MegaFon signed a deal with Transaction Network Services (TNS) that the U.S.-headquartered platform provider said opens the door to new inbound roaming revenues for the Russian operator, while also improving the user experience for its customers when travelling to the U.S.
The agreement will see MegaFon utilise a TNS LTE roaming hub that provides access to a network of 500 U.S.-based carriers that participate in an alliance named the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA). TNS said MegaFon's customers will enjoy a better service when travelling to the U.S. by utilising CCA members' networks, and that the Russian operator will also benefit from additional roaming revenues in the form of U.S. customers travelling to its domestic market.
Specifically, the TNS agreement opens the door to a wider footprint of network coverage for travelling MegaFon customers with improved LTE access, TNS explained in a statement. Other benefits of the deal for MegaFon include simpler contractual and accounting routines, operational cost savings, and the additional roaming revenue opportunity.
TNS' hub is VoLTE capable, and enables roaming to and from LTE networks without circuit switched fall back to 3G, which TNS stated can impact quality of service. The hub also eliminates the need for roaming MegaFon subscribers to route mobile internet connections back to Russia, which TNS said results in faster data delivery and an improved customer experience.
Joe Lueckenhoff, EVP and GM of TNS' telecommunication services division, said the hub was created to simplify access by international operators to the U.S. market. "The hub operates as a mutually beneficial community with all parties having the ability not only to improve their subscriber experience but also to grow their business with additional revenues gained through increased inbound roaming activities," he explained.
CCA president and CEO Steven Berry said MegaFon "joins over a dozen other carriers" as a member of a data services hub provided by the association that helps operators to "expand data a voice roaming capabilities across each other's regions".
For more:
- see this TNS announcement
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