In the past the retail rates for roaming were set by adding a surcharge on the TAP value charged by your roaming partner (IOT+ model). The main issue with this model is the complexity of retail tariffs. When an operators has 200 live roaming partners who each have 200 different rates for the different destinations and traffic types, this means that an operator has 40.000 different roaming retail rates!
The above mentioned drawbacks are the main reason why a lot of operators have abandoned the “IOT+” model and introduced a “zoned” retail pricing model. In such a model, zones are created in which a number of countries and operators are grouped. These zones are often based on logical groups of countries and are linked with the main travel destinations. Within such a zone the operator applies one fixed rate independent of the country or the operators used.
End users benefits are obvious: the tariffs are clear, transparent and predictable. Thanks to tariff transparency, usage will increase.
With a good design of the price plan, the roaming rates paid by customers can decrease while the operator’s margins increase.
The different steps to implement a Zone-based pricing are shown in the diagram below:
Connect2Roam can support you in developing a new Roaming Retail Rate Plan which is transparent, competitive and profitable.
This can be a Phase 1 implementation with a new zoned Roaming offer but can also be extended to a Phase 2 with the development of attractive Roaming bundles that will stimulate usage.