Mvnos Europe: Delivering Launch & Growth Strategies to the Vibrant European Mvno Market
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MVNOS EUROPE: DELIVERING LAUNCH & GROWTH STRATEGIES TO THE VIBRANT EUROPEAN MVNO MARKET EVENT SUMMARY BY ANALYSYS MASON analysysmason.com Contents Introduction p 3 MVNO Europe Day 1 p 4 MVNO Europe Day 2 p10 Meet the presenters p15 Analysys Mason’s MVNO experience p16 About Analysys Mason p17 MVNOs World Congress p18 Introduction Knect365 held the latest instalment of their popular MVNOs series of industry conferences in London in November. I was delighted to attend the Analysys Mason has been supporting conference, to listen to the wide range operators and other stakeholders, of speakers and to join delegates in including MVNOs, in the telecoms conference discussions, both in panel sector for over thirty years, from our sessions and during networking offices around the globe. Our breaks. expertise includes MVNO market opening policies, MVNO launch, The speakers at the conference MVNO development and growth highlighted the breadth of success, strategies and wholesale re- future-thinking and expertise which negotiation and re-hosting. IAN STREULE drives the MVNO industry forwards, Partner, Consulting [email protected] and the dialogue reinforced the open I hope you find this short report on the and collaborative partnerships conference interesting. I would be between MVNOs, their peers, and pleased to hear your feedback, and to their suppliers. But there are also meet some of you at the MVNOs areas of our industry which present World Congress in 2018. challenges to virtual operators, host networks and policy makers. These issues were put forwards by a number of speakers during the panels and presentations, although solutions are hard to find: the EC’s international roaming regulation, the inexorable growth in data traffic, and the sometimes tricky sometimes cooperative relationships between MVNOs and their wholesale hosts. 3 DAY 1 1.1 Workshop and Business Breakfast, hosted by the International Telecommunications Union The pace of change in telecoms is unrelenting; finding and draft reporting. The objectives are to ITU teams work on many fronts to build standardise and reduce costs for the industry, international consensus on the diverging, facilitating consensus, and supporting new- evolving issues, to help stakeholders stay comers. But apps appear and spread quickly ahead of the curve. with new updates being released all the time – is the ITU fast enough? Meetings are the answer to Regulation lags technology, but the ITU this: the coordination work progresses, although standards body works tirelessly to support there is a catch-up game. Some MVNOs are industry by forging common understanding on members, but not many are, and the ITU standards, supporting rapid deployment. The encourages MVNOs to join the conversation. process for the ITU starts with a conversation between two parties (large, small, government, regulator), and then moves to more detailed fact 1.2 Panel discussion: Evaluating the results of a capped Europe Has the EC’s aspirational roaming regulation The MNO view: MNOs are supportive of MVNOs benefitted consumers who travel abroad, at in their markets, on a national level, but are not the expense of MVNOs who can no longer prepared to pick up the overseas bill. In some (profitably) offer that roaming? markets, MVNO obligations raise contradictions with national regulations, and not all MVNOs The panel consisted of representatives of take their host roaming services. MVNOs, MVNEs, MVNO bodies, wholesale network operators and the European The Industrialist’s View: the ITU has been Commission. Opinions were varied and strongly working on international standards for held. wholesale rates. The MVNO view: the latest roaming regulations The EC view: The regulations are being reviewed have certainly been good for consumers, from 2018/19, and there are safeguards on but have had a pronounced negative affect SIM purchasing and fair usage. Operators with on MVNOs. MVNOs have struggled to serve a predicted 3% EBITDA impact can initiate enterprise customers who demand inclusive discussions to obtain exceptions. EU-wide roaming, have become generally a less Final thought: it was claimed that operators attractive proposition, and have been driven into in 10 EU countries have requested exception domestic markets. A defensive strategy is not discussions. Does this amount to success or forward innovation. failure? 4 1.3 Arvind Balakrishnan, Plintron, Partnership model for MVNO launches Plintron sees the challenges facing MVNO in gives it a clear position from which to see the terms of cost and regulatory burdens, and challenges. It has developed a partnership offers support to MVNOs via its partnership model to support MVNOs and MVNEs with cloud model. deployment models to reduce operating costs, flexibility on regulatory requirements, support Plintron’s activity in 25 countries around the for adjacent segments (e.g. ISP, voice providers, world, with 90 million subscriber activations, small cells, unified communications). 1.4 Panel discussion: Telco operators enforce anti- terror laws SIM registration is a key pillar of anti-terror registration over multiple channels, and can laws, but implications for operators are far add significant costs. Subscriber who do not act, from certain. and become cut off may churn, but almost all will come back to a mobile subscription of some The registration requirement can offer a window sort: sometimes consumers don’t act until it is of opportunity for service upsell, but equally too late. risks creating fragmentation and gaps between nations; it creates challenges in coordinating 1.5 Mike Conradi, DLA Piper, How to prepare for the unknown that is Brexit The effects of Brexit on the UK are uncertain, The bad news for the everyone else: the EU may with potentially good news and potentially become (much) more interventionist, since UK bad news; but Mike thinks that the UK will be was liberalising force in setting rules. a sorely missed force for moderation in the setting of EU telecoms rules. In other news: with no EU oversight of Ofcom, will anyone else do this? And there will be a The good(ish) news for the UK: net neutrality, divergence of EU and UK law over time. This impact on MVNOs, and co-investment. makes UK regulatory decisions more open to challenge More good(ish) news for the UK(?): a less rigid approach, potential access regulations for Meanwhile: the UK is in limbo, with no MVNOs, possibility of deeper subsidy without opportunity to challenge issues until exit from state-aid rules, and UK decision-making on the EU has happened. mergers. 5 1.6 Paul Bassa, Digitalk, Customer lifecycle management and value maximisation Identifying and automating specific Communications maintenance phase: stay in opportunities to increase value during the control, retain, engage in self-support, and give product and customer life cycle. loyalty programmes. Why: thin margins, competitive markets, already Then upsell: deepening and broadening simplified services. relationship, identifying specific opportunities to increase value (avoiding costly untargeted How: improve customer engagement using an programmes). This supports continuous automated process with ongoing engagement to automated processes of segmentation, build value and usage. understanding, and added value. 1.7 Helen Hoult, BT Wholesale, Why strategic partnerships allow you to keep your eye on the customerr Treat your partnership like your business, and are: create a great user experience; match scale not like your competitor. and customisation to give broader and longer- term opportunities; treat your partnership like BT supports ASDA mobile and the Utility your business; and develop a variety of retail Warehouse, and attributes its successful MVNO models underpinned by relationships with approaches to dedication to products and host network. services, and to customers. The golden rules 1.8 Andy McDonald, ACI Worldwide, Managing fraud and payments for customer retention Getting your payment process right will help of revenues. Customers want a seamless reduce customer abandonment and fraud risks. payment experience: all channels, always on, always reliable. The payment mechanism is There is a value retention challenge: increase fundamental to the business but payment payment engagement while reducing fraud, methods must not cause abandonment or raise and react to OTT providers taking a slice fraud concern risks. 6 1.9 Panel discussion: Developing game-changing MVNO strategies that focus on customer service and customer experience Use your own customers and device interface to not just for transactions, but also customer maximise customer service and experience. engagement (e.g. rewards, control, optimisation, fault and activity targeting via device). However, The panel discussed different ways to deliver it is important with a transparent customer- customer service and maximise customer facing image to be fair, flexible, understandable, lifetime value. Positive developments include honest; and important that the whole company crowdsourcing the customer care function: has this ethos. 1.10 Simon Tan, uCloudlink, Delivering borderless mobile access over the top If MNOs become the ‘bit pipes’, then MVNOs according to coverage availability. MVNOs will need to become over-the-top service can then offer the best coverage and the best providers without network borders. wholesale price offer, globally. This can’t happen now due to SIM card ownership; MVNOs need We should accept that the OTT concept will to embed the functionality in a partnered win, and that MNOs become the bit pipes. In smartphone, and have an open platform sitting this case, MVNOs should become OTT-MVNOs, behind the service. This can already be done buying from the MNOs offering the best price, today with global Wi-Fi services. 1.11 Panel discussion: Evaluating the significant price discrepancies in the European marke Can you compare cheap, free and unlimited The panel discussed mobile data pricing, when packages across countries? Yes, but some and how it might be free (or very low cost) and consumers will have to pay for network why network investment needs to be recovered investment in the future, so data can’t all one way or another.