Page 71 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2023

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

ARTICLE

Changing Connectivity Requirements in Roaming

Requires the Operators' Attention

Travel and tourism are back. The latest statistics provided by the
United Nations World Tourism Organization in its “World Travel
Barometer” leave no doubt about it.

UNWTO Travel barometer

In fact, the Middle East is leading the pack by being the first region
that has shown travel statistics in 2023 surpassing those of 2019
(pre-pandemic).

I work for Syniverse, a company that plays an instrumental role
in accelerating the intelligently connected world, no matter
whether it concerns humans, or devices. Travel and cross border
communication are interwoven. Syniverse sits at the heart of
it all and unsurprisingly, I tend to observe travel behavior and
opportunities to improve the user experience in roaming.
Dany Rahal
Sales Executive Director Recently, I traveled for work from the UAE to Kenya. I continue
Syniverse to be impressed with the activity and overall vibe at the airports.
Thousands of people, all eager to make their way from points A to
B, had more than one thing in common (and I invite you to make
this observation yourself on your next trip): What item, beyond a
suitcase, does every traveler bring along?

Mobile devices.
Travelers have the desire to be continuously connected and mobile
communications goes beyond calling and messaging. Roamers
want to experience digital and mobile, just like at home. I’ll name a
few familiar observations on the airport:
• The paper boarding pass has long ago become an app-based bar
code. Without connectivity, the code may not show up.

71 JULY-AUGUST 2023