Creating a preferred PLMN list for faster service acquisition

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a processing device from a plurality of user devices, network data identifying one or more networks available to provide roaming service to at least one of the plurality of user devices at one or more geographical locations associated with the plurality of user devices;

determining, by the processing device, one or more identifiers, wherein each identifier is associated with a corresponding network of the one or more networks from the network data;

generating, by the processing device, a list of preferred networks associated with a first geographic location of the one or more geographical locations, the list comprising the one or more identifiers of the one or more networks; and

sending, by the processing device, the list of preferred networks to a first user device of the plurality of user devices, the first user device being located at the first geographic location.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first geographical location corresponds to a region where a service acquisition time exceeds a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network data further identifies networks that have rejected service requests from any of the plurality of user devices at the first geographical location.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein generating the list of preferred networks furthers comprises:

creating a preliminary list of identifiers of networks that have accepted a roaming service request from at least one of the plurality of user devices; and

removing from the preliminary list identifiers of networks that have rejected a roaming service request from at least one of the plurality of user devices at the first geographical location.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the list of preferred networks further comprises prioritizing identifiers of the list of identifiers based on at least one of network characteristics or roaming charges.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network data further identifies one or more preferred networks for one of the plurality of user devices.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

periodically receiving additional network data from the plurality of user devices;

updating, based on the additional network data, the list of identifiers; and

sending the updated list of identifiers to the plurality of user devices.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon which, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the processing device from a plurality of user devices, network data identifying one or more networks available to provide roaming service to at least one of the plurality of user devices at one or more geographical locations associated with the plurality of user devices;

determining, by the processing device, one or more identifiers, wherein each identifier is associated with a corresponding network of the one or more networks from the network data;

generating, by the processing device, a list of preferred networks associated with a first geographic location of the one or more geographical locations, the list comprising the one or more identifiers of the one or more networks; and

sending, by the processing device, the list of preferred networks to a first user device of the plurality of user devices, the first user device being located at the first geographic location.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the first geographical location corresponds to a region where a service acquisition time exceeds a threshold.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the network data further identifies networks that have rejected roaming service requests from any of the plurality of user devices at the first geographical location.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein generating the list of preferred networks further comprises:

creating a preliminary list of identifiers of networks that have accepted a roaming service request from at least one of the plurality of user devices; and

removing from the preliminary list identifiers of networks that have rejected a roaming service request from at least one of the plurality of user devices at the first geographical location.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein generating the list of preferred networks further comprises prioritizing identifiers of the list of identifiers based on at least one of network characteristics or roaming charges.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the network data further identifies one or more preferred networks for one of the plurality of user devices.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:

periodically receiving additional network data from the plurality of user devices;

updating, based on the additional network data, the list of identifiers; and

sending the updated list of identifiers to the plurality of user devices.

15. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processing device coupled to the memory, the processing device configured to:

receive, from a plurality of user devices, network data identifying one or more networks available to provide roaming service to at least one of the plurality of user devices at one or more geographical locations associated with the plurality of user devices;

determine one or more identifiers, wherein each identifier is associated with a corresponding network of the one or more networks from the network data;

generate a list of preferred networks associated with a first geographical location of the one or more geographical locations, the list comprising the one or more identifiers of the one or more networks; and

send the list of preferred networks to a first user device of the plurality of user devices, the first user device being located at the first geographic location.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first geographical location corresponds to a region where a service acquisition time exceeds a threshold.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the network data further identifies networks that have rejected roaming service requests from any of the plurality of user devices at the first geographical location.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein to generate the list of preferred networks, the processing device is configured to:

create a preliminary list of identifiers of networks that have accepted a roaming service request from at least one of the plurality of user devices; and

remove from the preliminary list identifiers of networks that have rejected a roaming service request from at least one of the plurality of user devices at the first geographical location.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the processing device is configured to generate the list of preferred networks by prioritizing identifiers of the list of identifiers based on at least one of network characteristics or roaming charges.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the processing device is further configured to:

periodically receive additional network data from the plurality of user devices;

update, based on the additional network data, the list of identifiers; and

send the updated list of identifiers to the plurality of user devices.