01
Business case
A financial model built on your costs and host terms, segment and offer design, and downside cases for take-up, usage and churn.
How we launch an MVNO: five stages, 16 to 26 weeks
For a scoped Medium launch we plan four to six months from the point the host agreement and the legal framework are confirmed.
- 16 to 26 weeks
- five stages, overlapping
- Critical path
- host agreement, numbering, approvals
- 2 long-lead items
- started before contract signature
Reviewed by Alexander Donskoy, Sales Director, Avante · Last reviewed 2026-09
Where the weeks go
The stages overlap, which is how sixteen to twenty-six weeks of work becomes four to six months of calendar. Host and legal runs beside everything else and is almost always the critical path, because it is the one track neither you nor Avante can schedule alone.
Stage
01Discovery
you and Avante
1–3
02Host and legal
critical path: you, the host, the regulator
external dependency, sets the pace
03BSS platform
Avante
4–11
04Integrations
Avante and third parties
10–21
05Launch
you, Avante and the host
23–26
Durations come from delivered projects rather than targets, and the chart shows the long end of each range. A Full MVNO adds network elements and interfaces and plans at eight to ten months.
The five stages
01
Discovery (2 to 3 weeks)
Target MVNO model, launch segments and opening offers, service model, target IT estate, integration scoping. Output: MVP scope, responsibility matrix, critical path, preliminary business case.
02
Host and legal (the critical path)
Host agreement (wholesale terms, coverage, interfaces, SLA), numbering, SIM supply, licence or registration, regulatory approvals. This track is owned by you, the host and the regulator. Avante drafts the technical annex and the interface requirements, supports the negotiation and starts interface alignment with the host's engineering team as early as the host allows.
03
BSS platform (4 to 8 weeks)
Platform deployment in your chosen environment, catalogue and charging configuration for the opening offers, a working test environment.
04
Integrations (6 to 12 weeks)
Host operator interfaces (provisioning, charging, mediation, SIM/eSIM), number portability certification, KYC, payment and mobile-money gateways, your app, CRM and data platform. This runs partly in parallel with stage 3.
05
Launch (2 to 4 weeks)
Pilot with a limited group, then Friends & Family, then commercial start. Hypercare and managed operations from day one if contracted.
Stage durations are typical for a Medium launch; tracks overlap and host-and-legal runs in parallel, which is how sixteen to twenty-six weeks becomes four to six months. A Full MVNO adds network elements and interfaces and plans at eight to ten months.
Who does what
| Workstream | You | Avante | Host operator | Regulator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposition, segments, pricing | owns | advises, models economics | — | — |
| Business case and financial model | owns | builds with you | wholesale inputs | — |
| Host agreement and wholesale terms | owns | supports negotiation, technical annex | counterparty | — |
| Licence, numbering, approvals | owns | documentation support | — | decides |
| BSS deployment and configuration | acceptance | owns | — | — |
| Host network interfaces | — | owns | provides, tests | — |
| Number portability, KYC, payments | contracts providers | integrates, certifies | — | certification slots |
| Your app, CRM, data platform | owns systems | integrates via Avante API | — | — |
| Network components (Full) | decides | scopes, integrates via partners | interconnection | — |
| Operations after launch | owns or delegates | managed service option, 24×7 support | network SLA | reporting |
Build your timeline
Pick your model and answer four questions about your market: whether number portability applies, how KYC is done, whether roaming is needed at launch, and whether the host has done an MVNO integration before. The tool lays the five stages out on a week grid, with the critical path and the integration list your answers imply.
- Typical duration
- Upper range
- Critical path
- After launch
Show the timeline as a table
Integrations on this plan
Start before contract signature
Finding out that the next certification slot is fourteen weeks away is useful before project commitments, not after.
Avante planning assumptions from delivered projects; the clock starts when the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed. This is an illustration of a plan, not a forecast, and it implies no pricing.
The five integrations that set the pace
Platform milestones are visible and can be checked. Integration scope depends on third parties with their own calendars. The ranges below come from delivered projects; actual durations vary by market and provider.
| Integration | Typical range | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| HLR/HSS provisioning interface with the host | 8–14 weeks from specification sign-off to confirmed testing | the host's engineering schedule and change control; planned core upgrades |
| Number portability certification | 10–20 weeks | the regulator's or clearinghouse's certification calendar; first-time pass rate |
| Primary payment gateway | 4–8 weeks from sandbox to production | merchant approval, fraud rules, certification |
| KYC / SIM registration | 4–10 weeks | provider and market: document upload, biometrics or national ID database |
| Roaming (basic bilateral) | 16–24 weeks from commercial agreement to live testing | bilateral agreements, GSMA clearing registration; usually deferred until after launch |
Two of these, host interface alignment and the number portability certification enquiry, are long-lead items we start before the platform contract is signed. It helps to know that the next certification slot is fourteen weeks away before the project commits to a date.
Delivered timelines
Retail loyalty MVNO: commercial launch on existing host infrastructure
2 monthsEcosystem brand: BSS stack ready for a Friends & Family launch
2.5 monthsStandard mono-MVNO: platform readiness
3 monthsLive MVNO migrated to Avante: 200k+ subscribers in one window
5 monthsGreenfield banking MVNO: commercial launch
6 monthsGreenfield banking MVNO: concept to launch across 7 regions, with dedicated packet core and M2M
10 months
What we do beyond the BSS
02
Host operator negotiations
What the host will ask, what the contract must fix (pricing tools, interfaces, data access, priority and SLA where they matter) and the technical annex that goes with it.
03
Regulatory track
Licence or registration, numbering, KYC and SIM registration rules, lawful interception hand-off, statutory reporting. Handled per market, with local counsel where needed.
04
Network components through partners
Packet core, HLR/HSS, eSIM and SMS platforms for Full models, scoped and integrated with the BSS.
05
Managed operations
Year one can run as a managed service with 24×7 support. You do not need an in-house BSS team to launch.
One workshop produces a go / no-go decision pack
The workshop date is the only decision required today.
We align on
- the target model
- launch segments and opening offers
- roles of you, the host and Avante
- integrations and the data model.
You leave with
- MVP scope and a responsibility matrix
- the critical path and the risk areas
- a launch roadmap
- a preliminary business case.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to launch an MVNO?
On Avante, a Medium MVNO plans at four to six months once the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed. Platform readiness alone is about three months. A Full MVNO with its own core elements plans at eight to ten. Market estimates for full MVNOs with custom network integration run to twelve to twenty-four months, which is why the model choice and the integration plan matter more than the software.
What is on the critical path?
Almost always the host and legal track (wholesale agreement, numbering, approvals), followed by two integrations: the host's HLR/HSS provisioning interface and number portability certification. Neither runs on the project's calendar, so both start before the platform contract.
Why do MVNO launches slip?
Third-party schedules the project cannot control, and specification gaps that only appear once the real interfaces are examined. A failed first certification attempt also resets your place in the queue. The mitigation is to scope integrations before the plan is fixed and to start long-lead items early.
Can we launch without roaming?
Usually yes, and most launches do. Basic bilateral roaming takes four to six months of agreements, clearing registration and testing, so it is added after commercial launch.
What if the host operator has never hosted an MVNO?
The interface work takes longer and the technical annex matters more. We have delivered on hosts with and without prior MVNO tenants. The difference shows up in the stage 2 and stage 4 durations, and the timeline builder accounts for it.
What does the first call cost?
Nothing. Thirty minutes, three outputs: host-side assumptions to validate, the BSS/OCS/CRM scope boundary, and a minimum MVP scope.
Start with the readiness call
Bring your market, your host shortlist and your proposition. We bring the questions we use at the start of every launch.