BICS has launched a roaming SMS translator to support international messaging on networks that no longer support 2G or 3G technologies.

As operators gradually sunset legacy networks to pave the way for 5G, operators risk losing revenue through roaming gaps, which also risk widening the digital divide. BICS’s product means travellers roaming from mobile networks still using 2G and 3G messaging won’t lose service abroad, even if local operators don’t support 2G or 3G.

The telecom market is evolving at different rates around the world. 3G is the dominant mobile technology in sub-Saharan Africa for instance, while 70% of European countries have at least one mobile operator that has shut down its 2G or 3G networks. As operators retire or sunset legacy technology to clear the way for newer tech such as 5G, this progress threatens to widen the global digital divide.

Aside from preventing a roaming gap that leaves devices unconnected, and operators unable to monetise certain types of roaming traffic, there is another key issue from network SMS incompatibility – the welcome SMS messages. Roamers receive these messages when they arrive in a new country, informing them of the rates for using data, calls or SMS while abroad and providing local emergency numbers. In a growing number of markets, there is a regulatory requirement to send these messages. Without support for SMS from 2G and 3G networks, operators not only face a loss in SMS roaming revenue but also risk affecting the monetisation of calls and data.

BICS’s roaming SMS translator complements the release of a similar option in 2023 for VoLTE roaming (www.bics.com/press-releases/bics-and-mavenir-partner-to-deliver-volte-solution-for-preserving-post-sunset-roaming-interoperability) to preserve post-sunset voice roaming.

Beyond network sunsetting, however, it also solves a problem for newer greenfield operators that have built their networks on 4G and 5G only. Such networks will experience the same problems as those that have completed sunsets. This would leave service gaps in roaming connections with operators from developing markets, leading to poor user experience and reduced revenue for operators.

“It’s great that telecoms is focused on adopting new technologies like 5G or 6G,” said BICS vice president Jorn Vercamert. “However, it’s essential for operators to also address any potential issues that leave people behind in the pursuit of innovation. BICS believes a connected world is a stronger world, and is rapidly finding ways to bridge the digital divide. Our VoLTE enabler released last year did this for voice services, and now SMS translator is doing the same for SMS.”

While the types of mobile traffic – SMS, data and calls – haven’t changed, the protocols enabling them have. This means, for example, that SMS messages are essentially delivered via different languages on 2G networks than on 4G. As the name suggests, SMS translator translates between the different generations of protocols that enable the sending and receiving of messages, such as SS7 for older networks and Diameter for newer ones.

Without this in place, operators might delay fully sunsetting their 2G and 3G networks to avoid creating a compatibility gap. Operators could retire their 2G and 3G radio access network without creating such issues, but currently they would need to maintain their older network cores due to the mobile switching centre (MSC), which enables text messages to be received. Maintaining these MSCs just for this purpose is extremely expensive, however. BICS aims to remove that complexity from both a technical and a cost perspective, empowering operators to enable greater connectivity across borders and technological divides.

BICS (www.bics.com) is headquartered in Brussels, with a presence in Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.