This charge was made at the Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) Conference organised by Wireless Technology Labs (WTL) themed “Profitable Paths: Charting the Future of MVNOs in Nigeria” held in Lagos, Nigeria.

Satya Mekala, the chief executive officer, Wireless Technology Labs, has  charged MVNOs in Nigeria to deploy Value Added Services (VAS) for the sustainability and profitability of their business operations in Nigeria’s ICT sector.

According to Mekala, MVNOs will bring innovation to a country a lot more than a mobile operator or anything. MVNOs have the advantage of offering services in several areas of the economy, including education, agriculture, and rural development, among others.

In his words,

“Mobile operators are very rich, and they’re already making lots of money. It’s an unnecessary waste of time for MVNOs to compete with them. There are innovations that are not happening with mobile operators.”

Mekala also stressed that collaborative efforts among MVNOs enabled them to pool expertise, tackle challenges collectively, build profitable ventures, and deliver essential value-added services crucial for the populace and the nation

In his presentation, the Himmat Gill, Vice President of TecnoTree quoted that the global MVNO market size was worth $84.6 billion in 2023, and it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.7% to reach $116.8 billion by 2028. He also noted that the MVNO market is 50% distributed in Europe, 15% in APAC, 15% in the USA , and it is only 2% in Africa.

Speaking on some of the challenges, Gill said fierce competition in an oversaturated market, limited control over network quality and service prioritisation, and navigating through diverse regulatory landscape across regions may impend MVNO success.

However, market differentiation serves as a potential strategy for MVNOs to overcome these challenges, he said. Stressing that, for MVNOs to attract and retain customers, the need to distinguish themselves from competitors  can not be overemphasized.

Market differentiation, according to him, involves innovative service offerings, targeted niche markets, enhanced customer experience, and strategic partnerships.

In the same vein, Andriy Zhylenko, PortaOne chief executive fficer, tasked Nigerian MVNOs to identify their target audience, design niche-tailored VAS packages, and pick solution component that provides maximum freedom for in-house innovation.

Echoing Satya’s words, he urged MVNOs not to sell phone calls. Rather, they should offer solutions for growth and harvest IOT matket growth.

Nigerian MVNOs need to bundle third- party services while offering better CX and face fewer administration hardaches with low-code integrations,

On his part, Rune Holbeck, Nordic eSIM Chief Executive Officer, urged MVNOs to embrace and leverage eSIM technology in order to meet customers’ demand for flexibility, seamless connectivity, and digital solutions.

While stating that the rising adoption of IOT-connected devices and customer electronics is driving eSIM market expansion, Holbeck noted that eSIM technology positions MVNOs to stand out in Nigeria’s crowded telecom sector by offering innovation, digital-first services.

As part of the competitive advantage in the Nigerian market, the Nordic eSIM Boss said the adoption of eSIM technology by MVNOs will promote its rapid market entry, enhanced security features and helped target niche segments.

“With eSIM, MVNOs can launch new services faster, without the logistical challenges of distributing physical SIM cards. eSIM provides superior security compared to traditional SIMs, appealing to privacy-conscious customers and enterprises, “Holbeck said.

As a solution portfolio company, LATRO’s Director of Solution Architecture, Elmehdi Erroussafi, said operators need to be protected from various types of frauds, including bypass fraud, using advanced detection and prevention system.

Offering its innovative managed services, LATRO said its revenue assurance for MVNOs is designed to be flexible enough to add any specific need that operators might need based on the market environment. Erroussafi also said that for MVNOs operations to be a success,  they need a comprehensive framework for detecting revenue leakages.

The MVNO Conference which saw the participation of Chief Executive Officers and Chief Technical Officers of MVNOs in Nigeria, Internet Sevice Providers and industry stakeholders enjoyed the partnership of Tecnotree, MVNOWorx, Nordic eSIM, PortaOne, and LATRO.

According to the Finnish company, the operator is aiming towards providing cutting-edge digital services and has chosen Tecnotree’s cloud-native BSS Suite 5 to drive this transformation journey.

TechEconomy gathered that the deal involves establishing Catalogue-driven Order fulfillment using Tecnotree’s Digital BSS Suite, powered by TM Forum certified Open APIs, which provides superior digital operations with easy integration and insightful customer interactions.

At the time of filing this report, MTN was yet to release an official statement vis a vis the development. But last week, the telecom operator announced the kicked off of an open 5G pilot in the lead-up to its highly anticipated commercial launch. 

With the power of 5G, it enables quick adoption of new technologies leading to revenue monetization due to improved speed of service activation that allows customers to design comprehensive order delivery processes with on-time deliveries while reducing errors and managing organizational and technical complexities.

Tecnotree Digital suite offers the flexibility to create a mix of new products and services quickly and efficiently, enabling faster time to market and increased time to value.

As part of this transformation project, Tecnotree will also deploy its next set of market-proven BSS solutions—Digital Customer Lifecycle Manager (DCLM), Digital Resource Management (DRM), and Digital Business & Operations Dashboard (DBOD).

The solutions will enable omnichannel customer engagement and journey management using an AIML data-driven approach. With simple and easy-to-use products and experiences, it will enable faster customer onboarding, 360-degree customer view, and a simplified payment process.

The AIML business operation dashboard will provide integrated real-time visibility to management, fulfilling complex reporting requirements of the operator.

Tecnotree CEO Padma Ravichander said, “We are delighted with this strategic partnership to lead digital transformation and accelerate business growth for one of the largest operators in the world.”

The deployment of solutions will not only help in automation with a new set of features and digital capabilities but will also simplify business processes and achieve efficient operations with reduced cost and help accelerate revenue through new digital service offerings.

The transformation will further improve their BSS infrastructure, making them 5G ready. Beyond 5G, Tecnotree’s platform is capable of provisioning end-to-end integrated fintech services with our Tecnotree DiWA platform.”