The Belgium-based carrier will deploy its full roaming outfit for Swazi Mobile, meaning its customers can use international voice and data services and SMS messaging, while the mobile operator will use BICS for signalling, IPX and data clearing services.
Wandile Mtshali, CEO at Swazi Mobile, said: “Swazi Mobile selected BICS for its excellency in delivering complex roaming projects in a very short time, as well providing premium roaming services thanks to its worldwide footprint.
“The immediate access to over 800 of BICS’ partners will give our customers the ability to roam like never before, and BICS’ PoP in Johannesburg will provide us with a competitive differentiator through service quality.”
BICS has more than 700 partnerships worldwide across a 4G network, meaning both incoming roamers – believed to be around 250,000 – and outgoing users can now benefit from roaming services.
Around 98% of roamers in Swaziland come from neighbours South Africa and Mozambique. BICS has a point of presence in Johannesburg, meaning regional traffic will be managed locally, offering lower latency.
“We are very excited to be supporting Swazi Mobile, Swaziland’s second mobile network,” said Clémentine Fournier, regional VP Africa at BICS.
“We are dedicated to the African continent, and particularly smaller markets within this exciting region, which may not be able to facilitate a full mobile offering. BICS recognised the demand in Africa back in 2014 when we established our PoP in Johannesburg, which we are now able to fully utilise in supporting the launch of Swazi Mobile and the growth in roaming revenue.”