Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)

What is MVNO?

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) is a phenomenon where an operator or company does not own a licensed spectrum and generally operates without own networking infrastructure. Instead MVNOs resell wireless services under their brand name, using   regular telecom operator's network with which they have a business arrangements. They buy minutes of  use(MoU) from the licensed telecom operator and then resell minutes of usage to their customers of MVNO.

Usually, MVNO's do not have their own infrastructure; some providers are actually deploying their own Mobile Switching Centres (MSC) and even Service Control Points (SCP) in some cases. Some MVNO's deploy their own mobile Intelligent Network (IN) infrastructure in order to facilitate the means to offer value-added services. In this way, MNVO's can treat incumbent infrastructure such as radio equipment as a commodity, while the MVNO offers its own advanced and differentiated services based on exploitation of their own IN infrastructure.

MVNO's have full control over the SIM card, branding, marketing, billing, and customer care operations. While sometimes offering operational support systems (OSS) and business support systems (BSS) to support the MVNO, the incumbent mobile operators most keep their own OSS/BSS processes and procedures separate and distinct from those of the MVNO.

An example for MVNO is Virgin Mobile. Virgin Mobile plc is a mobile phone service provider operating in the UK, Australia and Canada, and the US. The company was the world's first Mobile Virtual Network Operator, launched in the UK in 1999. It does  not maintain its own network, and instead has contracts to use the existing network(s) of other providers. In the UK, Virgin  Mobile uses the T-Mobile network. In the US, the Sprint network is the carrier. In Australia, Virgin Mobile operates on the  Optus network. In Canada, it uses the Bell Mobility network. These networks use different technology (GSM in the UK and  Australia and CDMA in the US and Canada).

Business Models for MVNOs

Reseller:

A Reseller focuses on sales and the customer interface, leveraging its close customer relationships, strong brand, or sales and distribution channels. The Reseller adds value by linking a mobile offering with existing non-mobile products or

services. Resellers do not operate mobile telecommunications components or infrastructure, but buy the necessary services from a partner, which may be an MNO, an MVNE, or a Service Operator. A Reseller’s products and services, along with its pricing structure, will typically reflect its partner’s offerings. The partnership agreement is often based on sales commission or “retail minus” wholesale pricing. However, as resellers generally have an amortized cost base they can use a new, incremental consumer pricing model that is both complementary and competitive with their host MNO. The main advantage of the Reseller approach is that market entry is relatively straightforward because the model is simple to implement and attractive to network partners (that is the host MNO). The model appeals to prospective network partners because the Reseller’s customers use SIM cards provided by the partner MNO or MVNE, making network switching impractical and creating churn resistance. In addition, the partner usually maintains all the customer details for billing purposes. Resellers can thus benefit from adding mobility to its proposition, but must work beyond this to sustain long term growth. There is little scope to innovate beyond theservice offerings available from the network partner.

The service operator:

The Service Operator, an intermediate model between the Reseller and Full MVNO, takes on greater responsibility for billing, customer management and service provisioning, as shown in Table 1. The Service Operator’s objective of building services differentiated from those of Resellers, other Service Operators and MNOs, drives the need for a close customer relationship. The use of branded SIM cards, along with its own prefixes and number ranges can help a Service Operator create the perception that it is independent of other mobile service providers.

However, the Service Operator is effectively tied to its host MNO because changing host would involve the fairly impractical step of exchanging customers’ SIM cards. Unlike the Reseller, the Service Operator owns its customers and accrues the associated goodwill, MNOs core network. The Service Operator approach provides more flexibility and control than the Reseller model, but suffers from increased technical complexity

in its implementation. Technical complexity arises because the Service Operator takes on responsibility for its own IT and network systems. Less obvious, is the issue of interfacing with the host MNO. At first sight, the Service Operator is using interfaces similar to those in the host’s infrastructure. However, complexity arises because these interfaces may not be designed to accommodate external systems, particularly if the MNO has a legacy infrastructure (true for many MNOs.) Consequently, MNOs may be less keen to support Service Operators. These technical issues and the implementation of service delivery systems, such as a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), real-time communications systems (for example IMS), an e-mail platform, or WAP gateway, often results in Service Operators outsourcing their infrastructure delivery and management. Service Operators, unlike Resellers, may compete with their host MNO on price. If the Service Operator controls service delivery, it may also be competing on higher margin services and some MNOs may be less likely to enter into a partnership. This makes it important that before setting-out to attract a host MNO, the prospective Service Operator creates a proposition that is attractive to the host MNO and to develop a strong partnership offering with clear synergies benefiting the host MNO. While a Service Operator enjoys more opportunities for long term growth than the Reseller, this growth is limited because new services, such as SIP-based services and Voice over IP (VoIP), require core network components controlled by the host MNO.

Full MVNO

Unlike the Reseller and Service Operator, the Full MVNO is different from an MNO principally because it does not have its own Radio Access Network (RAN). A Full MVNO will maintain core network and service platforms, as well as have its own International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) codes, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, numbering space and interconnection rights and responsibilities. As with the Service Operator, a Full MVNO owns its customers and accrues the associated goodwill. A Full MVNO has three main advantages over the Service Operator. It can terminate calls, flexibly select the most appropriate host MNO, and can innovate at the leading edge, ahead of other players in the market. The ability to terminate calls may provide the Full MVNO with new margin opportunities because of differences in incoming call revenues and outgoing call costs. These opportunities are not available to Resellers or Service Operators. The margins arise from the interconnection arrangements in the wholesale agreement that the Full MVNO has with its host MNO. The Full MVNO gains additional independence from its host MNO through the ability to switch host MNO without changing its customers’ SIM cards. The Full MVNO can achieve this because it has its own Mobile Network Code (MNC), against which the physical network is defined, and its own numbering system, thus its own IMSI numbers on customer SIM cards. The Full MVNO model involves a more complex infrastructure, comprising core network, service creation and delivery platforms and

CRM/Billing systems, making its implementation and operation more challenging. However, the Full MVNOs interfaces to its host MNO can be considerably less complex than those required by a Service Operator. This is because the Full MVNO interfaces with its host MNO using the same well-defined interfaces (such as intra-public land mobile network [PLMN] backbone network [Gn], or inter-PLMN backbone network [Gp]) that all MNOs and fixed line operators use when exchanging calls. The Full MVNOs independence means it can shop around for the best network deal, whether that is driven by radio network capability (2G versus 3G), coverage, capacity or price. The Full MVNOs control of its customers, pricing, service offering and the ability to implement leading edge technologies means it can achieve high levels of service innovation, beyond those of Resellers or Service Operators.

Who can become MVNO?

·         Mobile operators planning to enter international market

·         Companies with strong brand names

·         Companies who could not obtain 3G licenses

·         Companies from telecom, media, and internet

Current scenario in MVNO space: Possibilities in India

Mobile Virtual Network Operator model is likely to be a reality in India. Industry pundits believe that MVNOs are one of the best suited alternative strategies for the service providers with a dream to encash on data services, but could not get spectrum for 3G services.
A recent report titled 'Global MVNO Outlook 2010-2015' by Ovum finds global MVNO connections are forecast to increase from 52.6 million in 2009 to 85.6 million in 2015, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5%, and a large portion of it will be contributed by not only matured markets in Asia-pacific, but also emerging markets like India.
Indian operators too believe that the operators who did not make any 3G wins have not lost the battle yet as alternative strategies such as leveraging the existing EDGE technology, intra-circle roaming arrangements and MVNO models can help them realise their data strategies. In Asia-Pacific, Ovum expects MVNO revenue to total to USD 980 million by 2015, an increase of 10% from 2010.

References:

MVNO- http://telecomspace.com

Voice and Data. MVNO an alternative strategy for Indian SPs who missed 3G bids. August 2010

MVNO white paper. http://www.mobilein.com