Every summer marks a defining moment for roaming business. As millions of travelers take to the skies, mobile roaming and signaling networks face surging traffic demands, from live streaming major global events to enabling seamless connectivity for smart devices on the move. At iBASIS, summer is when we prove the strength of our IPX network, ensuring mobile operators around the world can deliver flawless roaming experiences to their customers.
From a Record-Breaking 2024 to Another High-Growth 2025
The summer of 2024 was extraordinary, driven by global spectacles such as the European Football Championship and Paris Olympics 2024. Traffic volumes surged well above historical growth rates. The summer shattered past benchmarks and set a new pace for global roaming.
Building on that momentum, the summer of 2025 continued to showcase aggressive growth. While no single event reached the same convergence of spikes as last year, nearly every customer across our footprint recorded year-over-year increases, a clear signal of sustained expansion in global roaming demand.
Popular destinations in the EU such as France, Portugal, and Turkey have become increasingly important, as traffic to these markets grows year after year, with MNOs in these countries reaching up to 58% annual growth in roaming volumes. For mobile operators, ensuring the best possible roaming experience for travelers visiting these countries is essential, not only to meet customer expectations but also to capture significant seasonal revenue opportunities. These regional surges were amplified by ongoing growth from North America and Asia-Pacific, where increasing outbound travel and new digital lifestyles drive sustained demand for high-capacity, resilient roaming.
Enabling Connectivity in the Moments that Matter
Formula 1 race weekends, the dramatic final stretches of the Tour de France, and the championship games of EuroBasket 2025 turned this summer into a showcase of peak connectivity needs. With millions of travelers on the move and streaming activity hitting record highs, our iBASIS network delivered flawless performance, keeping fans connected to every decisive moment, no matter where they were in the world. This ensured our MNO partners could provide the best roaming experience to their customers, strengthening loyalty while capturing new revenue opportunities.
At the same time, we supported the rising demands of connected vehicles and IoT use cases, which are becoming increasingly significant contributors to roaming traffic. The ability to absorb these simultaneous peaks across multiple geographies, industries, and use cases reflects the agility and robustness of the iBASIS IPX.
Preparing for Tomorrow’s Roaming World
The surge in demand is not limited to Europe. Growing travel from the Americas and APAC regions is pushing iBASIS to expand capacity and coverage across the globe. This summer, we reinforced our network with new locations and capacity upgrades in APAC, the US, and across trans-Pacific routes, ensuring our customers are ready to capture revenue opportunities from the ever-growing roaming base.
Why Summer Preparation Matters
Behind every successful season is proactive preparation. Well before the first summer flights take off, our teams are already upgrading network capacities, stress-testing systems, and coordinating closely with mobile operators and the rest of the IPX world. This ensures that when traffic surges arrive, whether from global events, unexpected spikes, or seasonal travel flows, our customers remain fully supported.
At iBASIS, we know that summer is more than a season. It’s the ultimate stress test for roaming. And year after year, we’re proud to deliver, helping our customers grow revenues, delight travelers, and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market.