The Secret to Starting a Successful MVNO

Today, more new MVNO are being started than ever before. Fierce Wireless, an online publication reports that new MVNOs are being launched every week and interest in this business type is eclipsing the 2005-2006 craze that saw numerous high-profile MVNO startups. With numerous new entities rushing start their own MVNOs, many will inevitably fail to make a mark in the long run. To succeed in this competitive space, startups need to plan meticulously and identify the right niche in the market. Although the process is similar to starting any other business, they are unique procedures that you need to weather to start your own MVNO. If you are mulling starting an MVNO, it is important to identify the challenges that may curtail your success. Read on to explore the process, the unique challenges that await you, and get tips on how to smoothly start your own MVNO.

Starting Your Own MVNO – Similar to Starting Other Businesses

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To start your own MVNO, you will in  in many respects follow the same procedures like when starting any other business. To succeed, the following steps are critical:

Carving Out a Niche

It is likely that your up and coming MVNO will offer services that eerily similar to the offerings of other players already in the business. While the prospect of facing stiff competition discourages many potential entrepreneurs, it also presents opportunities to creative players. The only viable strategy for most new MVNOs is carving out a niche in the market and chipping away at and winning over customers from the other established providers. Indeed data from Strategy Analytics indicates that MVNOs in the current market conditions succeed by focusing on addressing particular market segments or value propositions.

MVNOs can thrive when they identify a certain set of services or pricing models that are not currently in the market. But deploying this strategy requires extensive knowledge about the set of customers that you will target. This insight is what will enable the company to tailor its offerings to the unique needs of the target segment. Common niches that can be targeted in the current environment include the following niches:

infrastructure MVNOs

These types of MVNOs focus on covering an area where major network providers don’t reach. For example, an MVNO may focus on providing the infrastructure to cover a mountain range where other network operators have no reach.

Retail MVNOs

These types of MVNOs target supermarkets and departmental stores to find subscribers to buy their sim cards.

Advertising-based MVNOs

These offer discounted services and some free services and in return they get access to advertise or subscribers devices.

Discount MVNOs

These target deal hunters. Such companies only offer basic services like voice and text. Although such companies get little earnings per subscriber, the hope to get enough subscribers to get a reasonable profit.

Getting the Tech In Place

MVNOs thrive on technology and you need to put in place the infrastructure and software you will need to serve your customers before getting started. You will need to set up your IT platform and get your billing in place. It is at this point that the company also sets up a CRM, customer care and network management systems. You can be able to save time and human resources by outsourcing billing, customer care, and similar services. Our system Telgoo5 can free up an MVNO’s human resources to focus on other aspects of the business. We can handle the Call Detail Records (CDRs) for both real-time interface (prepaid) and batch process (postpaid) subscribers. We can also handle your billing, data analytics, and other aspects of the technology platform.

At this point, you can also set up the website where subscribers can sign up for your services. It is worth noting that it is important for a new MVNO to identify and only invest in the right technology tools for a company of its size. Underinvestment could result into service failure due to overloading. Overinvestment, on the other hand, can bleed the company dry. The easiest way to ensure that new MVNOs invest in what is enough is by linking up with a good OSS system. Our platform Telgoo5 allows access just what you need at the time. We can take care of your billing, CRM, subscriber website, customer care, and everything you need to get started. Partnering with us can help you to launch your MVNO in as few as four weeks instead of months.

Starting Your Own MVNO – The Unique Challenges

A Potentially Risky Business

A measure of risk is involved when starting any type of business. But the sheer complexity of the MVNO launching process coupled with intricacies involved in making partnerships and the fierce competition that awaits new entrants connive to make starting a new MVNO an especially challenging venture. The fast rate at which telecommunications technology becomes obsolete means that you risk investing in technology and fail to recoup the investment costs. Successful MVNOs reduce risk by targeting a specific niches. They make and strictly follow a plan that addresses the needs of subscribers in that particular niche. A good platform like Telgoo5 can enable you to scale according to your business needs. This will enable your business to avoid paying for resources they currently don’t need.

Getting Licenses

To start your own MVNO, you will encounter a number of challenges that are peculiar to the telecommunications sector. To start a new MVNO, you will need to register and be certified by the right authorities. Being certified will enable you to get MSISDN and IMSI blocks. In the US, this certification is done by the FCC. This process will is critical if you are to start operations. Telgoo5 platform meets and exceeds all the license and regulatory requirements. We have helped a number of MVNOs to fasttrack the certification process and would be happy to help MVNO startups that need guidance during this process.

Making Partnerships

The MVNO business type thrives on partnerships. You will need to work with mobile carriers or aggregators to get subscribers. Many MVNOs startups soon learn that the most difficult part starting operations is not getting capital or even setting up the technology platform. Inking contract with big telecom companies is perhaps the single toughest feast to accomplish.

Telecom companies usually insist on certifying different aspects of MVNO operations before committing to working with them. These certifications processes usually take months of back and forth dealings and they may put a tremendous strain on the patience of the new startup owners. However, some MVNOs may be able to bypass some of these processes by linking up with with MVNEs and other partners. The MVNO can then utilize their existing platforms carrier agreements to get started. Our platform Telgoo5 is already integrated with all the major carriers. We also have partnerships with a number of of aggregators and MVNEs. Signing up at our platform will help you to save time and money and you will be able to start operations in a couple of weeks.

Setting up an MVNO is a potentially complex endeavor that involves planning, setting up platforms, linking up with suppliers and, getting the required certifications. However, if you link up with a good OSS parner, the process can be dramatically simplified and you stand to save a lot of time and money along the way. At Telgoo5, we provide billing, CRM, customer care, and more services to MVNOs and other telecom companies. Over the years, we have helped new MVNOs to flourish. Whether you are an established MVNO, a new company, or just exploring ways to get started, we can tailor our services to fit your needs. Contact us to explore ways we can partner today.