Smart Pilots Ericsson On-Demand Roaming Breakout Service, Bringing ‘Local-Like’ Roaming Experience Overseas

PLDT’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and technology partner Ericsson have successfully completed a live demo of Ericsson On-Demand's Roaming Breakout (RBO) service, taking a step further in efforts to enhance the data roaming experience for Filipino travelers around the world.

The tests, carried out simultaneously in the United States and the Philippines, covered a range of services commonly used by travelers, including video streaming and video calling. It involved routing subscriber data traffic through a Google point-of-presence in Virginia, United States, rather than returning traffic all the way to the Philippines, resulting in better latency, faster browsing and streaming, and an overall smoother data roaming experience.

Use cases tested during the pilot included video calls via Messenger between users in the US and the Philippines and US and Sweden, with the LBO technology-enabled smartphone facilitating a smoother call experience compared to the home-routed one.

Speed tests done on both demo smartphones also showcased as much as 5x faster download speeds, significantly lower latency, and smoother 4K video streaming via LBO, enabling a ‘local-like’ overseas mobile experience, closer to what customers may expect from a local SIM or travel eSIM.

“As customer expectations evolve, we continue to actively explore technologies that can transform how our subscribers stay connected while traveling abroad. This successful pilot with Ericsson gives us valuable insights into how next-generation roaming capabilities can help deliver a leveled-up experience for Filipinos wherever their journeys may take them,” said Roderick S. Santiago, Head of Network Strategy and Architecture at PLDT and Smart. “By enabling a better roaming experience, LBO can also help us uphold the network quality and reliability that Smart subscribers have come to expect, not only in the Philippines but even when they are overseas."

Bipin Melvin, VP & Head of Cloud Software and Services, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and the Pacific Islands, Ericsson, says: “This successful pilot demonstrates how our SaaS Core built for Google Cloud, with its ease of creating core networks anywhere in the world, can help transform the roaming experience for mobile subscribers. By enabling data traffic to break out closer to where travelers are located, Ericsson On-Demand's Roaming Breakout service can significantly reduce latency and improve performance. Together with Smart, we have shown how innovation in roaming can help deliver a more seamless, local-like experience for customers wherever they travel.”

PLDT and Smart’s push to lead in next-generation technologies reflects the PLDT Group’s broader commitment to deliver a leveled-up, world-class customer experience to Filipinos here and abroad. These efforts support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and advance the Group’s contribution to the government’s overall digitalization thrust.