BICS enables world’s first intercontinental 5G roaming service between Europe’s Swisscom and Asia’s SK Telecom
Breakthrough implementation paves the way for global 5G mobility
Brussels – Belgium, 16 July, 2019 – BICS, a leading international communications enabler, has established the world’s first intercontinental live 5G data roaming service between Swiss operator Swisscom and South Korean carrier SK Telecom, marking a major milestone on the road to establishing 5G roaming across the globe. Taking place on July 15, the 5G roaming service provides high speed, ultra-low latency 5G data connectivity between the two continents, with the operators leveraging BICS’ 5G global IPX network.
The announcement follows a surge in demand for data roaming, which increased by 95% in 2018 according to data from BICS. As subscriber appetite for seamless international connectivity continues to grow, 5G roaming is set to become an integral part of operators’ offerings, enabling users to access data-rich services and high-speed data roaming wherever they are in the world.
Mikaël Schachne, CMO and VP Mobility & IoT Business, BICS added: “With over 50% of global data traffic exchanged over our global IPX network, BICS offers an unrivalled roaming coverage and quality to communication service providers around the world; today’s successful implementation of a trans-continental 5G data roaming relation further endorses our position at the forefront of global mobility for people, applications and things.”
