Instead, you’re specifically targeting customers who come from, say, Thailand, originally and who also return there frequently--and don’t want the inconvenience of changing their phone, for example.
Or you're a B2B-focused MVNO working with businesspeople that have high travel frequencies to particular areas; you’ve noticed this and have started to think, I need to get a better roaming deal here.
But as an MNVO, you are getting all your pricing set by your primary network provider. Sure, that may be mediated by an MVNA which might be the gatekeeper for the master agreement: the point is you're getting some slice of a wholesale deal on a per megabyte of data, per text sent and received, mobile Internet data allowance and all the other things a mobile user would wish to do.
And as that’s a structure that allows you to be in business and run a subscriber base and access ARPU, that’s great… but you are essentially tied to that arrangement, and so must make your business based on that third party prices and packages up those services for your customers.
But if you want to have more options--or maybe want to be more competitive in certain markets--then you might want a wider set of MNOs to be working with. After all, other operators may (probably almost certainly will) have better networks and offers in different territories.
An operator actually physically based in Southeast Asia will almost certainly have better prices for that region than you are getting from your primary, European-headquartered host operator; they will also have local market knowledge and connections you’d love to be able to tap into, too.
As an MVNO (or MNO), you want to achieve differentiation by building relationships with other partners in the areas you want to target, be that a different geography or attractive demographic.
Avoiding the unknown unknowns of distant, but vital, partnerships
The problem is, how do you go about all this--how do you find such new potential operators? How do you go about negotiating with them? What are the ‘gotchas’ that could derail what could have started off as a very promising conversation? Are you sure this contract is the very best you can get?
All vitally important questions—but just as importantly, how do you do accomplish the complex technical realisation such projects will necessitate, and which have to be done right or your chance of ROI will be significantly hampered?
Something that often proves a challenge getting these new partnerships off the ground is getting the important IMSI sponsorship part of such a network agreement operating smoothly.
Use SNS to answer the questions you don’t even know need to be asked
The good news here is that SNS is the market leader in doing just that—and more.
Bottom line for any player looking to extend its MNO reach is that you might recognise that there are these opportunities to improve your services, but you don't have the technical expertise to do it. You don't know where to start; you don't know how to even frame the questions. SNS will help you do all of that.
By using what we call the SNS Sponsored Hub, for example—our club of providers and customers seeking and benefiting from great roaming opportunities—is making it so much easier for MNOs to offer IMSI sponsor services more easily to new partners – partners like you.
As a result, not only can we provide you introductions at both the commercial and engineering level to the best IMSI sponsorship partners, but we also provide a comprehensive service to build out the connectivity you will need.
MVNOs who have taken advantage of our help will tell you that it not only helped them get operational very quickly, it also meant they could start from day one with a full set of services.
Outsourcing all the project planning, project delivery, project, handover of and maybe ongoing supervision of the physical connections like this means you can concentrate on the business opportunity, not the fine (or even impossible to predict) detail.
Working with SNS is the easiest way, then, to forge and build the connections with the fast-growing Southeast Asian, South American, or African operator--wherever you happen to see opportunity.
Talk to us today to see just how easy making mutually advantageous new MNO partnerships really can be.
