Sponsored roaming has become a bankable, high-margin commercial strategy for MVNOs and smaller mobile operators looking to expand their coverage internationally — without the expense of managing a proprietary roaming estate.
It lets you launch global connectivity quickly, affordably, and at scale. With a single agreement, you gain instant access to international roaming, lower CAPEX and OPEX, and new revenue opportunities — all while keeping control of your brand, pricing, and customer experience.
What is sponsored roaming?
So, how does sponsored roaming work, and why should you consider it?
Sponsored roaming gives MVNOs, IoT providers, and growth-stage carriers a much faster way to launch international connectivity through a single, efficient agreement.
There's no need to negotiate bilateral agreements and manage complex technical integrations. You simply connect with a single sponsoring provider, and your subscribers can instantly access voice, SMS, and data services abroad using that provider’s existing deals and network infrastructure.
One deal, global reach
Building roaming the traditional way is a lot like wiring a new circuit for every lightbulb. Every country requires a new contract, and every integration adds layers of manual overhead.
Sponsored roaming removes all of that complexity. With just one agreement and one integration, you can enable your subscribers to roam across dozens of networks worldwide without managing the entire roaming operation yourself.
How is sponsored roaming different from traditional roaming?
Traditional roaming requires your network to negotiate and maintain one-to-one agreements with each of your international partners. With traditional roaming, your team is responsible for a long list of operational and commercial tasks, including:- Setting wholesale rates
- Exchanging IR.21 documents
- Completing IREG testing
- Configuring interconnects
- Staying on call to troubleshoot issues and manage updates
You’ll need to handle all this in addition to other operational responsibilities.
Sponsored roaming is a lot simpler. It gives you immediate access to dozens of partner networks with just one integration.
You stay in control of your retail brand and manage your subscribers as usual, while the sponsor handles everything else, from maintaining relationships with foreign networks to ensuring that connections stay stable when your customers travel.
As your sponsor, JT’s can connect you to its established global roaming footprint and handle the behind-the-scenes work, so your team doesn’t have to. Find out more.
The market opportunity
Both consumers and industrial users now expect their mobile service to work, no matter what country they’re in. This is making sponsored roaming a front-of-roadmap retention play for MVNOs looking to expand their coverage.
- Travel is back. International tourist arrivals rose another 5% in early 2025 and have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Always-connected customers are booking their entire itineraries on their phones and rely on mobile data to get around. They don’t want to have to switch SIMs every time they land in a new country — they expect coverage to follow them.
- Meanwhile, IoT is forcing networks to think globally. Devices used in logistics and industrial monitoring operate across regions, and they need to stay connected as they move through international corridors. Roaming keeps their SIM-connected systems online beyond their home network. That dependency will only grow as eSIM and 5G modules become standard.
- Workflows have also gone mobile. Businesses are phasing out fixed-line infrastructure in favour of SIM-connected devices in logistics and field service management. Distributed operations have become so common that they’re putting the $33.27 billion enterprise mobile market on track to grow almost sixfold in just seven years. Whether built into machines or tracking assets in transit, these SIM-connected devices require consistent connectivity wherever they go.
Revenue streams enabled by sponsored roaming
There are different ways to turn sponsored roaming into new revenue through models that match your sales channels.
Wholesale access for MVNOs
If you run an MVNO and want international coverage, sponsored roaming lets you purchase access from a sponsor network that already has roaming agreements. You could take a wholesale package with a defined footprint and usage tiers, and then bundle roaming into your plans or sell it as a pay-as-you-go add-on.
Enterprise and IoT solutions
Do you cater to enterprise clients? Use sponsored roaming to give their IoT devices cross-border connectivity. Provide enterprise customers with roaming-enabled SIMs that work across regions, with defined data allowances and usage policies to prevent abuse. To monetise, charge a monthly fee per device or offer pooled data plans for fleets. You could also generate additional revenue from provisioning, systems integration, and onboarding support for clients managing large IoT deployments or mobile workforces.
Premium consumer plans
Is a good portion of your customer base made up of frequent travellers? Instead of limiting them to pay-per-use roaming, offer them pre-set packages with fixed pricing. Many people prefer the predictability of a fixed roaming allowance and the certainty of knowing exactly what they’ll pay. You can keep your wholesale costs manageable through defined usage tiers.
The business case for sponsored roaming
Sponsored roaming makes international reach much more affordable for MVNOs and small mobile operators.
|
Traditional roaming setup |
Sponsored roaming |
|
|
CAPEX |
High upfront spend on systems, bilateral integration, testing, and internal setup |
Lower upfront spend - mostly configuration and product packaging |
|
OPEX |
Ongoing cost from partner ops, testing cycles, dispute handling, and vendor sprawl |
Lower ongoing cost with a simplified operations model and fewer counterparties |
|
Time-to-market |
Slower - contracting and integration can take months per partner |
Faster - launch in weeks using a pre-established footprint |
|
Operational risk |
Higher - fragmented partners, inconsistent quality, and limited visibility |
Lower - centralised control, known reach, and policy-based controls |
Lower CAPEX and OPEX
Traditional roaming is expensive both upfront and over time. You’ll need to integrate with and run tests on each partner network, then manage bilateral agreements and maintain separate configurations. All of that is consolidated into a single integration for sponsored roaming, so your costs stay low and predictable.
Solid ROI potential
You don’t need massive traffic volumes to make sponsored roaming profitable. Because your wholesale costs are fixed and usage is capped, it’s possible to generate steady, margin-safe revenue even if only a small portion of your subscriber base opts into your roaming plan.
Your sponsor handles the integrations and manages the partner network, so you don't have to spend resources on maintaining a web of partner agreements or troubleshooting integrations.
Your revenue also compounds as customers stay with your service while travelling. They’re less likely to buy a separate travel eSIM or switch to a different SIM abroad if you give them a reliable roaming option.
Faster time-to-market
Sponsored roaming lets you roll out international roaming much faster because you don't have to go through the long process of negotiating and integrating with individual networks. Instead of building the backend, your team can focus on your retail proposition.
Why JT Sponsored Roaming?
JT Sponsored Roaming gives you a fast, controlled way to launch international roaming services without spending years building a roaming footprint partner by partner.
Instead of negotiating and maintaining hundreds of direct relationships, you integrate once and expand your reach through JT’s hub model. We run the roaming service end-to-end.
Global reach, instantly
JT connects you to 500+ roaming partners worldwide. We don’t force your subscribers onto a specific network. Their device can connect to any available in-country partner, whichever gives the best coverage at the time.
Lower operating costs, full control
You avoid much of the infrastructure build and the overhead of managing multiple roaming agreements, while maintaining full control over your pricing.
Custom setup
Do you need your own identity and control model? JT can allocate and manage a dedicated IMSI range for your use. We can also provide configurable infrastructure or workflows that match your specific network setup and provisioning systems.
24/7 live technical support
You never need to wait. If a partner link fails or traffic starts routing incorrectly, we step in and fix it immediately.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Contact our team for a consultation to learn more about JT Sponsored Roaming.
You can also download our Sponsored Roaming Guide for a quick introduction to how it all works.
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