Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

Market Overview

The MVNO market was valued at USD 61.9 billion in 2020, and it is expected to reach a value of USD 91.63 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 6.75% over the forecast period 2021-2026. New Technology enablers, like e-Sim, AI, ML, and edge computing are creating new opportunities for MVNO.

• MVNOs are well-established in developed markets and will become increasingly important in developing markets as they mature. In recent years, competition in the MVNO market has shifted from pricing to value-added services and product differentiation, owing to the prominence of MNOs in the low-cost cellular services market in both developed and developing countries.
• Growing penetration of mobile devices is driving the market growth. GSMA predicted that the number of unique mobile subscribers increased from 4.66 billion in 2015 to 5.59 billion in 2019. Additionally, it predicted that 72% of the global population would be subscribed to a mobile service by 2020.
• Increasing number of services such as cloud, Machine to Machine (M2M) transactions, and mobile money are further expected to augment demand for mobile virtual network operators over the forecast period.
• Additionally, increasing government initiatives like the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy, to eliminate copyright issues and geo-blocking problem and to deliver better network service access for consumers in Europe is anticipated to boost the market’s growth over the forecast period.
• In order to ensure business continuity owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, business organizations, especially in highly affected countries, are allowing their employees to work from home (WFH). Vodafone UK has witnessed a 50% increase in internet traffic. Orange España is offering customers access to the free data bundles.
• COVID-19 outbreak will accelerate the demand for agile and flexible work styles and further push the adoption of communication services that tend to enhance work-life balance. However, telecom regulators have postponed their plans of 5G spectrum auction amidst the global pandemic.

Scope of the Report

Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO’s) are wireless services providers that do not own the wireless network infrastructure but instead buy network capacity from existing MNOs to deliver services to their users. Operational Model such as Reseller, Service Operator, Full MVNO and Other modes are considered under the scope. Additionally, application such as Discount, Business, Retail, Migrant, Roaming, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, and Cellular M2M are part of the study.

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Key Market Trends

Consumer Segment is Expected to Hold a Significant Market Share

• This is the primary and the most focused on segment among MVNOs. The growing number of single mobile subscribers and the increasing penetration of mobile in emerging economies are the major factors fuelling the segment growth.
• It is expected that by the end of 2020, there is likely to be 20.4 billion connected devices, and the number could reach 82 billion by 2025. In the recent past, Verizon invested USD 2 trillion on networked endpoints and related services market. This offers a huge opportunity for the telecom sector and the studied segment.
• Traditionally, B2C or consumer segment dominated over B2B part regarding innovation and pricing. Billing a fleet of devices and managing them is much more difficult than a simple consumer service. Due to convenience and more profit margin, MVNOs also prefer investing in the consumer segment.
• The growing adoption of e-SIM is also expected to expand the scope of the studied segment. The e-SIM, with the remote provisioning standards created by the GSMA, provides the simplicity and flexibility to MVNOs’ vendors.
• According to G+D Mobile Security, it is estimated that there are likely to be around 1 billion devices connected by e-SIM by the end of 2020. However, this is expected to grow at an exponential rate, reaching almost 2 billion shipments by 2025. The studied segment is further expected to be driven, both by increased adoption of M2M technology, but also by e-SIM in the consumer market, as the IoT creates more and more crossover in B2C markets.

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