Out on the mean streets of consumer mobile, succeeding with an MVNO proposition is tough in a market where there is little to differentiate yourself on other than price. Whilst it may be a bloody business in the consumer world, B2B offers a different story. David Dungay went to find out how the Channel can add value to their propositions with MVNO’s.
In the past, setting up an MVNO was extremely expensive and potentially risky. To ensure payback, resellers would have to be supremely confident they had a proposition that was going to work. Nowadays the process is somewhat simpler with the presence of MVNE/A players who can get resellers up and running for a fraction of the cost in just a few short months.
Rob Davis, Head of Converged Products at Gamma commented, “When it comes to resellers entering the MVNO market there are really only two choices; go directly to the mobile operators, who are typically only interested in those who can commit to massive volumes and those who have a large amount of cash to invest. Or partner with an aggregator, such as Gamma, who can offer resellers a hassle-free path to becoming an MVNO and all the benefits that come with it, without the £1m+ upfront investment.“
Shanks Kulam, Chief Mobile Officer at x-Mobility, added, “In terms of the UK market at least, it is relatively easy for a reseller to set up a MVNO in 2016. x-Mobility can get a UK MVNO up and running on our 4G platform within a 6-8 week period. Of course this is dependent on the reseller having the necessary focus and commitment.”
On the Horizon
So what does the future hold for the MVNO market? Should resellers honestly be looking to get involved? Rob Davis thinks so! He says, “There’s a fantastic opportunity for channel partners over the next couple of years to move into the MVNO market as the big mobile operators are focused on mergers and acquisitions, rather than supporting the needs of their business customers, making it ideal timing for the channel to step in and demonstrate the benefits of working with an MVNO.”
Steve Barefoot, senior product analyst at Interop Technologies commented, “Beyond delivering voice, messaging, and data services, specialized MVNOs will emerge to service the burgeoning IoT and M2M sectors. As the requirements for serving these markets becomes better defined, it’s possible that we’ll see an increase in what the Dutch have pioneered as Private Virtual Network Operators (PVNOs).”
Read the Full Article on Comms Business Magazine
