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How the MVNO is moving from PLMN to IP backbone, supporting Voip, convergence, M2M, 3g, 4g and beyond 
Next Generation MVNOs were defined, back in 2004/2005, when my MVNO report was written and published respectively, as those that could significantly enough differentiate themselves from the MNO in either a very high value area occupied by the host MNO competitor, or too specialised for the MNO. In the 2005 report these were defined as:
Machine to Machine has been a key focus of MNOs, MVNEs and MVNOs, at least in the form of business plans and strategies, since the beginning of 2005, however there has been very slow uptake. This is even despite the fact that many of my enterprise data and wholesale data contacts in MNOs being moved to specific M2M business units. This has resulted in many partnerships, and many data cards being handed out, which doubtlessly play their role in Quarter end and Year end subscriber and data usage figures, which more most MNOs will warrant any expense, but the fact is that the world is still not ready for mobile M2M. One of the main reason is expense. So far all these solutions have required expensive OEM equipment to run, and have shunned the use of short range frequencies as backhaul. Even with the UK example of Utility companies being told by regulators to get their billing and customer data records in line," or else!" the use of mobile collection has been shunned, mainly due to complexity and cost. Although it will happen, in the meantime the whole solution could be a lot easier with even just an On Device Portal that users can download to their phone and enter the meter readings in after a text or incoming message to wake up the application and even connect to the metre via bluetooth on passing the reader. Another area where this could take off soon is with supermarkets. the intelligent fridge is a long way off, however, bluetooth barcode readers in the kitchen and an On Device Portal to manage shopping lists, items that have run out, etc, etc. Enterprise MVNOs have suffered dearly in the last year. This has been mainly due to the issues Blackberry faced in the US where it is an MVNO and the willingness of Network Operators to subsidise Blackberry's or pretty much any handset that will keep the enterprise customer happy. Yes, we all know, it does not happen any more, but it does. This is the main reason that London's coffee shops are littered with hapless professionals wielding a high-end Nokia smart phone in one hand and a blackberry in the other! While this is happening, the enterprise MVNO is on hold. There is hope however, with the Nokia "E" and "N" series supporting Wi-Fi and with products such as Truphone and supposedly Skype for Symbian on the way (they are presumably too busy spending $4bn to be able to make Skype work on Symbian!). I have been offered by many a developer the option to have full SIP integration to corporate PBXs with not much time and resource, so exactly what Skype is doing is beyond me. It still does not get round the issue of my Nokia N80 and E61 being second only to a Range Rover in its constantly overwhelming ability to consume its source of fuel. Strangely the N91, with a 4gb hard disk and the older battery is more frugal.. but that is another issue and another web coming soon! Healthcare MVNOS. Healthcare MVNOs did not expand beyond their successful US base as expected, and documented in my Next Gen MVNO report. This is strange, however, a new version could be on the horizon, with a twist. At the latest Symbian Smartfone show in London I saw various Bluetooth healthcare devices, which have been a long time coming. As these devices and the Nokia 5500 which I just tried this weekend, with built-in fitness program and pedometer become mainstream, and factors like insurance companies that are offering discounts to customers who use products like the fitbug, the ability to share this info with an insurance company, doctor, personal trainer, etc. opens many healthcare opportunities for the future, see Future MVNOs below. posted by Christian Borrman 22:19pm 12/11/06
Related Articles: Glossary Glossary of terms on Christian Borrman's blog links MVNO Definition on wikipedia Contact / Comment ©Copyright 2001-2008 Christian Borrman, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction Prohibited |
