Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and Ericsson have completed a live demonstration of Ericsson On-Demand’s Roaming Breakout (RBO) service, testing technology designed to improve mobile data performance for Filipinos traveling overseas.
The pilot was conducted simultaneously in the United States and the Philippines, covering common roaming activities such as video calls, streaming, and mobile browsing. Instead of routing subscriber data traffic back to the Philippines, RBO routes traffic through a nearby Google point of presence in Virginia, allowing data to travel through a more direct path.
During the tests, Smart and Ericsson reported download speeds up to five times faster, lower latency, and smoother 4K video streaming when local breakout (LBO) technology was enabled.
Video calls between users in the US and the Philippines, as well as between the US and Sweden, were also tested, with the LBO-enabled connection delivering a smoother experience compared with traditional home-routed roaming.
The technology is designed to provide a more “local-like” mobile experience for international travelers by processing data closer to their physical location. Ericsson said its SaaS Core built for Google Cloud enables mobile core networks to be deployed closer to users, helping reduce latency and improve network performance.
For Smart, the successful pilot provides insights into next-generation roaming technologies as demand for reliable mobile connectivity continues to grow among Filipinos traveling abroad.
