The subscriber base in Virtual Mobile Operators (MVNOs) in Mexico increased 14.1% at the end of 2020 compared to 2019, going from 1.77 to 2.02 million lines.
Furthermore, according to the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), it is estimated that the lines served by OMV will grow to 2.52 million by the end of 2021, which is equivalent to an increase of 501,266 mobile lines served by these operators in two years.
The Federal Telecommunications Law, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on July 14, 2014, provides for the figure of telecommunications services marketers, as well as the administrative procedure to obtain an authorization, granting the right to access wholesale services. of concessionaires, resell services and capacity, have their own numbering, as well as the obligations to allow number portability, protect the rights of users, among others.
MVNOs
Then, on March 9, 2016, the Institute published the guidelines to provide legal certainty to economic agents interested in entering the mobile services market as a Virtual Mobile Operator, establishing the rules of the game that allowed promoting the principles of open access and non-discriminatory to the networks of traditional operators, in an exercise that provided legal certainty to investors.
As for the world market for MVNOs, it continues to grow at a considerable rate.
According to the consulting firm GSMA Intelligence, the Virtual Mobile Operators in operations went from 343 in 2010 to 860 in 2019; that is, an average annual growth rate of 10.8 percent.
But, the presence of OMV in developing countries continues to be limited.
This occurs even though in the last nine years, the number of countries that have this type of operator has doubled, from 13 countries in 2010 to 30 countries in 2019.
During 2019, a slight increase is observed in the number of operators in developed countries, where the average went from 72 in 2018 to 75 in 2019, possibly motivated by the announcement of the deployment of 5G networks and the development of digital technologies such as IoT and Artificial Intelligence.
In developing countries, the variation in the average is positive, going from 21 in 2018 to 23 in 2019.
Market niches
To develop in mature and concentrated markets, Virtual Mobile Operators choose to implement business strategies that allow economic viability through the offer of competitive prices, aimed at market niches, convergence of services and the leverage of new technologies.
Therefore, the largest MVNOs in the world (for example, TracFone, Laposte Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Snail and Lycamobile) have established brands globally and their strategy focuses on efforts to exploit niche markets with targeted advertising. of existing customers.
