateral roaming agreements
 The communication between operators’ authentication, tracking and billing systems is
based on Signalling System (SS7) protocols and signalling. Operators interconnect
directly or through signalling gateways to roaming bilateral partners
 Signalling gateways partners providing cheaper options for roaming signalling than
having multiple dedicated signalling links where one link for example to a European
partner will interconnect signalling all roaming partners in Europe.
 It’s a business case for mobile operators to interconnect for signalling and the cost of the
signalling links comprises of the transmission cost and service fees. .
 Operators often choose the best and stable signalling partners
 Unreliable signalling interconnection links will result in no roaming and customers
getting frustrated
 The nature of roaming partnership direct or through third party will determine the
clearing and settlements

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The recommendations from this study are as follows:

 The region should consider establishing regional roaming exchanges owned jointly by the
public and private sector, from which the operators will get instant roaming access to
700+ mobile networks across the globe with one connection, one invoice and one single
window covering all roaming partnerships.
 The African Union through the Internet Exchange Points AXIS project launched the first
Mobile Roaming Exchange in Africa at the Kenya Internet Exchange Point:
“Contributing to lower roaming rates and quality of service in Africa”. In the region
national and regional exchange points have been established and through AXIS, SADC
and Member States should request AU to support the establishment of National and
Regional Mobile Roaming Exchanges.
 The roaming exchange will also provide clearing and settlement services.
 To kick start the work, a selected team should visit the Kenya Mobile Roaming Exchange
and companies around the world which are providing these kinds of services and this
experience from the visits will help in preparing the business case.

2.0 Introduction

According to a GSMA1 publication on roaming, roaming extends the coverage of the home
operator’s retail voice and SMS services, allowing the mobile user to continue using their home
operator phone number and data services within another country. The seamless extension of
coverage is enabled by a wholesale roaming agreement between a mobile user’s home operator
and the visited mobile operator network. The roaming agreement addresses the technical and
commercial components required to enable the service. The most common international roaming
services are:

Voice: Making and receiving calls to or from a home country, visited country or a third country,
while abroad
SMS: Sending and receiving text messages to or from a home country, visited country or a third
country, while abroad
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Email: Reading and replying to emails while abroad
Mobile broadband: Using mobile devices or dongles to access the internet, including
downloading images, MP3s, films and software, while abroad
Applications: Using mobile applications while abroad that require mobile data, such as location-
based services and language translators. International mobile roaming is one of a wider range of
communications services offered to mobile users while travelling abroad. Other services include
hotel services, Wi-Fi, national global SIMs cards, multiple SIM card mobile handsets, and local
pre-paid SIMs cards.

2.1 Establishment of Roaming Connection

When a mobile user is abroad and turns their mobile device on, the mobile device attempts to
communicate with a visited mobile network. The visited network picks up the connection from
the user’s mobile, recognises whether it is registered with its system, and attempts to identify the
user’s home network. If there is a roaming agreement between the home network and one
of the mobile networks in the visited country, the call is routed by the visited network towards an
international transit network (Figure 1.0).

Source GSMA1: Figure 1.0 Roaming Connection

The international transit network carrier is responsible for the call delivery to the destination
network. Once this is done, the destination network will connect the call. The visited network
also requests service information from the home network about the user, such as whether the
phone being used is lost or stolen, and whether the mobile device is authorized for international
use. If the phone is authorised for use, the visited network creates a temporary subscriber record

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for the device and the home network updates its subscriber record on where the device is located
so if a call is made to the phone it can be appropriately routed. All this communication is
facilitated by dedicated signaling.

Figure 2.0 shows the commercial (clearing and settlements) and technical details for mobile
roaming The mobile user (Mobile User A) has an international roaming service with their
home operator (Home Operator) and is automatically connected to a visited network (Visited
Operator A) while roaming. Mobile User A is automatically granted access to Visited Operator
A’s network when arriving in the visited country by an exchange of a data between Home
Operator and Visited Operator A, where Visited Operator A confirms Mobile User A is a
roaming customer with Home Operator. As such, the wholesale roaming agreement between
Visited Operator A and Home Operator specifies how this data is to be provided to the visited
operator. Home Operator usually has wholesale roaming agreements with more than one
operator in the same visited country, which in this case is Visited Operator A and a second
network, Visited Operator B. As a result, Mobile User A can call home using either visited
operator networks, both of which use international transit services to carry the call back to
Mobile User A’s home country.

1
Source GSMA : Figure 2.0 Commercial links required for international mobile roaming

Mobile User A pays a retail price to Home Operator for the roaming service and does not pay
Visited Operator A. Provided Mobile User B is not also roaming, they will not incur any extra
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charges to receive a call from, or to make calls to Mobile User A. Visited Operator A sends
transferred account procedure (TAP) files to a clearing house which forwards them to the Home
Operator. TAP files are used for billing of calls while roaming. Home Operator can then pay
Visited Operator A the wholesale charges as per call volumes in the TAP file and rates in the
wholesale roaming agreement. Visited Operator A pays an international carrier (International
Carrier) for carrying the call and handing over the call to Home Operator. International Carrier
pays Home Operator a termination rate for terminating the call in the home country.

2.2 Simplified View of Physical Roaming Infrastructure and Services

The detailed technical implementation of the MNO infrastructure can have some variations but
these are usually minor as international standards must be followed for universal interworking to
operate. The generic, simplified mobile view of the roaming infrastructure is shown in figure 3.0.

Source ITU2: Figure 3.0 Simplified View of Roaming Infrastructure

The generic, simplified mobile view of roaming follows standard roaming architecture for
UMTS (3G) and 2G GSM norms. LTE (4G) is following an evolution of this model, from its
switched circuit origins, to IP packets. Figure 3.0 shows the interaction between the networks of
two interacting MNOs for handling a roaming call – with not just the call path but also the billing

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data handover. In this diagram, the MNO fixed (core) network for backhaul, beyond the RAN is
shown, in this case being interconnected via a transit network to the home MNO's core network.
This connection may also be a direct inter-core network switched link, or via a third party transit
operator, which will then also charge for carrying the call. All the communication is carried out
through signalling.

2.3 Purpose of the short Study

As part of the implementation of direct cross border interconnection and regional roaming,
Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA) and Communications Regulators
Association of Southern Africa were jointly tasked by the meeting of SADC ICT Senior Officials
and Permanent Secretaries which was held in June 2017 in Harare to do a short study of roaming
signaling services and clearing houses whose findings and recommendations will help the region
make informed decisions as the region is addressing the cost of roaming services through the
SADC Home and Roaming programme which started in June 2007. The findings of the study
will be tabled during the SADC ICT Ministers Meeting 2017 going to be held in Durban, South
Africa from 4 to 7 September 2017.

3.0 Voice, SMS and Data Roaming Authentication Infrastructure

A significant part in delivering SMS messages is receiving delivery information. Apart from the
basic delivery report, there are protocols that help to identify the status of a phone number more
precisely.

The Home Location Register (HLR), is a mobile operator database that includes details of
subscribers, such as the phone number, billing details, and phone status parameters that are
valuable if an SMS didn't get delivered. This data is accessible by all Mobile Switching Centres
(MSC) and Visiting Location Registers (VLR).

Essential parameters in the HLR are:

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 1. Phone number
2. Current network location
3. Supplementary Services
4. Number status (registered or deregistered)
5. Authentication key and Authentication Centre (AUC) Functionality
6. Mobile subscriber roaming number

The Visiting Location Register supports roaming functions for users outside the coverage area of
their own HLR. It contains mostly the same data from the HLR, yet this information is stored
temporarily, containing mostly duplicated information relevant to the subscriber network
location. As a phone number may operate outside their home network at times, the VLR can
locate in which network the number is currently roaming.

VLR helps to:

1. Monitor subscribers’ locations within the VLR’s jurisdiction

2. Determine whether a subscriber may access a particular service
3. Locate roaming numbers during incoming SMS
4. Delete the records of inactive subscribers
5. Accept information passed to it by the HLR

When sending SMS messages, the operator initially checks whether the number is sending and
receiving signals from its home network. If it's not in the home network, the VLR sends a request
for information about its current status and location by network via HLR. The VLR sends routing
information back to the Mobile Switching Center, which allows it to locate the network it’s
currently roaming to deliver the message. This communication is based on Signaling System
(SS7) protocols and signaling.

The main difference between HLR and VLR is the data that is stored in them. HLR has more
permanent data while VLR’s data changes all the time and is temporary.

Essential parameters in the VLR are:

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 1. Location Area Identity (LAI)
2. Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI)
3. Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN)
4. Mobile status

4.0 Signalling System (SS7) Protocols and Signalling

Signalling protocols are based on ITU standards that define how network elements exchange
information over digital signalling networks. Signalling services provide the connectivity that
enables roaming and messaging between a mobile operator and its roaming partners. It ensures
continuity of service for mobile users by enabling them to make or receive mobile calls, send or
receive SMS and use mobile internet while travelling all around the globe.

4.1 Access Solutions to the International SS7

Network Different solutions for mobile operators to get access to the international SS7 network
are explained below. The choice depends on:

 the capabilities provided in the international nodes.

 the agreements between PLMN operator and international node operator.

Five basic solutions that allow international transport of Mobile Application Part (MAP)
messages for the support of roaming are:

(a) the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) has Signalling Connection Control Part (SCCP)
capabilities with an international Signalling Point Code (SPC) and is directly connected to
the international Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) network, without intervention of the ISC
(without SCCP and Signalling Transfer Point (STP) capabilities).
(b) the MSC is connected internationally through a stand alone SCCP gateway with an
international SPC.

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(c) foresees the connection through an ISC with STP but not SCCP capabilities; therefore the
MSC needs to have SCCP capabilities with an international SPC.
(d) is possible only in countries where the ISC foresees SCCP capabilities. In this case the MSC
does not require an international SPC.
(e) the SCCP functions are performed by a different node than the ISC. In this case the MSC
does not require an international SPC.

Each of the five solutions may nationally be implemented in different ways.

5.0 Findings and Recommendations

The findings based on the questionnaire which was send out and industry discussions are that:
 Signalling is critical for roaming and without it there is no roaming
 Operators have bilateral roaming agreements
 The communication between operators’ authentication, tracking and billing systems is
based on Signalling System (SS7) protocols and signalling. Operators interconnect
directly or through signalling gateways to roaming bilateral partners
 Signalling gateways partners providing cheaper options for roaming signalling than
having multiple dedicated signalling links where one link for example to a European
partner will provide roaming with partners in Europe.
 It’s a business case for mobile operators to interconnect for signalling and the cost of the
signalling links comprises of the transmission cost and bilateral service fees.
 Operators often choose the best and stable signalling partners
 Unreliable signalling interconnection links will result in no roaming and customers
getting frustrated
 The nature of roaming partnership direct or through third party will determine the
clearing and settlements

The recommendations from this study are as follows:

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  The region should consider establishing regional roaming exchanges owned jointly by the
public and private sector, from which the operators will get instant roaming access to
700+ mobile networks across the globe with one connection, one invoice and one single
window covering all roaming partnerships.
 The African Union through the Internet Exchange Points AXIS project launched the first
Mobile Roaming Exchange in Africa at the Kenya Internet Exchange Point:
“Contributing to lower roaming rates and quality of service in Africa”. In the region
national and regional exchange points have been established and through AXIS, SADC
and Member States should request AU to support the establishment of National and
Regional Mobile Roaming Exchanges.
 The roaming exchange will also provide clearing and settlement services.
 To kick start the work, a selected team should visit the Kenya Mobile Roaming Exchange
and companies around the world which are providing these kinds of services and this
experience from the visits will help in preparing the business case.

6.0 Conclusion

This short study looked at how roaming works and the importance of signalling.
Infrastructure sharing by operators is a key driver for reducing cost of services. The launch
by the African Union through the Internet Exchange Points AXIS project the first Mobile
Roaming Exchange4 in Africa and fourth in the world at the Kenya Internet Exchange Point:
“Contributing to lower roaming rates and quality of service in Africa” is a best practice
which the region can consider. SADC could request as part of the AXIS project funding from
AU to rollout mobile roaming exchanges.

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List of References

1 International Roaming Explained, GSMA, April 2013

2 Guide for NRAs on International Mobile Roaming Cost analysis - Technical Paper,
ITU, 2015
3 Technical Architecture Alternatives for Open Connectivity Roaming Hubbing Model
Version 2.0 , GSMA, 26 February 2015
4 AU Launches the first Mobile Roaming Exchange in Africa at the Kenya Internet
Exchange Point: “Contributing to lower roaming rates and quality of service in
Africa”, September 2016

Annex 1: Questionnaire used to gather the data and information

The questions which were asked the operators through an online survey and manual form were:

*1. Which of the following best describes your organization?

Fixed Operator
Mobile Operator
Fixed and Mobile Operator
VoIP Service Provider
Internet Service Provider

*2. Which operator(s) provides your SS7/C7 signalling for roaming and cross border traffic
termination? Please indicate the SS7 gateway provider, the capacity e.g E1 and the cost in United
States Dollars per month.

3. Nationally and within SADC does your organization have SS7 Signalling interconnection with
other operators? Please indicate the capacity and the cost if any.

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*4. As an operator, for your SADC traffic to and from network, is the traffic cleared by a third
party clearing house(s) for settlement? Please indicate the clearing house(s) and the costs for the
services.

5. As a SADC Operator, do you subscribe to implementation of local regional signalling

gateways and clearing house(s)?

Yes
No

6. If your answer to question 5 is yes, can you recommend a business model for the signalling
gateways and clearing house(s) which all operators will be willing to do business with.

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