A new study by Juniper Research has found that operator revenue from IoT roaming will grow from $1.1 billion in 2024 to $2.2 billion in 2029. IoT roaming refers to IoT devices connecting to networks other than their home network, either temporarily or permanently. IoT roaming optimization

This market-leading study predicts that 5G IoT devices will be instrumental in driving this increase; accounting for more than 40% of total revenue by 2029, despite accounting for fewer than 10% of IoT roaming connections.

The report found that 5G-enhanced roaming services, which provide improved quality of service for 5G IoT use cases, such as Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) will be key to this revenue growth.

Premium Charging for Roaming Access

As 5G-enhanced roaming will be required for mission-critical service delivery, operators will be able to apply premium pricing to these connections. The research identified URLLC connectivity as crucial for success, as it is essential for real-time mission-critical use cases such as IoT-based maintenance in connected vehicles, due to its increased reliability.

Here’s a summary of the key themes from the whitepaper “How Operators Must Improve IoT Roaming Services in 2025”:

1. Growth of IoT Roaming Market

The Internet of Things (IoT) roaming market is set for massive growth, with the number of connections projected to increase from 207 million in 2024 to 416 million by 2029. This growth is driven by the expansion of IoT applications across various industries. However, operators are currently challenged by low revenue per device and the outdated Transferred Account Procedure (TAP) for billing, which creates inefficiencies in the monetization of these connections.

2. Challenges in Monetizing IoT Roaming

IoT roaming devices typically generate much lower data volumes than traditional roaming devices, averaging around 80.4 MB per device per month in 2024. This means that the costs associated with maintaining these roaming connections often exceed the revenue they generate. Operators face additional issues like undetected devices, which can lead to revenue leakage. To solve these issues, operators must overhaul their billing and charging systems.

3. Roaming Steering and Cost Optimization

Operators can reduce costs through roaming steering, which directs IoT devices to specific partner networks based on cost or quality of service agreements. Two main types of steering are:

• Over-the-Air (OTA) and SIM-based steering: The preferred networks are stored on the device’s SIM, and the device selects the highest-priority network available.
• Signaling steering: The home operator blocks connections to non-preferred networks, favoring the preferred ones.

Operators are advised to offer enterprises tools to manage these steering capabilities so that businesses can optimize their own IoT roaming connections. Moreover, the development of 5G-enhanced services will make network slicing more prevalent, allowing operators to optimize steering decisions based on use cases like low-latency or high-reliability connections.

4. Embedded SIM (eSIM) and Integrated SIM (iSIM)

eSIMs and iSIMs are key to the future of IoT connectivity. Unlike traditional SIM cards, these are embedded directly into the device, allowing for remote provisioning and the ability to store multiple operator profiles. This brings several benefits:

• Resilience: eSIMs are tamper-resistant and can withstand tough environmental conditions.
• Remote provisioning: Enterprises can switch networks remotely as IoT devices move between regions or as network availability changes.
• Cost efficiency: eSIMs eliminate the need for physical SIMs, reducing the cost of IoT devices and simplifying logistics.

eSIM usage in IoT devices is forecasted to grow significantly, reaching 3.5 billion connections by 2029. Operators can monetize this by offering eSIM localization, enabling devices to switch profiles as they move between networks to avoid roaming charges and optimize connectivity.

5. Satellite IoT Roaming: Expanding Coverage

Satellite IoT roaming is becoming increasingly important for industries operating in remote or difficult-to-reach areas. These sectors include government and defense, maritime, agriculture, mining, and environmental monitoring. While terrestrial networks cover only 15% of the world’s surface, satellite networks can fill in the gaps, offering expanded or redundant coverage where traditional networks fall short. Satellite IoT connectivity is expected to complement terrestrial networks rather than replace them, providing backup connectivity in rural or offshore environments.

6. 5G and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) IoT roaming optimization

5G technology, particularly URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication), is expected to be a key driver of IoT roaming growth, especially for mission-critical services like connected vehicles or industrial IoT. These high-end IoT use cases will demand advanced 5G connectivity, enabling operators to charge premium prices for enhanced services. However, to offer 5G-enhanced services, operators will need sophisticated network slicing capabilities, allowing IoT devices to connect to different network segments tailored to specific use cases.

7. Roaming Analytics: Optimizing Services with AI

Operators are encouraged to invest in roaming analytics powered by AI to better manage and monetize IoT roaming services. The report outlines several ways that AI-driven analytics can help:

• Anomaly detection: Identifying abnormal device behaviors, such as sticky clients or slow roaming, to troubleshoot issues and maintain service quality.
• Roaming connection detection: Identifying undetected IoT devices to prevent revenue leakage.
• Predictive analysis: Using machine learning to forecast network resource requirements, helping operators preemptively optimize their networks.
• Permanent roaming detection: Identifying permanently roaming devices, which can either be charged at a premium or removed from the network to prevent losses.

8. Monetization Opportunities and Strategies

Operators can explore several avenues for monetizing IoT roaming:

• Offering satellite IoT connectivity as a premium add-on service, either as a one-time or monthly fee, allowing enterprises to choose where to use satellite coverage.
• Providing intelligent connectivity selection solutions, which use AI to switch between satellite and terrestrial networks based on reliability and latency, ensuring optimal performance.
• Monetizing 5G-enhanced connectivity, particularly for mission-critical applications, by developing new charging models based on network slices.

9. Regional Market Insights

The paper forecasts significant revenue growth for operators, from $1.1 billion in 2024 to $2.2 billion by 2029. 5G-enabled devices will drive much of this growth, accounting for over 40% of total revenue by 2029, even though they will only represent 10% of connections. Key regions driving this growth include North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific, where demand for mission-critical and enhanced connectivity services is expected to be the strongest.

Advanced Roaming Steering Key to Revenue Growth

The report also found that the introduction of enhanced connectivity will necessitate the development of roaming steering between network slices. Network slices are logically separated, independent segments of a 5G network, which are often used for a specific use case or set of users. Advanced roaming steering will be necessary to direct IoT connections to the right network slice, based on the use case; ensuring optimized quality of service.

Research author Alex Webb remarked: IoT roaming optimization

“To effectively meet quality of service requirements, operators must provide enterprises with tools which allow them to input their connectivity requirements; enabling operators to steer IoT roaming connections to the optimal network slice.”

Strategic Recommendations

To capitalize on these opportunities, operators must:

• Invest in advanced billing systems and analytics to handle complex IoT traffic.
• Partner with satellite IoT providers to expand coverage and redundancy options.
• Develop 5G-enabled network slicing and steering capabilities to support new use cases.
• Offer enterprise solutions that allow businesses to manage their own roaming preferences, enhancing flexibility while reducing costs.

Summary IoT roaming optimization

The future of IoT roaming lies in embracing new technologies such as eSIM, satellite IoT, and 5G network slicing. Operators must modernize their billing systems, leverage AI-driven analytics, and provide enterprises with flexible tools to manage their own connectivity preferences. With the right strategies, operators can tap into the growing IoT market and significantly increase revenue by 2029.

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