MVNO Network: Laying Down the Foundation for Community-Based Services

In the beginning, the focus of the telecom industry was on connecting different individuals no matter how far they were from one another. And now, with the world connected through the World Wide Web and a range of telecom offerings like VoIP calls, it is time to move on to the next step – addressing the requirements of communities.


In the beginning, the focus of the telecom industry was on connecting different individuals no matter how far they were from one another. And now, with the world connected through the World Wide Web and a range of telecom offerings like VoIP calls, it is time to move on to the next step – addressing the requirements of communities.

Earlier, big telecom operators had a monopoly over the market and customers had nowhere else to go except to a select few who ruled the market space. However, with the entry of newer players in the market and an increase in competition, the pressure was back on the shoulders of already-established MNOs (Mobile Network Operators). ‘One size fits all strategy’ that had worked for them for such a long time was not successful anymore. With their revenue streams waning, they needed out-of-the-box solutions that came to them in the form of MVNO network.

Agile MVNO Network

An MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) is a provider of wireless communications services, who is not the owner of the infrastructure through which it offers services to its subscribers. MVNOs strike up deals with MNOs and agree to pay a part of revenue generated through their services back to MNOs.

Depending on the capability of an MVNO, it can either choose to deploy its own billing systems, customer service, marketing, and sales personnel, or it could opt to take the help of an MVNO enabler better known as MVNE (Mobile Virtual Network Enabler).

In almost all cases, an MVNO receives resources at a lower price, which allows it to sell its services at a reduced price point to its customer base. As there is no pressure on an MVNO to manage its network resources, it can be more agile in creating its marketing strategy. This is the main reason why most MVNOs are able to create tailor-made plans to attract specific communities.

Advantages of Community-Based Services

Customers tend to like those plans that are devised while keeping their personal interests in mind. For a large-scale MNO, it is almost impossible to create different plans that address every subscriber’s requirements. However, MVNOs operate on a small scale and have no such problem. They actually thrive on serving small communities, which form a major part of their subscriber base. For example, an MVNO can create economical plans with limited voice and data keeping in mind the limited requirements of poorer communities. Due to the low economic price point, these plans will appeal to economically weaker sections in the community.

Decrease in Market Risk with an MNO/MVNO Partnership

Another advantage of an MVNO is that they help in sharing the market risks with an MNO. So, when targeting a specific market, if the service quality goes down, it will impact both the MNO and MVNO. Hence, the losses will be shared till the network improves.

Importance of MVNE in the Operations of Smaller MVNO

An MVNE offers OSS/BSS solutions to the MVNOs along with setting up their virtual network. While bigger MVNOs have their very own billing solutions, the smaller MVNOs can benefit a lot by using MVNE software and partnering with network enablers. This allows even really small MVNOs to carve a niche for themselves and serve communities in a better way.

An MVNE offers OSS/BSS solutions to the MVNOs along with setting up their virtual network. While bigger MVNOs have their very own billing solutions, the smaller MVNOs can benefit a lot by using MVNE software and partnering with network enablers. This allows even really small MVNOs to carve a niche for themselves and serve communities in a better way.

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