Mobile Operators tackle the Connectivity Ecosystem, 5G, Messaging and QoS at IO Plenary #06 in Seville
Sevilla welcomed MNO delegates coming from North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia, alongside representatives from all over the world who joined online, to tackle Roaming and Messaging challenges from May 22nd to 24th at IO Plenary #06, co-located with ROCCO Genesis 2024.
Opening with updates from the recently ratified IO Executive Board and Advisory Board, all IO Labs had an opportunity to tackle key topics from their Workplans. Notably, this event featured the first face-to-face MEL discussion and included in-person participation from Rakuten for the first time.
The 5G Roaming Lab (5GRL) invited IO.30 Accredited vendors to present on their 5G SA Roaming solutions to the IO Community. Pradeep Bhardwaj (Syniverse), Nigel Portley (BICS), Maissa Jamli (iBASIS), and Derek Moser (Comfone) exchanged ideas with the 5GRL delegates, who later discussed their readiness in a very interactive round table. MNOs participating at the VoLTE Roaming Lab (VRL) presented inputs regarding VoIMS, Testing, Emergency Calling, and Lawful Intercept.
Before the first day of IO Plenary #06 was concluded, delegates requested to have a dedicated session with educational purposes regarding Travel SIM with the objective of raising awareness and discussing strategies. Verizon offered to host the session in their offices in Dublin during the summer, proving engagement and collaboration across IO community members.
The Messaging Evolution Lab (MEL) kicked off the second day announcing its leadership team with Pablo Mlikota (e&) as the Chair, and Jim Sturges (AT&T) as Deputy Chair. Peter Morgan (Cellusys) and Filip Filkovic (Infobip) were invited to provide an overview of the Messaging Business, fraud issues, and solutions they are developing. All of this supported by insights extracted from ROCCO Reports, which ignited candid discussions amongst the delegates.
A new initiative from the Executive Board to discuss Roaming Quality of Service (QoS) was led by Manuela Montagna (CKH IOD). In the process of gathering insights from the IO Community, this initiative will continue to develop in the coming months.
Establishing synergies with local companies, the Roaming Connectivity Lab (RCL) invited Gerardo Fontenla (Galgus Connect) to present of WiFi connectivity, and how MNOs could leverage opportunities in this area. Continuing with the agenda, RCL delegates focused on the Neutral Hosts MOCN Gateway Playbook that the Lab is building.
Closing the Plenary sessions, the third day commenced with the M2M Roaming Lab (M2MRL) reviewing the actions taken since its face-to-face meeting in Rome earlier in the year. RoamForward (Automation Subcommittee) also shared the latest version of the Work Plan, which will focus on testing and agreements this year.
To conclude, ahead of its face to face Alliance meeting in October in Abidjan hosted by Orange group, the African Roaming Alliance (ARA) raised awareness of the issues faced with fraud in the region, and listening to the other operators’ experiences in their countries. Watch out for further regional specific meetings in Asia and South America coming soon.
The IO Community will meet again in Dubai at IO Plenary #07, hosted by e& Group, from November 19th to 21st, while continuing to work together in online sessions from all IO Labs.
About IO
IO is a non-profit member organisation developed by Mobile Operators for Mobile Operators. With just a few core staff, the organisation tackles roaming specific challenges through accelerator “Lab” style meetings where MNOs share and collaborate on their key challenges.
