A new MVNO model is possible!
I wrote the first articles in this series back on August 5, August 12, and October 14, 2024. So why has this final instalment—already teased in Part III—taken so long to materialize? Simply put, we needed time to define what the future of MVNOs actually looks like. And who gets to define that...
Shape Shifters – MVNOs as Digital Transformation Catalysts
Introduction In 1995, Treacy and Wiersema published a framework called Value Disciplines in their work “The Discipline of Market Leaders.” The centre of attention is the nature of the paths to creating value. In this framework they propose three paths: Customer Intimacy, Operational Excellence...
Travel eSIM Distribution Strategy: How Brands Build Channels That Scale
What the market learned about channel sequencing, product readiness, and the conflict nobody plans for. There is a pattern in travel eSIM distribution. Brands build the eSIM product, open an API for resellers, get listed on marketplaces - before the offer can sell on its own. The product can now...
Why technology parity is a must for MVNOs today
What’s the most important clause to put into an MVNO wholesale agreement with an MNO? A question that comes up in every masterclass I run, all over the world. It’s a tough question to answer as wholesale contracts are complex. But certainly, in my ‘top 5’ of most important clauses, is one that...
AI 2026 Roadmap — Phase 1 Execution
Introduction In the previous article “MVNOs’ Route to Bridging the AI Chasm” established WHAT MVNO leaders should do in 2026 to turn prior AI pilots into production and achieve real financial outcomes in their operations. Following, article “From AI Pilots to Profits: 2026 Roadmap for MVNOs”...
Brazil Mobile Market: Shifting Dynamics
Mobile telephony in Brazil in 2025: moderate growth and gradual change in dynamics between MNOs and MVNOs The Brazilian mobile telephony market ended 2025 with modest growth. The total connections base grew by just over 2.5% during the year, a pace that confirms a trend observed in recent years:...
MVNOs at MWC 2026 Special Edition
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Mobile World Congress being hosted in the beautiful city of Barcelona and believe it (or not because I scarcely can) it’s my 15th year attending this undeniably important event. MWC is absolutely a vibe - whether it’s your vibe or not - it holds a power over...
When advertising moves inside AI telco’s old playbook starts to fray
The telecommunications industry has long sold mobile plans the same way. A grid of tiles a price in bold, a stack of gigabytes and a short list of inclusions. The format has barely changed since the early days of online commerce. While prices have fallen, gig allocation has increased and network...
Where Control Creates Value: Why Flexibility and Visibility are the New Competitive Edge
Having spent a lot of time with MVNOs and IoT connectivity businesses, I can see that the conversation has changed over time. A few years ago, most of the discussions held centred around things such as wholesale rates, roaming agreements, launch timelines, and how quickly a new offer could be...
A Business Plan: What Is It Really For?
Turning Your Business Case into a Winning Host Agreement In our day-to-day work as consultants, we receive countless requests for support, that is, for the provision of services, all of which fundamentally require a well-structured and thoroughly developed business plan. Clearly, my objective is...
Solving Global IoT Connectivity challenges for Enterprises through the MVNE-MVNO Collaboration
Introduction Enterprises are accelerating their adoption of IoT in order to support the growing demands of remote operations & monitoring, digital transformation initiatives, improvements in network infrastructure landscape and the rollout of commercial 5G, especially 5G Standalone / 5G Advanced....
From AI Pilots to Profits: 2026 Roadmap for MVNOs
Introduction As MVNOs head into 2026, the talk about AI needs to shift from just ideas to making it work. People in our industry don’t doubt anymore about the importance of AI . The real challenge now is figuring out how to turn it into actual business value that can be measured. While generative...
Navigating the Shifting Sands of IoT Connectivity
Until recently, many IoT MVNOs found competitive differentiation in their technical capabilities to address enterprise and OEM pain points that MNOs were largely unable to address. Within their own domestic markets, MNOs may not have been be able to secure national IoT roaming agreements....
3 payment metrics MVNOs should track
As fraud challenges escalate and customer acquisition costs climb to $200-400 per subscriber, understanding your payment performance is a competitive necessity. Here are three payment metrics every MVNO should track in 2026. 1. Approval rate: the revenue you're capturing Why it matters: Your...
The 5 Things US MVNOs Must Get Right in 2026
2024 & 2025 were the years the MVNO business stopped being 'cheap gigabytes resold at scale' and became something very different. The market is shifting under our feet: travel eSIMs are exploding, network APIs are opening, 5G SA is finally real, and AI is no longer a buzzword but a cost-saver,...
Why Modern MVNOs are built on CRM, Not just Networks
If you’d asked an MVNO founder ten years ago what really mattered, the answer would probably have been coverage, wholesale rates, and launch speed. Still important. Always will be. But today, spend time inside an MVNO and the conversation quickly shifts to different questions:Why do customers drop...
The hidden complexity of IoT eSIM rollouts: what vendors don’t tell you
When GSMA released the SGP.32 specification for IoT eSIM, it promised something elegant: eSIM for IoT devices with vendor-agnostic flexibility. No more physical SIM logistics, no vendor lock-in, just clean profile management across your device fleet. That's the promise. The reality? More...
5 Steps to a Successful Go-to-Market Strategy
Launching an MVNO in the US is not rocket science. Yes, there are many decision points along the launch path that will determine the ultimate success of your business. No, not all contracts, vendors, and platforms are built the same. However, most MVNO founders will stumble their way through the...
Why Connectivity Alone Isn’t Enough for IoT MVNOs
For years, being an MVNO meant one thing above all: connectivity.SIMs, coverage maps, rates, SLAs. If you could deliver reliable connectivity at the right price, you had a business. In IoT, that model is no longer enough. As IoT deployments scale and mature, customers are no longer asking “Which...
MVNOs’ Route to Bridging the AI Chasm
The next chapter in our MVNO/telecom AI series. We began by mapping the most valuable AI applications for MVNOs and how to turn them into real business impact. We then showed why MVNEs and MVNAs sit at the center of the data opportunity and how better data flows unlock better decisions. Following,...
How to build a defensible MVNO business case
MVNO Wholesale reality of pricing, risk and trust MVNO wholesale partnerships often start with networking, conversations and building trust. You exchange views, you test whether there is alignment and whether it makes sense to continue talking. That stage is important, but it only takes you so...
Beyond coverage: Why D2D and NTN are game-changers for MVNOs
Introduction: The coverage illusion For decades, connectivity strategy has been driven by a simple assumption: if there is network coverage, services will follow. Yet coverage alone does not guarantee continuity, affordability, or business viability, especially outside dense urban centres. As 5G,...
Brazil IoT Market: The Reality 2025
Even with all the challenges, the cellular IoT/M2M connectivity market continued to grow in Brazil. Data reported through Oct/25 shows an increase of more than 6 million connections, with over 20% year-to-date growth driven by MVNOs. The MNOs’ growth represented more than 4.3 million connections,...
MVNO Trends in 2025 and what 2026 is quietly forcing everyone to confront
I have been in a lot of MVNO conversations over the last few years. Across all the major continents. Different markets, different rules, different levels of maturity. Costs are getting tighter. Margins are thinner than anyone planned for. And tolerance for complexity is basically gone. MVNOs are...