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Lessons from MVNOs’ World Congress – Exploring New Models for MVNOs

MVNOs’ World Congress continues to be the meeting place for those involved in the MVNO business. Once again, representatives from across the ecosystem gathered in Nice to discuss the future of our industry. Existing MVNOs, wannabe MVNOs, and a supporting cast of characters from MVNEs, MVNAs, MNOs, suppliers and all the rest engaged in three days of debate, presentations and networking to take the pulse and to understand the latest trends and opportunities.

We paid close attention to the buzz and will ensure our customers and partners can capitalise on new business opportunities, so that they can stay relevant and grow their businesses during competitive times.

Among other key topics, there was a strong focus on innovation. For many, innovation has become key as it has become increasingly clear that simple retail offers don’t offer the potential for growth that they once did. Instead, new opportunities have emerged that can be addressed by the community.

Two areas stand out. First, the growth of connected devices and the increasing deployment of specialised mobile access technologies is giving a boost to the IoT market. MVNOs that offer dedicated IoT and M2M solutions can thrive, providing they take advantage of the ecosystem of devices and choose the right network partners. It’s a different model to be sure, but it’s one that offer significant growth potential and the opportunity to carve out a niche through reaching customers with unique requirements.

Second, a new opportunity has emerged that has become known as the appVNO – the application Virtual Network Operator. It’s a kind of hybrid between a traditional MVNO, that offers SIM-based mobile access, and the application-based experience that has emerged from social media providers. Because it’s a hybrid, it enables users to take advantage of a single price plan and bundle, to possess one or more public identities that serve as classical MSISDNs, while capitalising on IP-enabled applications to facilitate global communications.

AppVNOs provide an application that allows IP-based access, as well as a conventional SIM with associated MSISDNs. As a result, users can be reached anywhere, via their chosen public MSISDN identity, whether they opt for mobile connectivity or via IP when they migrate onto Wi-Fi or other IP-based access. Since moving to Wi-Fi means they avoid roaming charges, it ensures they can be reached wherever they are while still using the same mobile identity and save costs. Such hybrid models allow MVNOs to offer a global proposition and to differentiate themselves for consumers and business user alike.

It’s a neat spin on the mobile business and shows how MVNOs can take advantage of innovation to play a deeper role in providing enhanced services that deliver more value to customers. In both cases, it’s no longer about being the cheapest but about being a specialised provider of communications services.

The MVNO business is evolving. This year’s MVNOs’ World Congress showcased innovation that will help the industry remain competitive and create new commercial opportunities.

Of course, we play our role in this, by enabling appVNO propositions through our Virtual VLR solution. We’ve partnered with Three UK to launch an innovative platform that is enabling access to traditional mobile users for Internet-based application providers. It helps them enhance communications reach and to stay in touch with their users, via classical mobile messaging and voice.

That’s an essential consideration for many services. This community is growing fast, as application providers recognise the value of extending their reach to mobile networks. If you want to know more about how this works and how you can build your MVNO business, backed by our global capabilities, get in touch to find out more.

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