Wholesale roaming enters its data era. That is the signal from Kaleido Intelligence’s latest wholesale roaming analysis, based on its 2026 MNO Survey of 68 Tier 1 and Tier 2+ mobile operators, plus selected MVNO input. The market is still growing, but not in the old way. Voice and SMS are fading as revenue engines, while data is becoming the centre of gravity for roaming, travel eSIM traffic and IoT.

For operators, that distinction matters. A rising revenue chart can look reassuring. Up close, the margin mix is changing, the customer relationship is less predictable, and the companies creating travel connectivity demand are not always traditional operators.

The old model is thinning out

For years, wholesale roaming had three familiar pillars: voice, SMS and data. Data became the largest, but voice and SMS still had a role. Kaleido’s forecast suggests that cushion is shrinking fast, with voice and SMS wholesale revenues expected to fall by more than 70% between 2026 and 2030.

This is uncomfortable, but logical. Travellers no longer think of roaming as “making calls abroad”. They think in terms of maps, WhatsApp, Teams, ride-hailing, hotel apps, boarding passes and video. Even voice is becoming another data use case as legacy circuit-switched networks are phased down and communications move over IP.

Kaleido separately forecasts that combined wholesale and retail roaming revenues from consumer, travel eSIM and IoT mobile connections will exceed $70 billion by 2030, up 55% compared with 2025. Roaming data traffic is expected to rise 140% to more than 20,300 petabytes by 2030. The market is not getting smaller. It is getting more data-heavy, fragmented and exposed to new distribution models.

Travel eSIM joins the wholesale engine

The most interesting point is not that travel eSIM is disrupting roaming. We know that. The more important point is that travel eSIM is also feeding wholesale roaming volumes.

Travel eSIM providers may compete with operators at the retail layer, but much of their traffic still depends on roaming infrastructure, sponsored access, multi-IMSI platforms, wholesale agreements and host networks. In Kaleido’s survey, 25% of operators said they had already seen incremental inbound traffic and/or wholesale revenue through direct or indirect partnerships with travel eSIM or alternative roaming providers.

READ MORE: Before You Start an eSIM Business, Ask the IMSI Question

That is the opportunity. Not every eSIM sale is lost operator revenue. In some markets, it can become inbound wholesale demand — if the operator is ready to capture it.

GSMA Intelligence has also noted that travel eSIM usage is rising, with 12% of surveyed consumers across 11 major countries using eSIM while travelling abroad in the previous 12 months. It also argues that operators do not always need to fight purely on price; they can lean on brand trust, voice services, support and end-to-end experience.

Inclusion beats resistance

Kaleido’s survey shows a pragmatic operator mood. The two most selected strategies, each chosen by 47% of respondents, were introducing wholesale rate plans tailored to travel eSIM and multi-IMSI platforms, and acting as a roaming sponsor or host network for travel eSIM providers.

Operators are not unanimously defensive. Many understand that blocking, ignoring or overcharging alternative providers is not a long-term strategy. Only 21% said they wanted to continue current wholesale roaming policies, while just 13% were looking to add restrictions on travel eSIM traffic in bilateral roaming agreements.

The smart play is not always to launch a consumer travel eSIM brand. For a large operator with a strong retail footprint, that may make sense. Orange and Vodafone have moved in that direction in Europe, while Airalo, Ubigi and Instabridge have normalised app-based travel connectivity. For many MNOs, the better path may be quieter: become the preferred wholesale partner behind the services travellers buy.

5G SA remains unfinished

Then there is 5G standalone roaming. Kaleido found that one-fifth of participating operators had no defined 5G SA roaming strategy as of Q1 2026. That feels risky as roaming moves beyond holiday data bundles into enterprise mobility, connected vehicles, IoT, private networks and latency-sensitive use cases.

READ MORE: The Real Impact of 5G Standalone Roaming on Travel Speeds

Juniper Research has identified travel eSIMs, satellite roaming and 5G SA roaming as major forces expected to reshape roaming services, with 5G SA becoming more relevant as operators support growing IoT roaming demand. That does not mean every operator needs a shiny 5G SA story tomorrow. But doing nothing is not a strategy either.

The work still needed is mostly commercial and operational: pricing, testing, settlement, fraud management, steering, SLA visibility and partner onboarding.

Final thoughts about the wholesale roaming market

The wholesale roaming market is not simply in decline. It is facing a transfer of power.

Data is taking over from voice and SMS. Travel eSIM providers are moving closer to the customer. OEMs, fintechs, travel apps, and connectivity platforms are learning to package mobile data as a feature rather than a telecom product. Operators still control the networks, roaming agreements and quality layer.

That makes 2026 a strategic sorting year. Operators that treat travel eSIM only as cannibalisation may protect yesterday’s margins but miss tomorrow’s traffic. Operators that open the door too cheaply may grow volume without building value. The winners will likely sit in the middle: selective partnerships, smarter wholesale rate design, better roaming intelligence, and a clear view of where they want to play.

Wholesale roaming is becoming less voice-led and less operator-controlled at the customer edge. But it is not becoming irrelevant. It is becoming the hidden infrastructure of the connected travel economy.