Mobile Virtual Network operator Enabler (MVNE)

Last week we ended with discussing MVNO’s (Mobile Virtual Network Operators). Today we will take a look a what constitutes an MVNE.

MVNE (Mobile Virtual Network operator Enabler): a company that “enables” MVNO’s. In order to “enable” an MVNO, the enabler builds a service platform, which provides billing, care, logistics, and carrier interfaces. By contrast, Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile, probably the most successful MVNO to date, has built out their own infrastructure, at a cost estimated to be $40-50 millions. It took them more than two years to get to market by going this route. An enabler, or MVNE, builds out a shared platform, which is offered to multiple MVNOs, thus allowing them to avoid the huge capital cost of building out their own infrastructure and at the same time, getting them to market faster. An MVNO enabled by an MVNE can get to market in as little as three or four months at a cost of a few million, depending on how complex/feature-laden their offerings are.

For more information visit: http://www.mobilein.com/MVNE_White_Paper.pdf