Mobile virtual network operator
A
mobile virtual network operator is a company that does not own a
licensed frequency spectrum, but resells wireless services under their own brand name, using the network of another
mobile phone operator. The first successful MVNO was
Virgin Mobile, launched in the
United Kingdom in
1999. Before this, Sense attempted to start an MVNO service in the Scandinavian countries, but failed. A similar idea was also at MCI in the early 90s.
[ How to be an MVNO telephonyonline.com]An MVNO's roles and relationship to the
mobile phone operator vary by market. In general an MVNO is an entity or company that works independently of the operator and can set its own tariff structures. Usually, it does not own any
GSM,
CDMA or other wireless infrastructure, such as
Mobile Switching Center (MSC) or a radio access network. Some may own their own
Home Location Register (HLR), which allows more flexibility since multiple host networks could be used, and the MVNO appears as a
roaming partner.
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Discount MVNOs provide cut-price call rates to market segments. Discount MVNOs include Fresh Mobile (the UK's cheapest MVNO for UK calls), MobileWorld (the UK's cheapest MVNO for dialling internationally),
Virgin Mobile and EasyMobile. Their strategy is based on cheap prepaid or postpaid tariffs with basic voice and
SMS services.
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Lifestyle MVNOs focus on specific niche market demographics MVNOs such as
Boost Mobile and
AMP'D Mobile in the US, and Hello_MTV and ID&T Mobile in
Europe market entirely to young users.
There are three primary motivations for mobile operators to allow MVNOs on their networks. These are generally:
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Segmentation-Driven Strategies â€" mobile operators often find it difficult to succeed in all customer segments. MVNOs are a way to implement a more specific marketing mix, whether alone or with partners and they can help attack specific, targeted segments.
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Network Utilisation-Driven Strategies â€" Many mobile operators have capacity, product and segment needs â€" especially in new areas like
3G. An MVNO strategy can generate economies of scale for better network utilisation.
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Product-Driven Strategies â€" MVNOs can help mobile operators target customers with specialised service requirements and get to customer niches that mobile operators cannot get to.
MVNO models mean lower operational costs for mobile operators (billing, sales, customer service, marketing), help fight churn, grow
ARPU by providing new applications and tariff plans and also can help with difficult issues like how to deal with fixed-mobile convergence by allowing MVNOs to try out more experimental projects and applications. The opportunity for mobile operators to take advantage of MVNOs generally outweighs the competitive threat.
There are currently approximately 200 planned or operational MVNOs world-wide. Countries like
The Netherlands,
Denmark,
United Kingdom,
Finland,
Belgium,
Australia and
United States have the most MVNOs per country, whereas some are just beginning to launch active MVNO business models - like France, the Baltics and Austria. Where there are many MVNOs in a single country, it is difficult for new entrants as the overall marketplace is highly saturated.
MVNO, MVNE and Beyond
The industry is going through stages characterized by alphabet soup nomenclature, including MVNO and MVNE (so-called Mobile Virtual Network Enabler). Most industry observors believe that the market is evolving and that many MVNOs will become operators while others will fold or be bought.
Presently, many companies and regulatory bodies are strongly in favour of MVNOs. For example, in 2003, the
European Commission issued a recommendation to national telecom regulators (NRAs) to examine the competitiveness of the market for wholesale access and call origination on public mobile telephone networks. The study resulted in new legislation from NRAs in countries like Ireland and France that forces operators to open up their network to MVNOs.
See also
:Category:Mobile Virtual Network Operators.
*
Aeris.net - M2M data services operator
Aeris.net using their own MIN and IMSI, often categorized as a MVNO
*
Amp'd Mobile - uses
Verizon Wireless*
Boost Mobile - uses
Sprint Nextel's
iDEN, (U.S.) -
Optus's
GSM, (
Australia) -and
Telecom New Zealand's
CDMA, (
New Zealand)
*
Bratz Mobile - uses
Cingular Wireless*
BT Mobile - uses
Vodafone*
CallPlus*
DBS Communications* Digicel [
1]
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Disney Mobile - uses Sprint (CDMA 1xEVDO)[https://register.go.com/disney/disney_mobile_mvno/index]
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easyMobile - uses T-Mobile
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Euroset Russia - Russian MVNO, VAS services
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Fresh Mobile - Uses T-Mobile UK
*
Gametel - uses Vodafone Australia
*
Helio - uses
Sprint (CDMA 1xEVDO)
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Ignition Wireless - Uses Sprint, announced Verizon
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Japan Communications Inc. - uses Willcom
*
Jitterbug Wireless - uses Sprint (CDMA 1xEVDO)
*
Kolumbus - uses
Elisa Oyj*
Liberty Wireless - uses Sprint
*
M&S Mobile - uses T-Mobile UK
*
M-Budget Mobile*
Mobile ESPN - uses Sprint (CDMA 1xEVDO)
*
MobileWorld - Uses T-Mobile UK
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Net10 Wireless, operated by Tracfone - uses
GSM*
Payless Cellular - uses Verizon and Cingular
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PC Mobile*
PlatinumTel Prepaid Wireless - uses Sprint
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PowerNet Mobile*
Qualution (MVNE)*
Saunalahti (Finland)*
Simple Freedom- uses
Alltel*
STi Mobile - uses Sprint
*
talktalk Mobile - Uses T-Mobile UK
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Telmore*
telSPACE - Uses
Verizon Wireless,
Sprint, announced
Cingular*
Tesco Mobile - uses
O2*
TracFone Wireless - uses Verizon Wireless, Alltel, others
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Transatel*
Trendcall uses Telfort, NL
*
Uzo - uses TMN
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Venture Mobile - uses Verizon, Sprint and announced Cingular
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Vipera - Mobile Applications Virtual Operator*
Virgin Mobile - uses
T-Mobile (UK),
Sprint (USA),
Bell Mobility (Canada) and
Optus (Australia)
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Visage Mobile - MVNE
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Voce Wireless -
"luxury class" MVNO that uses Sprint, T-Mobile, and Cingular
See also the pretty complete
Takashi Mobile MVNO List or for a paid service,
Blycroft Publishing's Directory*
PDF: The MVNO Era of Mobile Innovation*
Free White Paper (PDF): Insight into the Global MVNO Marketplace*
Research and social networking for MVNOs*
Dr. Prepaid: Resource center about Prepaid MNVO Offerings in the U.S.*
Global directory of MVNOs, existing analyst research and free news service*
HLR for MVNOs*
IT and Systems considerations towards fast-track MVNO Launch*
MVNO / MVNE Terms and Industry Insight*
MVNO Info & Resources*
types of MVNOs*
Takashi Mobile MVNO/SP List
