Roaming control system and method for a roaming wireless communication device

A roaming control system and method for a roaming WCD while roaming away from the home wireless access network are provided. The roaming control system in one example embodiment includes a communication interface configured to exchange communications with the WCD and with other wireless access networks and a processing system coupled to the communication interface, with the processing system configured to ping the roaming WCD at predetermined time intervals, if the ping was successful, record a WCD roaming location using a ping response, if the ping was successful, provide WCD roaming control information to a visited wireless access network where the roaming WCD is currently located, and if the ping was unsuccessful, then broaden a search scope and repeat the pinging.