New research from Kaleido Intelligence examines the current state of innovation in Steering of Roaming (SoR), drawing on input from vendors and MNOs to provide structured assessments of each domain of innovation, evaluating scope, benefits, and their overall impact on SoR.
Kaleido’s research focuses on evolving 5G-era requirements and the rising expectations around QoS, automation, and real-time intelligence, exploring how vendors are responding to the increasing complexity of the roaming ecosystem. The report also examines recent MNO investment plans, drawing trends to identify which emerging needs are being addressed, and providing guidance for vendors and MNOs looking to enhance and future-proof their SoR solutions.
Informing this report are Kaleido’s SoR Vendor Hub questionnaires and Kaleido’s Wholesale Roaming 2026 MNO Survey, conducted with 68 Tier 1 and Tier 2+ MNOs (alongside select MVNOs) and allowing for a substantive market understanding to be built.
Why QoS Defines the New Roaming Experience
As 5G SA commercial launches continue to draw near, operators are increasingly finding that real-time, intelligent solutions are becoming crucial to effective roaming operations. Informed, quality-based solutions will increasingly become the norm in a 5G world where consistent, high QoS is essential for the running of many services.
However, Kaleido’s research has highlighted a gap between ambition and execution, finding that over half of operators in the MNO Survey were experiencing challenges with poor quality-based steering and/or monitoring.
Managing Roaming Quality Challenges: What are your biggest challenges in managing roaming quality, customer experience, and network steering?
Source: Kaleido Intelligence Roaming Analytics MNO Survey, H2 2025
Features such as quality-based steering rely on real-time data and quality metrics in order to function, as a real-time data feed allows for informed steering decisions to be made in real time.
Despite operators’ wide recognition of the importance of real-time data, however, only 16% of Kaleido’s roaming survey respondents reported possession of a holistic, real-time analytics platform with unified reporting across signalling, IPX and clearing. In the context of steering specifically, less than a quarter (23%) of operators reported having already implemented real-time, QoS-driven steering.
Innovation in SoR: Shifting Priorities
The impending approach of widespread 5G SA roaming has led to a change in priorities for many and has led to a focus on how MNOs and service providers can best deliver high-quality, reliable, fast and intelligent roaming services. As stated earlier, real-time analytics are foundational for such solutions, and this sentiment is clearly reflected in Kaleido’s Wholesale Roaming Survey results.
SoR Technological Innovation Demand in 2026, MNO Survey Findings
Top 3 Responses to Where do you believe the most roaming innovation is required in terms of service offerings?
Source: Kaleido Intelligence Wholesale Roaming MNO Survey, Q1 2026
All three of the leading responses here are key contributors to the facilitation of fast, smooth, high-quality roaming services. The fact that the role of Analytics & RTM was by far the most selected demonstrates operators’ shared understanding of the importance of such tools in enabling intelligent roaming solutions. The benefits of automation also work towards this aim, removing as much need for manual oversight and intervention, and expediting decision-making processes to allow for quicker, more reflexive problem-solving.
In terms of steering, the aims of innovation appear to be in pursuit of the same goals: improved operational efficiency, faster processing and improved quality control. Investing in SoR innovations can enable operators to identify network issues earlier, respond faster, and steer traffic proactively rather than reactively.
Automation is also important to consider in the context of steering and is a driving factor behind AI implementation in SoR, which is explored in detail in Kaleido’s latest SoR report.
Steering of Roaming Key Findings: MNO Requirements & Innovation in the 5G Era 2026
- Steering is already transforming, but a divide is clear: 37% of operators plan to implement real-time, QoS-driven steering within the next 12 months. However, just over a third of operators have no such plans in place.
- Key SoR demands from vendor clients revolve around preparedness for 5G, QoS management, holistic integration and scalability.
- AI integration in SoR is becoming prolific among many top steering vendors – AI is utilised for anomaly detection, clustering, user-behaviour-driven steering, and for improved ease of use.
Access Kaleido’s Steering of Roaming: MNO Requirements & Innovation in the 5G Era 2026 research for an evaluation of how vendors have been transforming SoR, an overview of steering requirements (for 5G and for other innovations), and for a comprehensive Investment Planner.
Blog Author: Max Holden (Market Research Analyst)