Newsbyte: SAP Secures New LTE Roaming Peering Hub Agreements to Further Connect Mobile Operators Across the World

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- To meet heavy demand for 4G/LTE connectivity around the world, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced new LTE roaming peering agreements with MTT Russia, Orange and Telenor Global Services. These new relationships demonstrate the strong commitment of SAP Mobile Services, a division of SAP, to quickly expand the LTE roaming community in order to provide a seamless global roaming experience for mobile subscribers. The announcement was made at Mobile World Congress 2014, being held February 24-27 in Barcelona, Spain.

According to a study released by SAP in conjunction with TelecomAsia, "Navigating Complexity: The Quest for True IPX" [PDF], 56 percent of operators surveyed reported they were connected to an IPX network, as compared to only 30 percent in 2011. The uptake in IPX means faster, higher quality roaming capabilities for consumers and greater access to networks' LTE spectrum offerings. The majority of survey respondents (66.5 percent) said the greatest benefit mobile operators derived from IPX interconnections was the assurance that comes from a privately managed, cost-effective and secure network.

"With more than 20 years of development, MTT has become one of the biggest international telecommunications operators in Russia," said Boyko Anna, director, Corporate Communications, MTT Group. "We have a longstanding partnership with SAP for GPRS/GRX roaming, which connects some of the largest telecommunication operators in Asia and Europe. Now with the implementation of IPX-based LTE roaming services from SAP, we are able to meet the heavy demand of our global customer base for high bandwidth 4G connectivity."

"At a time when Orange is rolling out 4G networks across its footprint in Europe and beyond, the ability to offer customers a seamless mobile experience while roaming is an important value proposition that helps us differentiate from the competition," said Alexandre Pebereau, executive vice president of International Carriers for Orange. "By connecting to SAP's IPX LTE roaming hub, Orange will be able to rapidly extend the range of countries covered while ensuring cost-efficiency and optimum security."

"Telenor Global Services delivers the LTE Roaming Exchange Gateway for Telenor Group companies, which represent more than 160 million subscribers globally," said Bjoern Iversen, CEO, Telenor Global Services (TGS). "TGS is proud of the long-term cooperation we have built with SAP. This peering partnership enables our two companies to exchange LTE traffic and to grow volumes even further. Our principal aim is the provision of a high-quality LTE Roaming service to increase customer experience anytime, anywhere."

"In just the past six months, we have grown our LTE peering community through direct and peering customers that can now offer LTE Roaming connectivity to customers in Asia, Europe, Africa and Americas," said Michael Van Veen, group director, Product Management IPX, SAP Mobile Services. "This acceleration of our LTE roaming business clearly demonstrates the importance of the entire ecosystem working together to enable 'open' operator access. This proven model will allow for a sharp uptick in LTE network deployments this year and we are strongly committed to continue expanding our global network peering community to help operators gain immediate, comprehensive international coverage."

SAP Mobile Services is a global leader in mobile interconnection and mobile consumer engagement services. It provides mobile operators with unparalleled capabilities in global messaging interconnect, data roaming and an array of IPX-based services and enables enterprises to engage with their consumers through innovative mobile marketing and engagement solutions. SAP Mobile Services helps businesses process 1.8 billion messages per day, reaching more than 1,000 operators and 6.1 billion subscribers across 210 countries.

For more information, including additional news from Mobile World Congress 2014, visit the SAP Newsroom and www.sap.com/mwc. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

Media Contact:
Scott Malinowski, +1 (617) 538-6297, [email protected], EST

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SOURCE SAP AG