The Distillery: World's First Commercially Available 5G Standalone Roaming Connection, and CLARITY Act Failure

September 2026

Telecoms & Connectivity

Juniper Research

Analyst House

In this edition:

• First commercially available 5G Standalone roaming connection: T-Mobile, Reliance Jio, and Syniverse will lay the foundation
  
• Digital Asset Market Clarity act fails: The CLARITY act is blocked from advancing
  
• Free travel eSIM: It will be used as a reward for customers by banks
  
• Marqeta-BVNK partnership: Will stablecoins meet embedded finance?
• New teleport: Orange and Telesat have opened a new satellite gateway

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & CONNECTIVITY

T-Mobile, Reliance Jio, and Syniverse Claim First Commercially Available 5G SA Roaming Connection

On September 21st 2026, T-Mobile and Reliance Jio announced that they had achieved the first commercially available 5G Standalone (SA) roaming connection. Enabled by Syniverse’s connectivity platform, 5G SA roaming is expected to deliver faster speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connections.

Distilled…

🟣 Vodafone, A1 Group, and Ericsson claimed to achieve the world’s first international 5G SA roaming connection between two operator groups in April 2025, but T-Mobile and Reliance Jio’s announcement indicates progress in the actual commercialisation of the technology (although Juniper Research notes that details about the commercialisation are limited at present). 5G SA roaming has long been in mobile network operator roadmaps, but progress commercialising the technology has been limited.

🟣 Juniper Research has found that this is because many mobile network operators have seen a lack of commercial demand from their customers for 5G SA roaming services. The focus of 5G SA roaming monetisation is on enterprise connectivity and services, with the additional capabilities and security offered to roaming connections having the greatest value to enterprise IoT. Although T-Mobile and Reliance Jio’s announcement may signal that enterprise demand for 5G SA roaming is beginning to materialise, Juniper Research is yet to observe substantial interest at this stage. 

🟣 In T-Mobile’s press release, Mark Yarkosky, Head International Network, Partnership and Services at Reliance Jio, also highlights the potential for differentiated consumer experiences using 5G SA roaming technology. Retail roaming revenue is projected by Juniper Research to fall by more than 25% over the next five years, and differentiated services for international travellers could provide some revenue uplift to offset this. Juniper Research believes that there are a number of interesting niche revenue opportunities for mobile network operators in the consumer 5G SA roaming space; however the bulk of the revenue opportunity is expected to remain within the enterprise segment.

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FINTECH & PAYMENTS

No Clarity, No Problem: Regulators Move Without Congress

The digital assets industry has experienced significant volatility as of late; a story that never gets old. The turbulence stemmed from the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act failing to reach a Senate cloture vote on 15th September, 2026, due to ethics language surrounding officials’ cryptocurrency holdings. Whilst the CLARITY Act is not dead, a regulatory vacuum remains for the digital assets industry in addressing the gaps left by the GENIUS Act which passed in 2025.

Two days later, on 17th September 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order granting temporary, conditional exemptive relief to Tokenised Securities Venues (TSV) from the definition of ‘exchange’ in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This allows TSVs to trade tokenised National Market System stock using permissioned automated market makers (AMMs) and liquidity pools. The SEC also temporarily granted a conditional exemption from the definition of ‘dealer’ for liquidity providers in an AMM Liquidity Pool. The relief lasts up to five years; expiring unless the regulatory framework changes in the meantime. 

Distilled…

🟣 Trying to find clarity in the CLARITY Act – The Senate blocked the Act from advancing due to Democrats wanting enforceable limits on officials (including President Trump) profiting from cryptocurrency whilst helping write its rules. This comes after Trump’s 2025 disclosure, which showed over $1.4 billion in crypto income. Now, given the upcoming US mid-terms, the current Congress will wind down its session, and a new Congress will be seated at the start of January – pushing any revival of the CLARITY Act into 2027.

🟣 Progression without permission – With the CLARITY Act stalled and unlikely to move again before the mid-term season ends, the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have both signalled that they will keep advancing crypto market structure administratively, regardless of what Congress does – as evidenced by the SEC’s exemption arriving 48 hours after cloture failed. Similarly, the CFTC’s Chair, Michael Selig, said in late August that the CFTC would use its authority to build a crypto market structure regime if Congress failed to pass CLARITY. 

🟣 Permissioned AMMs stand to gain the most – Uniswap, a decentralised, peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange, launched permissioned pools in July 2026, which enables protocol-level enforcement and issuer-managed allowlists. This hardcodes compliance into smart contracts; giving issuers full control over who is approved to trade or hold the asset. Uniswap’s native token, UNI, rose 16% on the SEC exemption news, and has risen a further 12% as of writing, as traders and investors price in a reality where Uniswap may dominate tokenisation volume – being one of the more established protocols in the crypto industry. 

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS & CONNECTIVITY

Natwest Set to Add Free Travel eSIM for Reward Customers on October 1st 2026

On October 1st 2026, Natwest is adding a global travel eSIM as part of its expanded benefits for customers with a Reward current account; becoming the latest bank to roll out a travel eSIM product for their existing customer bases. Customers with a Reward Silver Account (£10 Monthly Fee) can access one 3GB travel eSIM per year, whilst customers with Reward Platinum Accounts (£22 Monthly Fee) and Premier Reward Black Account (£36 Monthly Fee) can access one 5GB travel eSIM per year.

Distilled…

🟣 Banks are increasingly adding travel eSIM services to their offerings, with both Santander and KB Kookmin Bank (available to select customers for a limited time from 14th August to the 30th of September) adding their own products. With large customer bases and strong customer relationships, Juniper Research believes that banks are well positioned to become important distribution channels for travel eSIMs, especially when integrated with rewards ecosystems that also include the wider travel ecosystem such as travel insurance and lounge access.

🟣 Banks such as Natwest and Santander’s entries into the travel eSIM market are part of a trend where enterprises within the broader travel ecosystem are using platforms provided by Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) providers such as ZIM Connections, eSIM Go, and 1Global to quickly launch travel eSIMs. These vendors enable enterprises lacking telecommunications expertise to outsource the complexity associated with launching a travel eSIM; allowing launches in weeks or months.

🟣 Juniper Research believes that enterprises such as banks, airlines, fintechs, retailers, and online travel agencies serving as distribution channels will be pivotal to future market growth; with the travel eSIM revenue projected to reach $8.7 billion in 2030. In particular, integration in travel booking and planning flows will accelerate adoption by international travellers around the world, with competition moving from arrival towards the travel planning and booking process.

FINTECH & PAYMENTS

Inside the Marqeta-BVNK Partnership - Stablecoins Meet Embedded Finance

Recently, Marqeta Inc (NASDAQ: MQ) and BVNK announced a partnership to bring stablecoin-backed card capabilities to both crypto-native and non-crypto companies. Marqeta, the modern card-issuing platform provider, processed nearly $400 billion in annual payments volume during 2025; demonstrating the depth and scale of its offering. BVNK, meanwhile, is the stablecoin payments infrastructure provider behind more than $39 billion in annualised payment volume; helping enterprises move digital dollars globally.

Through the integration, Marqeta’s customers will be able to embed stablecoin capabilities directly into wallets, cards, and everyday financial products. Also, as both the companies are already connected into Mastercard’s network, this gives Marqeta’s customers a path to additional Mastercard capabilities through the same integration. This partnership is a clear example of how embedded finance increasingly scales by linking existing infrastructure rather than creating separate ones.

Distilled…

🟣 Buy, not build: Rather than developing stablecoin capabilities internally, Marqeta is adopting BVNK’s regulated infrastructure to move and manage stablecoins within its platform. This reflects a core embedded finance pattern, where platforms expand their offering by plugging in specialised, ready-made infrastructure instead of building it from scratch; accelerating delivery while leaving compliance and operational standards to the specialist.

🟣 A shared standard: Mastercard, Marqeta and BVNK are all backers of Open USD, a common global standard for stablecoins. A shared foundation across networks, providers and use cases makes it easier for other players to adopt and scale digital dollar payments, rather than each building to a different standard.

🟣 Meeting users where they are: BVNK’s own research found that 77% of surveyed crypto holders would open a stablecoin wallet through their primary bank or fintech app if one were available. This partnership responds directly to that demand; embedding stablecoin access into everyday financial products rather than requiring a separate crypto app. 

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS & CONNECTIVITY

Orange and Telesat Unveil New Teleport as Telcos Play Down Satellite Threat

Orange and Telesat have opened a new satellite gateway in France, ahead of a planned 2028 launch of services from the European Lightspeed low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation. The new teleport will be used by Orange to serve its own wholesale and business customers, and by Telesat for its broader consumer offering. 

Distilled…

🟣 The Telesat Lightspeed launch will add to services from European counterparts Eutelsat OneWeb, SES, and IRIS, as well as US operators Starlink, ViaSat, Iridium, and Globalstar. LEO satellite providers are increasingly targeting the consumer mobile sector, either in partnership with existing telcos, or as a rival direct-to-device (D2D) proposition.

🟣 US telcos have recently dismissed the threat from satellite to regular mobile connectivity. AT&T CEO John Stankey stated satellite remains merely a solution for connecting the “last 2%” of underserved customers, adding that it could “never match” the experience customers get on a terrestrial network. T-Mobile US CFO Peter Osvaldik also recently claimed satellite is “not a competitive threat”; indicating the lack of spectrum held by the satellite giants. 

🟣 In Europe, a report from Bloomberg claims the “big four” operators Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone are planning to form a consortium to outbid the satellite players for 2GHz spectrum mobile satellite services (MSS) licences, which are prized for D2D satellite connectivity services. The European Commission is still finalising plans to allocate this spectrum – but if the reports of the consortium are true, it would suggest Europe’s telcos are taking the threat from satellite a little more seriously than their US counterparts. 

🟣 The satellite consumer connectivity proposition is still in its infancy. It may not be the future - but the sheer amount of capital being invested (SpaceX has already poured an estimated $10 billion into Starlink) proves that it needs to be taken seriously.

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