INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Competition in the UK mobile market has never been as intense as it is today
sector and reduce prices for consumers.But Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) play a vital role in this equation
Virgin Mobile, Tesco Mobile and Sky are but three major MVNOs to have had an impact, with numerous smaller MVNOs helping to serve market
niches.All four major networks host at least one MVNO and the operators themselves are getting in on the act, with Vodafone launching the
VOXI sub-brand to serve younger customers and Three offering no-frills SMARTY SIM-Only plans.MVNO marketAll of this accounts for a vibrant
Meanwhile, the abolition of roaming charges within the European Union poses a threat to margins.Although mobile network operators (MNOs)
compete with MVNOs at a retail level for customers, there is no desire to see anyone fail
After all, the loss of a wholesale customer is a loss of income.At MVNOs Europe, there was an acknowledgement that both sides of the divide
needed to work together to ensure everyone could thrive
challenge."Data has been growing at a rate of between 20 and 30 per cent depending on the segment for a few years now
It could be a wholesale tariff, it could be a network slice [with 5G], it could be revenue share
few years, but I see a nice playing ground for multiple small niche partners and they need efficient systems to plug into
There has been some concern among MVNOs that MNOs are slow to react to market trends, something which can have a knock-on effect on their
For example, we offer fraud and credit risk services and we launched an MVNO with Superdrug [earlier this year]
Its experience is in retail, not telecoms, and they have two million loyalty subscribers
It found these customers would be willing to adopt a Superdrug mobile service if it was available
challenges facing MVNO as a result of reduced roaming income
revenue source but have also increased data use abroad.Once again, the message from mobile operators was a willingness to work with MVNO
partners to find a model that helps solve these challenges
short-term pain caused by the loss of roaming revenue, long-term income will increase as consumers become more comfortable using their
short-term but can still gain as operators work to reduce costs.Three is keen to point out that it started offering inclusive roaming before
the legislation came into effect and therefore its costs are below the regulated rate in the EU, and it has favourable agreements with
on either side of the divide will not be required to offer access to their networks at a regulated rate and this could mean higher costs for
consumers.However, there is a belief among operators that little will change regardless of the outcome of negotiations, with Switzerland
