Ice Communication Norge, a subsidiary of Sweden’s Ice Group, has entered into an agreement to acquire the customer base of the Norwegian MVNO Komplett Mobil for approximately NOK105 million (USD12.2 million). As of 15 March 2019 (i.e. when the transaction was agreed) Komplett Mobil had 74,740 active subscribers, and the price-tag will increase or decrease depending on how many Komplett Mobil users remain customers following the forthcoming migration process, which will take place between April and June 2019. Ice notes that new subscriptions will be ‘almost identical’ to current subscription, but all Komplett Mobil customers will immediately benefit because Ice does not automatically charge for excess data usage.
Over in Russia, Ministry of Defence (MoD)-affiliated telecoms holding company Voentelecom has received a five-year MVNO licence from the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, IT and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), Vedomosti reports. According to the newspaper, the MVNO will operate over the Tele2 Russia network and target military personnel and their family members. The service will seek to set itself apart from other operators by delivering enhanced security to end-users.
Camara de Cooperativas de Telecomunicaciones (Catel), which represents 34 telecoms cooperatives across Argentina, and was awarded an MVNO concession by the National Agency for Communications (Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones, ENACOM) in December 2017, will reportedly switch on its Movistar-powered service in August this year. Among those targeted by the service will be the 160,000 customers who already subscribe to fixed line services under the Catel umbrella; the group intends to offer quad-play services to such subscribers.
Finally, UK MNO Three has published its results for the twelve months end 31 December 2018, noting that it continues to see growth in MVNO customer numbers and wholesale margin, with CEO Dave Dyson noting: ‘During the year we supported the launch of a new brand – Superdrug Mobile – and [our] existing brands, iD Mobile and SMARTY, continued to grow, broadening our customer base and diversifying our revenue streams.’ The executive added that iD Mobile – a subsidiary of Dixons Carphone went on to reach the 975,000-customer milestone in January 2019.
We welcome your feedback about MVNO Monday. If you have any questions, topic suggestions, or corrections, please email editors@commsupdate.com
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database is now home to the telecoms industry’s fastest-growing collection of MVNO data, covering more than 90 countries and 1,000 virtual operators. If you would like to find out more, please email sales@telegeography.com