The Future of MVNOs - Prepaid MVNO

Your global research partner 

The Future of MVNOs 

Strategies to succeed with MVNOs in 

Latin America 

www.informatandm.com

© Informa UK Limited 2012. All rights reserved. 

The contents of this publication are protected by international copyright laws, database rights and other intellectual property rights. The owner of these rights is Informa UK Limited, 

our affiliates or other third party licensors. All product and company names and logos contained within or appearing on this publication are the trade marks, service marks or trading 

names of their respective owners, including Informa UK Limited. This publication may not be:- 

(a) copied or reproduced; or 

(b) lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any way or form without the prior permission of Informa UK Limited. 

Whilst reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information and content of this publication was correct as at the date of first publication, neither Informa UK Limited nor 

any person engaged or employed by Informa UK Limited accepts any liability for any errors, omissions or other inaccuracies. 

Readers should independently verify any facts and figures as no liability can be accepted in this regard - readers assume full responsibility and risk accordingly for their use of such 

information and content. 

Any views and/or opinions expressed in this publication by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and/or opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or 

opinions of Informa UK Limited. 

2 

© 2012 Informa UK Ltd. All rights reserved. www.informatandm.com

Contents 

Understanding the global picture ............................................................................. 4 

The outlook for MVNOs in Latin America .................................................................. 4 

Opportunity for MVNO-led pricing arbitration is low.................................................. 5 

Triple play will remain a major MVNO driver ............................................................ 6 

Beyond the “telecoms MVNO”: The retailer, the financial and the youth MVNO....... 7 

The MVNO quadrant: Global and regional case studies.............................................. 8 

Global MVNO survey .................................................................................................... 10 

Working with Informa 

Informa Telecoms & Media’s strategic insights, key market data and forecasts have led the market for more than 25 years. We 

have 65 analysts in nine research offices offering pragmatic and actionable advice to the leading global players in the telecoms 

and media sector. Our clients represent all parts of the value chain, from telecoms operators to pay-TV providers, from content 

providers to device manufacturers. Our syndicated research and comprehensive databases provide vital data and analysis 

focusing on the global telecoms and media markets, and are widely used and valued by industry professionals and thought 

leaders. We also provide a range of consultancy and bespoke research services, including white papers, webinars, strategy 

sessions and executive presentations. 

For more details on Informa Telecoms & Media and how we can help your company identify future trends and 

opportunities, please contact Marco Esposito, marco.esposito@informa.com or +44 (0) 7884 400 999. 

© 2012 Informa UK Ltd. All rights reserved. www.informatandm.com 3

Understanding the 

global picture 

A new phase of MVNO expansion is beginning 

MVNO markets have gone through various stages 

of development in recent years. Since the first 

introduction of MVNOs in the 1990s and the second 

wave of proliferation in the mid-2000s, the number of 

players has increased and contracted in cycles. The 

attitude of mobile operators has gone through some 

radical changes: Initially, the mobile operators fought 

against MVNO legislation and the MVNOs themselves; 

then they accepted the existence of MVNO players; and 

then they started eagerly seeking new MVNO partners 

and developing aggressive wholesale strategies. 

Informa believes that a rejuvenated phase of expansion 

is beginning. In markets where MVNOs have traditionally 

played a role, typically Europe, Asia Pacific and 

North America, MVNO players are consolidating and 

internationalizing but, despite this, they are continuing 

to grow in many segments. 

There are still many market segments untapped by the 

mobile network operators that are being addressed by 

MVNOs – these include the ethnic markets, data-only 

connectivity, and community-led and retailer-owned 

MVNOs – and there is also a strong push from mobile 

operators wanting to increase their share of mobile 

wholesale revenues. Informa believes that virtually every 

mobile market has the potential to benefit from MVNOs, 

and every mobile operator can derive an advantage from 

MVNOs. 

The global MVNO market will reach 186 million 

subscriptions by the end of 2015. Although North 

Fig. 1: Global, number of MVNO launches, by region, 

1991-2010 

Western Europe 

46% 

Source: Informa Telecoms & Media 

Asia Pacific 

12% 

Eastern Europe 

14% 

Africa 

2% 

Middle East 

2% 

North America 

21% 

Latin America 

3% 

America and Western Europe will still account for the 

vast majority (see fig. 1), new markets are developing 

– Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Asia are all 

experiencing great MVNO interest. 

When their offering is appropriately designed, MVNOs 

can be a win-win-win market: host operators can reach 

additional – actual or potential – customers in a way that is 

more efficient compared with what their own retail networks 

can do; wholesale partners can enrich their existing 

nontelecoms services with mobile connectivity, or extend 

their brands into the telecoms sector; and customers can 

benefit from a more accurately-segmented offering. 

However, the reality is that, in the vast majority of mobile 

markets, MVNOs do not exist at all, while in some markets, 

MVNO activity is still in an embryonic phase. In developed 

MVNO markets, the MVNOs can account for approximately 

15-20% of the customer base, a level that is generally 

considered physiologically sustainable. 

The outlook for MVNOs 

in Latin America 

The market is still embryonic, but there is 

significant potential for growth 

Typically, Latin American MVNOs have been the domain of 

existing telecoms companies keen to offer converged fixed/ 

mobile bundles. The most notable examples include the 

ISP Maxcom and the cable player Megacable in Mexico, 

ISPs UNE and ETB in Colombia, and Telsur/GTD in Chile. 

The first nontelecoms MVNOs appeared only in the 

second half of 2010. Initially, Colombian TV group 

RCN launched Uff, an MVNO offering cheap longdistance 

calls to fixed and mobile numbers in the main 

countries where the Colombian expats live. Then, in 

mid-2011, the region saw the first retailer launch, 

when Costa Rican electronics and furniture retailers 

Grupo Monge and Casa Blanca introduced Fullmovil. 

The mobile network operators (MNOs) have finally started 

to look with interest at the wholesale model – and the 

initial figures are encouraging. For example, Uff in 

Colombia is already a sizable MVNO, with close to 250,000 

subscribers at the end of 2011 (see fig. 2). 

In Brazil, where formal MVNO regulation was passed 

in September 2010, the regulator Anatel granted MVNO 

4 


licenses to the insurance company Porto Seguro and 

the VoIP provider Sermatel Comercio. Both companies 

have teamed up with second-placed operator TIM, which 

provides the network infrastructure, and Datora, a 

mobile-virtual-network enabler (MVNE). More recently, 

Anatel granted the first pure MVNO license to the MVNE 

Sisteer. Besides TIM, other network operators are looking 

with interest at the MVNO model, for example, the market 

leader Vivo. In March, Vivo announced plans to have at 

least two MVNO partners by the end of 2012. In order 

to achieve its objective, the operator created a board 

for wholesale and MVNO operations and is currently 

analyzing proposals from around 30 potential partners. 

The Latin American MVNO market started picking up in 

the second half of 2011, and the strongest activity was 

in Colombia and Chile. In February this year, Chilean 

regulator Subtel received 26 license applications from 

companies interested in launching MVNO operations. In 

April, Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA) inaugurated 

its first MVNO in the Andean country, targeting the 

youth and “youthful” segments with a simple portfolio of 

prepaid data packages and a small but attractive range 

of smartphones. 

So far, VMLA is the only international group with plans to 

launch MVNO operations across the region. In addition 

to Chile, it plans to launch in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, 

Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Bolivia. Interestingly, 

Colombia is likely to have eight MVNOs and three MNOs 

in operation by the end of 2012: In addition to the MVNOs 

already in operation, retailers Exito and Falabella, and 

fixed operator Emcali, have also started discussions to 

find an MNO partner. 

Opportunity for MVNO-led 

pricing arbitration is low 

MVNOs must find ways to offer attractive data 

offers – to the right niche and at the right price 

In traditional MVNO markets, such as Europe, North 

America and Asia, MVNOs have historically targeted 

the prepaid market with a low-cost proposition and 

then tried to attract the more affluent customers. 

International experience shows that the wholesale 

business can bring MNOs significantly higher EBITDA 

margins than retail, by reducing subscriber-acquisition 

cost (SAC) while only slightly lowering ARPU. Typically, 

a market with comparatively high or very high prices 

is more likely to have room for MVNO-led price 

arbitration. Markets with higher levels of churn also 

might offer better opportunities for MVNOs because 

users are more inclined to switch providers (see fig. 3). 

Churn (%) 

Fig. 3: Selected countries, blended churn, 3Q10-3Q11 

4.0 

3.5 

3.0 

2.5 

2.0 

1.5 

Argentina Brazil Colombia Mexico 

France UK US 

3Q10 

4Q10 

1Q11 

2Q11 

3Q11 

Fig. 2: Latin America, selected MVNOs' subscriptions, 

4Q10-4Q11 


Uff 

250 

Maxcom 

UNE EPM 

Telecsa 

Given their pricing environments and churn trends, 

Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and to a lesser extent 

Argentina, would appear well-suited for additional 

Subscriptions (000s) 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

4Q10 

1Q11 

2Q11 

3Q11 

4Q11 

price competition. In all the markets, the lack of 

regulation in mobile termination rates (MTRs) and the 

fact that operators have mostly been left to negotiate 

MTRs among themselves have resulted in the higher 

cost of off-net calls. Brazilian rates are also affected 

by high telecoms-services taxation and, as a result, 

the country has the highest SMS prices in the region. 

Promotional activity, primarily the offering of cheap 

on-net calls, is strong across the region, contributing 


to sustained high levels of multiple-SIM ownership 

and churn. 


Informa, however, believes that for Latin American 

MNOs the option of teaming up with low-cost MVNOs 

to bring price competition to other MNOs is not 

particularly attractive. In the prepaid-dominated Latin 

American markets, the potential negative impact of 

low-cost MVNOs on an already flat or declining ARPU 

is a major concern for MNOs. Latin American MNOs 

will be more interested in teaming up with MVNOs 

that, although helping improve EBITDA margins, can 

also bring additional revenues from unaddressed 

niches willing to use incremental airtime and data 

services (see fig. 4). 

Fig. 4: Selected operators, EBITDA margin, 3Q11 

Margin (%) 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Movistar 

(Argentina) 

Claro 

(Brazil) 

TIM 

(Brazil) 


Telcel 

(Mexico) 

Informa also believes that pricing will be crucial to the 

success of the higher-value data MVNOs. In addition 

to the well-known benefits of the MVNO model, 

higher-value data-focused MVNOs can help provide 

incremental revenues to offset declining ARPU 

levels. Finding the correct pricing levels and models, 

however, is a tough task. As in the case of Virgin 

Mobile in Latin America, data MVNOs will be eager 

to add smartphones to their data plans, but without 

subsidies it can be challenging to meet customer 

demand for the devices at the right price. 

At the same time, MVNOs must be able to negotiate 

good wholesale rates from MNOs for the data they then 

sell at retail. In the retail market, MNOs are moving 

away from flat rates and toward models where they 

charge by actual data consumption, by time or by access 

to selected apps. MNOs themselves are still struggling 

to find efficient ways to price data services in the retail 

market. When it comes time to negotiate wholesale 

data prices, MVNOs face the risk of remaining stuck 

with unfavorable conditions, which could ultimately 

jeopardize their business model. 

Orange 

(France) 

Vodafone 

(UK) 

AT&T 

(US) 

Triple play will remain a 

major MVNO driver 

Challenging fixed-line operators and ISPs 

should exploit the MVNO model to develop more 

competitive offerings 

Most of the early Latin American MVNOs have been driven 

by the opportunity to offer fixed/mobile bundles, especially 

in the most concentrated markets, such as Mexico and 

Colombia (see fig. 5). It is not a coincidence that despite 

the absence of a full regulatory framework, both Movistar 

in Mexico and Tigo in Colombia have taken advantage of 

existing rules allowing telecoms services to be resold to 

build MVNO partnerships with ISPs and cable players. To 

erode shares of strong competitors in their respective 

markets, Movistar and Tigo have established MVNOs 

with fixed operators looking to add value to their bundles 

of voice, TV and Internet service by including mobility. 

Movistar was the first to pursue this strategy, when it 

teamed up with Maxcom at the start of 2008. Similarly, Tigo 

in Colombia has partnered with ISPs UNE EPM and ETB to 

offer mobile broadband services to contract customers. 

For the foreseeable future, Informa expects alternative 

ISPs, especially in the most unbalanced fixed-line 

markets, to retain a strong interest in the MVNO 

model with the aim of increasing customer loyalty 

Fig. 5: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, market 

share and concentration, 3Q11 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Market share (%) 

America Movil Telefonica Millicom Telecom Italia 

Telecom Personal Oi Others* 

Brazil 

Argentina 

Concentration: Herfindahl index 

Colombia 

Mexico 

0.25 0.32 0.51 0.54 

Notes: The Herfindahl index is defined by the sum of the squares of the 

market shares of all firms in the market, where the market shares are 

expressed as fractions. An index below 0.01 indicates a highly competitive 

market. An index below 0.15 indicates an unconcentrated market. An 

index between 0.15 and 0.25 indicates moderate concentration. An index 

above 0.25 indicates high concentration. *Nextel, CTBC and Sercomtel In 

Brazil; Iusacell and Nextel in Mexico; and Nextel in Argentina. Telecom 

Italia owns 22.9% of Telecom Personal in Argentina. 


6 


and reinforcing their offering by bundling products. 

With their knowledge of and expertise in the telecoms 

business, fixed-line players and ISPs remain the most 

likely candidates to buy into the MVNO model at the 

early stages of its development. 

It is no coincidence that the first cable operator to 

launch an MVNO was Megacable in Mexico and that the 

challenger fixed-line operator Axtel is also said to be 

close to launching an MVNO there. The opportunity is 

comparatively weaker in countries where the broadband 

market is more competitive, such as Brazil, and the main 

existing mobile operators can develop converged offers 

through partnering with their own fixed-line counterparts. 

In markets like Brazil, it is the nontelecoms companies 

that are expected to be major players in the MVNO 

business, starting with retailers and financial institutions. 

Beyond the “telecoms 

MVNO”: The retailer, the 

financial and the youth MVNO 

Retailers can help MNOs increase loyalty and 

reduce churn, but negotiations with MNOs will 

be tough 

Beyond the “telecoms MVNO” (e.g., an existing fixed-line 

telecoms player with an MVNO operation), retailers and 

financial institutions have been and remain among the 

strongest candidates to become MVNOs in Latin America 

(see fig. 6). Large and mass-market retailers are 

already key players in the value chain, since they take 

Fig. 6: Brazil, companies interested in launching an MVNO 

Telecoms 

Financial 

GVT, Lebara, Virgin Mobile 

Banco do Brasil, Banco Real 

Santander, Itau, HSBC 

the largest slice of handset sales, especially for prepaid 

users. The combination of a strong brand and a larger 

and far-reaching retail network are the key benefits 

retailer MVNOs could offer MNOs. 

Despite the clear benefits that retailers could bring to 

MNOs, only a handful of international retailers, such as 

supermarket chains Tesco in the UK and Aldi in Germany, 

have launched MVNOs. Retailers are typically focused on 

volumes, have low EBITDA margins and are used to having 

strong negotiating and bargaining power with suppliers, 

factors that can prove to be especially challenging in 

their negotiations with MNOs. Furthermore, retailers will 

naturally target the mass market, which for MNOs raises 

the risk of market-share cannibalization, especially in the 

prepaid-dominated Latin American markets. 

Even so, the retailer model does have potential in the 

region, starting in the geographically larger countries, 

such as Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, where it is more 

challenging for MNOs to develop far-reaching retail 

networks. In addition, retailers can help MNOs increase 

loyalty and reduce churn by using their customer-loyalty 

experience to offer discount and loyalty cards and to 

offer leasing programs for device purchases. As the 

VAS market develops, the retail MVNO is also in a good 

position to develop mobile commerce. 

The m-commerce and m-banking opportunity, alongside 

the retail network, is at the core of the potential value 

proposition of the financial MVNO. The opportunity 

for this type of MVNO varies across Latin America, 

depending on the level of maturity of each market. There 

is certainly scope in the region for prospective ethnic 

MVNOs, targeting communities of migrants and nationals 

with family or friends living abroad to provide financial 

services. Given the reach and needs of the Latin American 

diaspora in Europe and North America, the long-distance 

market offers a good opportunity to add mobile-money 

value-added services (VAS), such as international credit 

transfers, to voice services. 

Retail 

Sports 

Others 

Carrefour, Casas Bahia, 

Pao de Acucar, Walmart 

Sao Paulo FC, Santos FC, 

S.E. Palmeiras, Gremio FBPA, 

Corinthians, CR Vasco de Gama 

Correios, Ipiranga, Globo 

Sources: Sisteer, Datora, Informa Telecoms & Media 

Overall, banking penetration remains on average lower 

than mobile penetration, and telecoms and financial 

regulators are starting to develop rules for the provision 

of mobile-money VAS to those both with and without bank 

accounts. A number of providers of financial services 

have already launched m-banking platforms and could 

be interested in the MVNO model. Since smartphone 

penetration remains about 10% regionally, the MVNO 

opportunity is initially expected to be limited mainly to 


offering voice and basic SMS-enabled financial services 

for low-end and feature phones, but as smartphone 

prices decline, more sophisticated services will appear. 

The financial MVNO, however, faces the same 

challenges as the retailer MVNO in terms of negotiations 

with MNOs, given its natural focus on the mass market. 

In addition, operators are increasingly eager to play 

a role in the m-commerce and m-banking markets. 

The way regulation develops in this area will largely 

determine the development of this MVNO model. 

Regardless of market-structure barriers to MVNOs, given 

the current demographic trends, Informa believes that 

those MVNOs targeting the youth segment have a larger 

addressable market in Latin America than in Europe and 

North America (see fig. 7). Nonetheless, the size of the 

addressable market for youth MVNOs will depend on the 

income levels and local competitive dynamics in each 

country. In the case of Virgin Mobile Latin America, for 

example, the flexibility of pricing models will determine the 

real size of the youth segment addressable in countries 

as different as Chile and Bolivia, especially when MVNOs 

plan to offer unsubsidized devices. The strength of the 

opportunity for the youth MVNO will also vary depending on 

other factors, such as changing regulation. For example, 

with Brazil planning to cut taxes for tablets manufactured in 

the country, there might be an opportunity for data-focused 

MVNOs targeting the devices to the youth segment. 

Fig. 7: Global, estimates of under-15 population 

percentage, end-2010 

Under-15 population (%) 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Source: UN 

Caribbean 

Central America 

South America 

North America 


Northern Europe 

Southern Europe 


The MVNO quadrant: Global and regional case studies 

The viability of MVNOs depends on local market conditions – and on the will and ability of operators to reach out to niches 

of customers with highly relevant services. Informa presents a selection of mini case studies of international and regional 

companies that have succeeded with the MVNO model. 

The incumbent MNO 

Orange, France 

Orange, part of the France Telecom Group, supports 

several MVNOs in France, its home market, including: 

• Virgin Mobile, which recently incorporated two 

quad-play offerings and is regarded as one 

of the most thriving full MVNOs globally. Its 

subscriptions totaled more than 2 million at 

the end of 2011. 

• The M6 MVNO of Metropole Television, 

the third most-watched TV network in the 

country. 

• NRJ Mobile, a 90/10 joint venture between 

banking corporation Credit Mutuel-CIC and 

multimedia group NRJ. Like Virgin Mobile, 

NRJ targets the youth segment. It had 900,000 

subscribers at the end of 2011. 

ICE, Costa Rica 

Before the mobile market was liberalized in late 2011, 

state-owned ICE launched two MVNOs to preempt 

moves by new competitors Claro and Movistar. ICE 

partners with well-established Costa Rican companies 

to reinforce its role and image as a key asset for the 

country. ICE’s network currently supports two MVNOs, 

both with 45,000 subscribers as of April 2011: 

• Fullmovil is owned by Grupo Virtualis, a 

consortium formed by consumer electronics, 

household appliance and furniture retailers 

Grupo Monge and Casa Blanca. 

• Tuyo Movil is owned by national TV station 

Teletica. The first MVNO to launch in Costa 

Rica, it has achieved positive results in both 

quality and customer experience. 

8 


The challenger MNO 

E-Plus, Germany 

German operator E-Plus has been owned by Dutch 

telecommunications operator KPN since 2002. E-Plus’ 

network enables a range of affiliated MVNOs, including 

pan-European MVNO Simyo, which is also present 

in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Spain, and 

supermarket retail MVNO Aldi Talk, both leading the 

no-frills prepaid German market. E-Plus also enables 

ethnic MVNO Ay Yildiz, targeted at the large Turkish 

expat community, as well as blau.de, MedionMobile, 

MyMTVMobile and Base. Its advanced and diversified 

MVNO strategy has been instrumental in allowing 

E-Plus to maintain its market share at just under 20%, 

making it the third-largest operator in Germany. 

Movistar, Mexico 

Telefonica in Mexico was one of the Latin American 

pioneers in the MVNO space, hosting one of the first 

regional MVNOs, by fixed-line operator Maxcom, back 

in 2008. In recent quarters, Telefonica has consolidated 

its MVNO strategy. In July 2011, Megacable launched 

Megacel on Movistar’s network with the plan of targeting 

existing fixed-line clients by offering multiple SIMs to 

family households at preferential rates. At the end of 

2011, Movistar was announced as the MNO partner for 

Virgin Mobile in Mexico. As a challenger operator in a 

market where America Movil has a dominant presence, 

MVNO enablement has become an important strategic 

tool for Movistar in an effort to gain market share. 

The MVNO 

Poste Mobile, Italy 

Poste Mobile, the MVNO of national postal service 

Poste Italiane, is the most significant player in the 

Italian MVNO market, with various voice and data 

offers, mobile phone deals and a large distribution 

network. It offers a host of VAS, primarily m-banking 

and m-payment, such as airtime remittances, coupon 

click-to-buy and m-insurance. Poste Mobile recently 

launched the Zero Pensieri Infinito service plan, which 

includes unlimited voice calls and SMS messages to all 

national destinations plus 1GB of data for a monthly fee 

of €34 (US$44). Poste Mobile is also a rare example of 

an MVNO marketing services specifically to business 

customers. Hosted on the network of second-placed 

Vodafone, it has more than 2 million subscriptions. 

Uff, Colombia 

Uff was launched in late 2010 by TV network RCN 

Television, a unit of media conglomerate Ardila Lulle 

group. Uff has a no-frills business model based on 

offering cheap long-distance calls to the main countries 

where the Colombian diaspora lives. Hosted on Tigo’s 

network, Uff rapidly added 50,000 subscriptions 

in its first two months, reaching a total of 250,000 

subscriptions by the end of 2011 and becoming the 

first sizable MVNO in Latin America. From launch, the 

MVNO has evolved its service proposition by adding two 

prepaid data plans and two BlackBerry plans. Through 

a strategic agreement with Nokia, it also offers the 

“Pack Listo Uff” plan, including a Nokia C3 device with 

unlimited data. 

The MVNE 

Teleena, Netherlands/UK 

Teleena is a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) 

based in the Netherlands and the UK that provides an 

array of services on a wholesale basis to MVNOs and 

corporate customers, including low-cost roaming and 

converged fixed/mobile applications. The company 

is focused on enabling MVNOs to differentiate 

themselves through offering VAS. Teleena owns and 

operates its own BSS/OSS and an all-IP mobile core 

network, which is connected to Vodafone’s radio 

access network in the Netherlands. In Europe, Teleena 

has a partnership with Vodafone in the UK and the 

Netherlands, where it hosts over a dozen MVNOs. 

Datora Telecom, Brazil 

Datora was the first telecoms company to apply for an 

MVNO license from telecoms regulator Anatel in Brazil. 

This license enabled Datora to become the first MVNO 

aggregator (MVNA) in the country. The company has 

international expertise in both connecting operators 

using VoIP and infrastructure management. It is currently 

enabling the country’s second-placed MNO, TIM Brasil, 

and insurance company Porto Seguro to launch the first 

MVNO in Brazil. Datora has also signed an agreement 

with Virgin Mobile to launch operations in the country. The 

company has a strong focus on the machine-to-machine 

(M2M) opportunity in Latin America. 


Global MVNO survey 

Respondents: 145 

Respondent company types: MVNOs, MVNEs, MNO wholesalers, IT and telecoms vendors 

Date: March-April 2011 

Which MVNO types offer the biggest growth potential? (Choose two) 

"Ethnic and retail segments are still big, but new segments are emerging" 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Ethnic/international 

Youth/media and 

entertainment 

Social networks 

Retail/brand extender 

Device/machineto-machine 

Telecoms discount 

Enterprise 

Share of respondents (%) 

What are the top business challenges for MVNOs? (Choose two) 

"The MVNO target market will remain price-sensitive; diversification might be needed" 

• MVNOs will focus more on customer-experience management. 

• Data connectivity will enable diversification in products and services. 

• But price pressure will remain challenging. 

50 


40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Price competition 

Service 

diversification 

Technology 

management 

Customer 

segmentation 

Retail distribution 

Billing and cash 

management 

Device management 

Wholesale-contract 

terms 

10 


Which non-telecoms industries could benefit from MVNO services? (Choose two) 

"The MVNO business model will support vertical sectors’ core business" 

• Media and entertainment companies could benefit from the MVNO business model. 

• The financial-services industry is emerging as a sector that could benefit from MVNOs. 

• Connected-device firms and social networks are also potential beneficiaries. 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Which service features could improve MVNO offerings? (Choose two) 

"An explosion of data offerings is imminent" 

• Three main developments are expected, all customer-centric: 

° ° Customer loyalty 

° ° Data 

° ° Financial services. 

40 


30 

20 

10 

0 

Financial (remittances, 

payment and transfers) 

International roaming 

Mobile broadband 

Cloud-based apps (telephony, 

messaging, backup) 

Social CRM/self care 

Dynamic pricing 

Mobile advertising 

Loyalty programs 

Consumer 

electronics 

Automotive 

Media and 

entertainment 

Financial services 


Social networks 

Other 


ABOUT INFORMA TELECOMS & MEDIA 

Informa Telecoms & Media is the leading provider of business intelligence and strategic marketing solutions to 

global telecoms and media markets. 

Driven by constant first-hand contact with the industry, our 65 analysts and researchers produce a range of 

intelligence services including news and analytical products, in-depth market reports and datasets focused on 

technology, strategy and content. 

For more details on Informa Telecoms & Media and how we can help your company identify future trends and 

opportunities, please contact: 

Marco Esposito 

Informa Telecoms & Media 

Direct: +44 (0) 207 017 5853 

Mobile: +44 (0) 7884 400 999 

Email: marco.esposito@informa.com 

24/7 access to business-critical 

insight, analysis and data 

www.informatandm.com/ic 

Cutting edge information on all fixed 

line, cable and broadband markets 

www.informatandm.com/wbis 

Keeping the world’s leading cellular 

organisations better informed 

www.informatandm.com/wcis 

connect 

Join us on LinkedIn: 

www.informatm.com/linkedin 

Follow us on Twitter: 

www.twitter.com/informatm 

Email us: 

marketing.enquiries@informa.com 

Subscribe to our Connect email 

www.informatm.com/connect

The Future of MVNOs - Prepaid MVNO

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?