South African operator Telkom has entered the country’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market through a partnership with a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) platform provider.
Signing the MVNE platform agreement with the, so far unnamed, provider will enable Telkom to meet regulator ICASA’s requirements, which say that mobile network operators must support at least three Black-owned MVNOs as part of their spectrum licence conditions.
Not surprisingly perhaps, South Africa’s MVNO market is expanding rapidly. Local news report say that banks, insurance firms, and major retailers are driving competition in the sector, aided, it seems by consumer affinity to the brands involved.
Such businesses want to create unique branded mobile products and services, develop new value propositions and offer value-added services to enhance customer engagement for their own customers.
The Africa Analysis MVNO Report (February 2024) estimates the market’s potential revenue at ZAR83.6 million (US$4.6 million), and South Africa’s Bizcommunity news service says that, since the sector’s inception in 2006, subscriber numbers have increased by 51% year-on-year reaching 4.3 million users by the end of 2023.
Telkom is inviting brands interested in launching MVNOs to explore partnership opportunities. They will, says Telkom, have access to a platform that supports end-to-end customer engagement and management, product design and development, and network integration and technology enablement.
Telkom adds that potential partners can expect flexible onboarding in the form of enablement and support tailored based on customer technology integration preferences and requirements, unique product design and development, enhanced customer experience and support based on their unique customer journeys.
They can also look forward to strong network capabilities thanks to access to Telkom’s high-quality network and roaming partners.
