Published ranges put a thin or Light MVNO launch at roughly €105,000–475,000 in the EU and UK (MVNO Index) or $100,000–400,000 (Spenza), and a Full MVNO at $2–10 million or more. The twenty-fold spread is the operating model, not vendor pricing: reselling, running your own BSS and owning core network elements are three different businesses. Any figure quoted before the model is settled is a guess.
A retailer’s strategy team asks three advisers what an MVNO launch will cost and gets three answers: a few hundred thousand euros, about two million, and “budget ten million and see”. All three are defensible. They describe three different operating models, and the model, not the software, sets the budget. Anyone who quotes an MVNO startup cost without first asking whether you want to resell, run your own BSS or own core network elements is guessing.
The published market ranges confirm the spread. MVNO Index puts a thin MVNO launch in the EU or UK at roughly €105,000 to €475,000 all-in. Spenza estimates a light MVNO at $100,000 to $400,000 and a full MVNO at $2 million to $10 million or more. Both are market estimates from single sources, not Avante pricing, and neither tells you what the money buys. This guide does, line by line.
Why the estimates differ by a factor of twenty
The cheap end of the range is a branded reseller or light MVNO: the host operator or an MVNE runs SIM management, HLR/HSS, charging, billing and interconnect, and the brand pays a per-subscriber or per-unit fee for the lot. The expensive end is a full MVNO that owns HLR/HSS, packet core, numbering, interconnect and roaming agreements and buys only radio access. Between them sits the Medium model, an MVNO with its own BSS on the host’s network, which is where most banks, retailers and ICT providers with a distinctive proposition end up.
Timelines follow the same curve, and time is a cost line because the team is paid from day one. MVNO Index gives two to four months for a reseller, four to nine for a thin or light MVNO, nine to fourteen for a thick one and twelve to eighteen months or more for a full MVNO (market estimates). Avante plans four to six months for a Medium launch once the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed, and eight to ten for Full. The stages are in How to launch an MVNO in 2026; the ownership split by model is on the operating models page.
The cost structure by operating model
The table below shows who carries each cost line in each model and what drives it. It deliberately contains no prices: the same line can be a rounding error in one market and the largest item in another, and the only honest way to size it is with your host’s term sheet and your regulator’s fee schedule in hand.
| Cost line | Reseller / Light | Medium (own BSS) | Full MVNO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and airtime | Bundled per-subscriber or per-unit rate from the host or enabler; highest unit price, smallest commitment | Direct wholesale agreement with the host; better unit rates, usually with minimum volume commitments and a deposit | Radio access only, lowest unit price; you also pay for your own core capacity, interconnect and roaming |
| BSS licence or SaaS fee | Included in the enabler’s fee; you pay for what the shelf offers | Your largest fixed pre-launch line: licence plus implementation, or a subscription or managed-service fee | Same BSS as Medium plus network elements (HLR/HSS, packet core, gateways) bought or subscribed through partners |
| Integration | Branding, app or portal, sometimes a light API to the enabler | Host interfaces (provisioning, charging, mediation, SIM), MNP, KYC, payments, your own CRM and data platform | Everything in Medium plus signalling, interconnect, roaming and core network integration |
| SIM, eSIM and logistics | Supplied by host or enabler, often as a per-SIM charge | You procure cards and eSIM profiles, an SM-DP+ subscription, packaging and distribution | Same, with your own IMSI range and profile management |
| Numbering and interconnect | The host’s numbers and agreements | Own range in some markets, with regulator fees; interconnect stays with the host | Own numbering, interconnect agreements, signalling, roaming clearing and GSMA membership |
| Regulatory and KYC | Registration only; the host or enabler handles most obligations | Licence or registration fee, KYC vendor cost per verification, lawful interception hand-off, statutory reporting | Full licence class, own lawful interception capability, complete reporting duties |
| Team | Brand, marketing, distribution, some customer care | Adds product and pricing, billing operations, an integration owner and revenue assurance, or a managed service in year one | Adds core network, numbering, roaming and interconnect engineering that cannot be fully outsourced |
| Marketing and distribution | Largest variable line in every model; depends on whether you already own a channel and a customer base | Same | Same |
Two lines behave differently from the rest. Wholesale follows subscribers, so it matters little before launch and dominates afterwards. Marketing is the same size whatever model you choose, and it is the reason banks and retailers with an existing base and app can launch for less than a greenfield brand on the same platform. The regulatory line varies most by country: Nigeria charges a nine-figure naira licence fee for its upper tiers (see the FAQ), while many European markets require a registration and a numbering fee. Ask for the fee schedule before you build the model.
CAPEX or OPEX: how the BSS is delivered changes the shape, not the total
An own-BSS launch can be bought three ways. On-premises deployment in your own perimeter is the classic CAPEX case: hardware, perpetual licence and implementation up front, then support and a team as running cost. Public bodies and banks with data-residency rules often have no other option. Private cloud shifts the hardware to a subscription but usually keeps licence and implementation as capital items. A managed service or BSS-as-a-service turns the platform into a monthly or per-subscriber fee.
OPEX-based launches are not a theory. Brilliantel, an enterprise-focused MVNO in South Africa serving B2B and B2G customers with sponsored billing, launched on Avante under an OPEX-based commercial model designed to reduce upfront capital. What OPEX delivery does not change is the money that was never platform money: the wholesale deposit, regulator fees, SIM stock, KYC fees and marketing are yours whichever way the BSS is paid for. “We launch on OPEX” is a statement about one line in the table, not about the budget.
The cost drivers people underestimate
Host negotiation time. The wholesale agreement is the critical path in almost every launch, and it runs on the host’s calendar. Every month it slips is a month of salaries, advisers and platform subscription with no revenue against them. A host that has never hosted an MVNO takes longer, because the interface specification has to be written rather than reused. Budget the team for the slow case.
Number portability. MNP is a fixed integration cost plus a certification queue. Avante’s delivered projects put certification at ten to twenty weeks depending on the clearinghouse calendar, and a failed first attempt resets your slot. In the EU, Article 106 of the European Electronic Communications Code requires porting within one working day, which means a real-time integration rather than a batch file. Add a per-port fee and the care effort for failed ports.
KYC vendors. Identity checks are charged per verification, and the rules decide what a verification is. South Africa’s RICA requires full name, ID number, address and MSISDN before activation and treats an eSIM like a physical SIM. Kenya’s SIM Registration Regulations 2025 require verification against government databases. Biometric or database checks cost more per activation than document upload, and a poor conversion funnel turns KYC into a marketing cost as well.
Roaming. Basic bilateral roaming takes sixteen to twenty-four weeks from commercial agreement to live testing in Avante’s experience, plus clearing-house registration, deposits and testing effort. Most launches defer it, which is the right call unless roaming is the proposition. If it is, budget it as a separate project.
How the cost structure changes at 50k, 200k and 1M subscribers
At around 50,000 subscribers the fixed lines rule. The BSS fee, the team and the host minimum commitment are spread across a small base, so cost per subscriber is high and the light model’s per-unit fee looks like a bargain. Marketing is the largest cash line, and the question is acquisition cost against ARPU, not platform.
At around 200,000 subscribers wholesale has become the biggest line and the conversation with the host is about volume tiers. The BSS cost per subscriber has fallen sharply. This is where owning the catalogue and charging engine starts paying: pricing changes, bundles tied to loyalty or account events, and family or B2B limits ship in days rather than waiting for the enabler’s roadmap, and the margin from that agility is yours. MNP volumes and care load are now real operating costs.
At a million subscribers the economics of a Full MVNO begin to make sense on paper: own interconnect and roaming settlement, lower unit rates for radio access, the option to run on more than one host. Whether they make sense in practice depends on whether you have, or can build, a network operations team. The break-even point between models depends on ARPU, wholesale rates and churn; we do not publish a single number because there is none. The mechanics are in MVNO unit economics and billing architecture, and the revenue side in the MVNO business model.
When Light is cheaper for good
Light on an enabler is the right call for most consumer brands in year one, and for some it stays the right call. If the product is a standard bundle with your logo on it, if the brand and the channel are the asset, if you do not need event-level usage data in your own systems and the realistic base is in the tens of thousands, then the enabler’s per-subscriber fee will be lower than your own platform plus team for as long as you operate. There is no shame in that.
Own BSS pays off when pricing logic is the product: sponsored or account-linked billing, loyalty-earned data, real-time balance integration with a financial account, B2B limits by employee. It also pays off when data ownership is a regulatory or strategic requirement. The trap is the middle case: launching Light to save money and discovering at 150,000 subscribers that the base, the billing history, the SIM inventory and the numbering sit inside the enabler. Moving them is a migration on the scale of the original launch. If you can see that day coming, the cheaper path is Medium from the start.
Where Avante fits
Avante supplies the BSS for the Medium and Full models, not the network and not the airtime: product catalogue, online charging, convergent billing, CRM, mediation, provisioning and partner management, delivered on-premises, in private cloud or as a managed service with an OPEX-based option. The pricing lines that matter to a business case, wholesale, regulatory, SIM and marketing, are yours to negotiate; we build the financial model with you and support the host negotiation. Year one can run as a managed service with no in-house BSS team. Details of the platform and delivery forms are on the MVNO solutions page, and a readiness call is the fastest way to turn this table into your numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start an MVNO?
It depends on the operating model more than anything else. Market estimates, not Avante pricing: MVNO Index puts a thin MVNO in the EU or UK at about €105,000 to €475,000; Spenza puts a light MVNO at $100,000 to $400,000 and a full MVNO at $2 million to $10 million or more. Medium launches with an own BSS sit between these, and marketing usually decides the total.
Can an MVNO be launched on an OPEX model?
Yes. Managed-service or BSS-as-a-service delivery turns the platform into a recurring fee rather than an upfront licence. Brilliantel in South Africa launched on Avante under an OPEX-based model. Wholesale deposits, regulator fees, SIM stock and marketing remain cash outlays regardless of how the BSS is paid for.
How long does it take, and why does that affect cost?
MVNO Index’s market estimates run from two to four months for a reseller to twelve to eighteen months or more for a full MVNO. Avante plans four to six months for a Medium launch after host and legal readiness, and eight to ten for Full. The team is paid throughout, so every month of host negotiation or certification delay is a direct cost.
Is a Light MVNO always cheaper than an own BSS?
At small scale, yes. At scale, the enabler’s per-subscriber fee keeps growing while an own platform’s cost per subscriber falls, and the margin from controlling pricing and catalogue accrues to you. Light stays cheaper for good when the product is a standard bundle, the base stays small and you do not need your own subscriber data.
Which regulatory costs vary most by country?
Licence fees and KYC. Nigeria’s NCC framework, as summarised by the International Bar Association (2022), charges NGN 150 million for Tier 4 and NGN 250 million for Tier 5 licences, while many European markets require only registration. KYC rules such as RICA in South Africa or Kenya’s 2025 SIM regulations set the per-verification cost and the activation funnel.