“MVNOs are more agile and digital in nature”, he said. And then it happened…
Thoughts on the state of play from MVNOs World Congress 2023.
Last week, I attended the MVNOs World Congress 2023, the ultimate gathering for MVNOs, MNOs serving MVNOs, MVNEs, MVNAs, and vendors in the MVNX industry.
It was great to meet all the regular ‘suspects’, from speakers to analysts who have become more recognizable than my own wife. Of course, there were potential customers as well.
While the conference had interesting and focused content, I couldn't help but notice that many presenters touched on similar issues, albeit from different perspectives.
When Dario Talmesio, a Senior Analyst from Omdia, delved into the challenges of MVNOs and the opportunities, I was almost tempted to whisper “not you too, Dario”, but then he took an interesting turn and started addressing a subject that hadn't received much attention until then- MVNOs and eSIM.
Is eSIM truly an opportunity for MVNOs, or more like a mice trap?
“MVNOs are inherently more agile and digital in nature”, Dario emphasized and urged them to leverage their strengths, such as lean operations, rapid time-to-market for new offerings, expertise in digital channels, and their ability to appeal to tech-savvy customers who readily adopt new technologies.
Dario highlighted the rise of eSIM as a new opportunity for MVNOs to gain access to high-end devices, a segment, and a territory most MVNOs need to fight for.
"... it seems that they, like many MNOs and MVNOs out there, overlooked the significance of getting ready for eSIM."
But then came the unexpected twist.
A few sessions later, two leaders of MVNOs- one from Mobi Hawaii and one from US Mobile (running on the Verizon network), openly discussed their experiences with launching eSIM.
“It was a disaster”, one said. “The worst period in my professional life” the other added. “The week after the launch, churn rates skyrocketed”, “call centers were overwhelmed”… “Everybody wanted to upgrade, and we couldn’t support it”.
Listening to these leaders from reputable companies recount their struggles created a sense of empathy. I wanted to shout (though I had my own speech scheduled later that day), "You're not alone! It happened to many others. It's not you—it's the system."
Preparing for eSIM- underestimate it and it will bite you.
While these MVNOs may have invested time and money into integrating with MNO networks, and hopefully also adopted a decent Cloud- based BBS (amdocs has a great one, did I already mention that?), which will allow them the flexibility to launch any offer, to differentiate and to compete, it seems that they, like many MNOs and MVNOs out there, overlooked the significance of getting ready for eSIM.
In my next blog, I will delve deeper into what it truly means to be prepared for eSIM and why an integrated Cloud BSS and eSIM solution is the right approach to stay ahead of the market. In the meantime, you can ask Melon, one of our customers who chose this path, whether it turned out to be a trap or a springboard to greater business opportunities.
