Published Date: Jun 2018 | Report ID: GMI160 | Authors: Preeti Wadhwani, Saloni Gankar



Report Format: PDF | Pages: 300 | Base Year: 2017

Industry Trends

MVNO Market size surpassed USD 55 billion in 2017 and is poised to grow at a CAGR of over 12% between 2018 and 2024. The continuously growing demand for low-cost data and voice services is driving the market growth.



This is encouraging the service providers, who purchase the network services from the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) at wholesale rates and sell these as bundled services at lower rates than those of MNOs. These services enable the cable operators to offer targeted products & brands and reduce the customer churn rate, thus compelling the MNOs to switch to these services.



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Growing number of mobile subscribers and increasing penetration of smartphones are expected to positively impact the MVNO market demand. According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, the growth in the mobile traffic across the world was registered to be 70% between the end of the first quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017. Majority of the growth in the mobile traffic is attributed to rapidly increasing use of smartphones, eventually attracting newer vendors in the industry.



Declining profit margins are expected to restrain the market size. The companies are unable to lower their costs at the same speed as they are lowering the prices. Furthermore, the demand for voice and SMS that are high revenue-generating segments is declining rapidly, further affecting the industry growth.



MVNO Market Report Coverage Report Coverage Details Base Year: 2017 Market Size in 2017: 55 Billion (USD) Historical Data for: 2013 to 2017 Forecast Period: 2018 to 2024 Forecast Period 2018 to 2024 CAGR: 12% 2024 Value Projection: 120 Billion (USD) Pages: 300 Tables, Charts & Figures: 282 Geographies covered (28): U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya Segments covered: Business Model and Region Companies covered (58): MVNO profiles, -Eleven Speak Out Wireless, AirVoice Wireless, Anywhere SIM, Asahi Net, Asda Mobile, Best Cellular, Boom! Mobile, Boost Mobile, BT Mobile, ChatSIM, CJ HelloVision, Consumer Cellular, Cricket Wireless, Dataxoom, Drillisch Telecom, Eco Mobile, Exetel, FreedomPOP, Freenet AG, GiffGaff, Japan Communications, Inc., KDDI Corporation, Kajit, Lyca Mobile, Net, ONO Spain, Ortel Mobile, Project Fi, Polkomtel Plus, Red Pocket Mobile, ROK Mobile, Sipgate Wireless GmbH, SpeedTalk Mobile, Straight Talk, Talktalk, Tracfone Wireless, Inc., Truphone GmbH, Voiceworks GmbH, MNO profiles, América Móvil, AT&T, BT Mobile, China Mobile International, Etisalat, MTN Group, NTT DoCoMo, O, Orange, SK Telecom, Sprint, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Telekom, Tesco Mobile, Three UK, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone Growth Drivers: Increasing demand for low-cost calling and data services

Increasing adoption of these services in retail sector

Increasing number of business subscribers

Growing business expansion and revenue generation opportunities for the network operators

Growing competition amongst Million (USD)Os in the U.S.

Penetration and adoption of 5G services in Europe

Increasing adoption of IoT in Germany

Improving service & network capabilities in Asia Pacific

Increasing B2B opportunities in China

Increasing number of wireless subscribers in China and India Pitfalls & Challenges: Reducing profit margins

Low service quality and prioritization by Million (USD)Os

Growing competition and increasing need to invest in marketing

Low quality of P2P services due to lack of retail infrastructure in Asia Pacific

Lack of readiness of Million (USD)Os in Latin America and MEA

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Market by Business Model

The light MVNO business model in the market is expected to reach USD 30 billion valuation by 2024 due to high profitability and increasing customer focus in this business model.



In this model, the MNOs give the complete ownership of the clients to the vendors. This allows companies to invest in the analysis of customer preferences and enables the companies to provide customer-specific packages. This model is expected to attract a large number of customers as the customers can access cost-effective and high-quality services.



The full MVNOs valued at USD 25 billion in 2017 and will register gains at more than 12% through 2024 as small companies are becoming increasingly inclined toward expanding the businesses. This business model allows the companies the generation of new revenue streams from untapped segments such as rural areas.



The companies with this business model are creating newer ideas for cost-effective and customer-centric services such as unique voice & data plans to attract customers. Increasing customer loyalty is encouraging the increasing number of players to adopt the business model, creating growth opportunities for the market.



Market by Region

The Germany market has witnessed a significant growth with revenue exceeding USD 11 billion and subscribers crossing 48 million-mark in 2017. As a part of the consolidation wave in Europe in 2014, the industry witnessed the consolidation of E-Plus and O2, resulting in the price competition.



To regulate the competition, the regulators imposed the access of about 30% joint network capabilities to the MVNOs in the country, thus increasing the penetration of these services. Furthermore, the consolidation of 1&1 Telecommunications SE and Drillisch will provide viable growth opportunities to the providers.



The China MVNO market revenue is set to expand at over 16% with around 59 million subscribers during the forecast period propelled by imposition of favorable regulations.



In 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Information of China issued 37 MVNO licenses to increase the competition in the mobile sector. In 2018, the government announced the issue of formal licenses to private firms that resell mobile services as virtual networks. The industry in China is characterized by low ARPU and high focus on low-end prepaid users.



Competitive Market Share

Some of the key vendors in the market include LycaMobile, Giffgaff, Freenet AG, Exetel, Drillisch Telekom, Dataxoom, TalkTalk, Tracfon, Kajit, Japan Communications, Inc., and Consumer Cellular. The industry is characterized by increasing number of collaborations of mobile network operators with the vendors to increase the price competition by offering low-cost services.



Price and service differentiation are the key strategies adopted by the companies in the market. The companies are continually introducing new plans and business models to survive the competition in the fragmented industry.



For instance, in February 2017, Masmovil, a Spain-based virtual network company announced the acquisition of Llamaya. With this acquisition, Masmovil gained a customer base of around 170,000, thus expanding its business. In the same year, Denmark-based TDC Group announced the acquisition of Plenti, a B2C virtual network company. With the acquisition, TDC will seek the transfer of Hi3G Denmark customers to its own network infrastructure.



The MVNO market research report includes an in-depth coverage of the industry with estimates & forecast in terms of revenue in USD from 2013 to 2024 , for the following segments:



By Business Model

Full MVNO

Light MVNO

Service Provider

Branded Reseller

The above information is provided on a regional and country basis for the following :

North America U.S. Canada

Europe Germany UK France Italy Russia Netherlands Belgium

Asia Pacific China India Japan South Korea Taiwan Singapore Malaysia Australia

Latin America Brazil Mexico Columbia Argentina Chile

Middle East Saudi Arabia UAE Qatar South Africa Nigeria Kenya





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