This is a running counter: number of times that the mobile node has decided to move from its home network to a foreign network. Since Mobile IP counters like this only increment and never reset on their own, an admin polls it periodically and watches the rate of change rather than the absolute value — a counter that suddenly climbs fast points at a specific failure mode (e.g. bad authentication, a misconfigured agent, or a flapping mobile node) tied to this exact event.