Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica have successfully implemented a proof of concept (PoC) of a low-latency data roaming connection between Germany and Spain

Completed in April 2022 the joint PoC examined a roaming use case for holographic communication between two countries. The holographic communication application requires low-latency and high-quality data roaming connection. This successful cooperation between the two companies is a fundamental pillar for enabling the future of high-quality data roaming.

To cope with this technical requirement, Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier and Telefónica designed, implemented, and tested an innovative data roaming regional breakout use case applied to MEC solutions in Madrid. The German roamer in Spain is attached to this data roaming regional breakout instance in Spain instead of the traditional attach to the data roaming gateway in Germany. Thanks to this innovative solution the latency is significantly decreased, and the holographic communication requirement is fulfilled.

The graphics below show the relative improvements of latency and bandwidth between the traditional roaming connection and the innovative data breakout data roaming connection.

The two carriers have a long-term cooperation in the field of international carrier services including voice, data, and transport capacity. Their IPX network connection has been established in 2006 and has enabled the exchange of data roaming traffic ever since. With the increase in data roaming traffic and the increasing pressure from roaming customers for better quality, low-latency and high-availability data roaming connections, the two companies are constantly working on enhancing their IPX network connection.

Juan Carlos García López, Director of Technology Development and Ecosystems at Telefónica Global CTIO said: “Optimizing the connectivity to Telco Edge servers and improving the latency for users while roaming is key for the development and growth of new types of services, such as holographic communications and many other future 5G services, like those related to Metaverse or C-V2X” said.

Csaba Füzesi, Head of Product Management at Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier Voice & Mobile Services, explained: “We are proud to have successfully completed the low-latency data roaming PoC together with Telefónica. It validates the benefits of data roaming regional breakout technology and proves that this innovative IPX technology can enable the high-quality data roaming connectivity of the future. The technical innovations in this PoC also establish a way forward towards high-quality and low-latency roaming connectivity in 5G.”