# Avante

> Avante (Avantesoft Ltd) is a BSS/OSS software vendor for telecom operators, MVNOs and MVNEs: convergent billing, online charging, CRM, product catalog, mediation, partner management and the Avante MVNx Suite — BSS/OSS for MVNO, MVNE and MVNA.

Avante (Avantesoft Ltd, Cyprus) develops and delivers BSS/OSS software for communication service providers: convergent charging and billing, online charging (OCS), CRM, product catalog, mediation, service provisioning, partner relationship management and the Avante MVNx Suite — BSS/OSS for MVNO, MVNE and MVNA (21 BSS projects, 15 live MVNOs, 3 MVNE deployments since 2006). Solutions run on-premises, in the cloud or as SaaS. Member of TM Forum; winner of the TM Forum Best Moonshot Catalyst award (2025) and Telecom Review Excellence Awards.

Contact: info@avantebss.com, +357 95 981974. Sotiras 2, Tziovani Building, Office 6, Paralimni, 5286, Famagusta, Cyprus. Site languages: English (/en), French (/fr), Spanish (/es).

## Solutions

- [MVNx Suite — MVNO · MVNE · MVNA](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno): Avante MVNx Suite: the BSS/OSS to launch and run an MVNO, host MVNOs as an MVNE or aggregate as an MVNA. Medium in 4–6 months, 15 live MVNOs since 2006.
- [Operating models](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models): Who owns billing, data, core and numbering in each MVNO model, time to launch, and what Avante delivers in each. Includes an interactive model selector.
- [Platform & architecture](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/platform): Inside Avante MVNx Suite: real-time charging, convergent billing, catalogue, CRM, provisioning, MNP, eSIM, one open API and host interfaces.
- [Launch process](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/launch): Five stages from discovery to launch in 16–26 weeks, who owns what, the five integrations that set the pace, delivered timelines and a timeline builder.
- [MVNE & MVNA platform](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvne): Host and aggregate MVNOs on one multi-tenant BSS: tenant onboarding, per-tenant catalogues, wholesale rating and settlement. 3 MVNE platforms delivered.
- [Banks & fintech](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/for-banks): Launch a banking MVNO in 4–6 months on your own BSS: card-spend rewards, telecom risk signals, cheaper SMS and a Medium-to-Full path. 5 bank and fintech MVNOs.
- [Retail & loyalty](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/for-retail): A mobile service that earns from monthly spend and rewards shopping: loyalty-linked data, receipt-to-reward rules, stores and app as the channel.
- [Government & public sector](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/for-government): Subscribers, rules and records stay inside the state perimeter, in an approved data centre. Coverage from the host, SLA priority, a second network as backup.
- [Enterprise, ISP & ICT](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/for-enterprise): Add mobile to an enterprise portfolio: sponsored billing, employee limits, private APN, M2M. Billing logic standard MVNE setups lack. Built for Brilliantel.
- [Payment & Taxes Control for Governing Bodies](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/payment-and-taxes-control-for-governing-bodies): Empowering governments and regulatory bodies to effectively monitor telecom operators, ensuring accurate revenue reporting and compliance with tax obligations.
- [Revenue Assurance Suite](https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/revenue-assurance-suite): Empowering telecom operators to safeguard earnings, enhance profitability, and streamline operations by addressing revenue leaks, inefficiencies, and discrepancies across your network

## Products

- [Subscriber Management System](https://avantebss.com/en/products/ams): Avante AMS — an AAA server that keeps subscriber access parameters and service profiles current in real time.
- [Core BSS for Telecom](https://avantebss.com/en/products/bss): Avante Core BSS — products for revenue management, business process management and workforce management.
- [Business Process Management](https://avantebss.com/en/products/bpm): Avante BPM — a business process management and automation system for telecom operators.
- [Campaign Management](https://avantebss.com/en/products/cm): Avante CM — real-time marketing assistance and promotion management.
- [Convergent Billing System](https://avantebss.com/en/products/billing): Avante Billing — a convergent billing system that supports the business processes of telecom operators and other businesses regardless of scale.
- [Telecom CRM](https://avantebss.com/en/products/crm): Avante CRM — an enterprise customer relationship management system built for operators.
- [Data Management Platform](https://avantebss.com/en/products/dmp): Avante DMP — centralized data storage for analytics and reporting.
- [Interconnect Billing System](https://avantebss.com/en/products/ibs): Avante IBS — inter-operator settlement management.
- [Loyalty Management](https://avantebss.com/en/products/loyalty): Avante Loyalty — a platform for creating and running loyalty programs.
- [Billing Mediation System](https://avantebss.com/en/products/mediation): Avante Mediation — a prebilling system that collects and pre-analyses network statistics.
- [Online Charging System](https://avantebss.com/en/products/ocs): Avante OCS — a universal online charging system for prepaid and postpaid.
- [Telecom OSS](https://avantebss.com/en/products/oss): Avante OSS — the equipment and infrastructure management systems operators use to run their networks.
- [Partner Management](https://avantebss.com/en/products/partner-management): Automate processes and improve the efficiency of work with partners and agents.
- [Partner Relationship Management](https://avantebss.com/en/products/prm): Avante PRM — a universal and flexible partner relationship management system.
- [Product Catalog](https://avantebss.com/en/products/pc): Avante PC — centralized information storage about the company's services and products.
- [Sales & Marketing BSS](https://avantebss.com/en/products/sales): Increase sales and revenue with products for sales automation, real-time marketing and customer satisfaction.
- [Selfcare Portal](https://avantebss.com/en/products/scp): Avante Selfcare Portal — a flexible self-service portal for subscribers and partners.
- [Service Provisioning](https://avantebss.com/en/products/sp): Avante SP — a management system for interaction with equipment and external resources.
- [Distribution Management](https://avantebss.com/en/products/scd): Avante SCD — a distribution control system for dealers and points of sale.
- [Workforce Management](https://avantebss.com/en/products/wfm): Avante WFM — a powerful workforce management system for field teams.

## Partners

- [Partners: Sell and Deliver Avante BSS/OSS and MVNx — Avante](https://avantebss.com/en/partners): Sell and deliver Avante BSS/OSS and MVNx Suite in your market: who we look for, where a partner earns, how delivery and support are split.

## Customers

- Enterprise MVNO Platform for Brilliantel, South Africa (Africa): Deployment of the Avante BSS/OSS platform for Brilliantel to support an enterprise-focused MVNO business in South Africa, including advanced billing models for B2B and B2G services. The solution creates a flexible foundation for enterprise mobile services and enables commercial models beyond standard MVNE setups.
- BSS Transformation for Transtelecom, Kazakhstan (Asia): Transformation of Transtelecom Kazakhstan’s BSS environment to support mobile services and converged product offerings on the Avante platform. The project improved the stability and reliability of core operational processes and the underlying IT infrastructure.
- MVNO Platform for Venta Mobile, EU (Europe): Deployment of a full platform stack for Venta Mobile, covering the core components required to launch and operate an MVNO and integrate with third-party systems. The solution enabled an independent IT environment with modern billing and the system connectivity needed for scalable service delivery.
- Platform for a Leading Banking MVNO in the CIS (CIS): A digital platform built for a major banking MVNO in the CIS, designed to support advanced billing capabilities and a differentiated customer experience. The project was delivered in six months in line with security and integration requirements, creating a strong foundation for rapid service rollout.
- Unified BSS Platform for a Leading Telecom Operator in Kazakhstan (Asia): Migration to a unified platform for a leading telecom operator in Kazakhstan, supporting convergent billing, a centralized product catalog, and more flexible service monetization. The transformation improved operational efficiency, accelerated the launch of new offers, and established a scalable digital foundation for further growth.
- Expansion of BSS platform across Europe and Africa for LANCK Telecom (Europe • Africa): Next phase of a multi-market BSS rollout enabling MVNO launches, advanced charging and billing, and interconnect management across several European and African markets. The deployment accelerated time-to-market, strengthened monetization control, and created a unified operational backbone for secure and scalable service delivery across multiple regions.
- [All case studies](https://avantebss.com/en/customers)

## Insights

- [Agent-ready BSS/OSS: what telecom operators need before AI can run operations](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/agent-ready-bss-oss-telecom-ai-operations): AI-driven telecom operations depend on integration, not models. What BSS/OSS transformation and API governance must deliver before agents can act.
- [Brilliantel Selects AVANTE for Enterprise-Focused MVNO Launch in South Africa](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/news/brilliantel-selects-avante-for-enterprise-focused-mvno-launch-in-south-africa): AVANTE will provide the BSS/OSS platform for Brilliantel’s MVNO launch in South Africa, supporting enterprise and government-focused service models.
- [Cross-Border MVNOs in Africa: When Mobile Connectivity Becomes Part of the Remittance Ecosystem](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/cross-border-mvno-africa-remittances): Why cross-border MVNOs in Africa are a category apart from travel eSIM — remittance economics, multi-country BSS/MVNE requirements and settlement risk.
- [Avante Deploys Comprehensive MVNO BSS/OSS Platform for VENTAmobile](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/news/avante-deploys-mvno-platform-for-ventamobile): Avante has deployed its MVNO BSS/OSS platform for VENTAmobile, supporting service launches, integrations, roaming and telecom operations.
- [The Integration Problem in MVNO Launches: Why the Software Is Rarely What Slows You Down](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-integration-launch-timeline): Why MVNO launch delays are driven by integrations, not platform software — a practical guide to scoping integration risk before committing to a timeline.
- ["Best Moonshot" Award for its GenAI-Powered Telecom Modernization Engine](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/news/avante-honored-with-tm-forums-best-moonshot-award-for-its-genai-powered-telecom-modernization-engine): Avante wins TM Forum’s Best Moonshot Catalyst at DTW Ignite 2025 for ODA in a Box—GenAI-powered legacy modernization to ODA-compliant cloud microservices.
- [Full MVNO, Light MVNO or MVNE: Choosing the Operating Model Before You Choose the Platform](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/full-mvno-light-mvno-mvne-operating-model): A practical framework for choosing between full MVNO, light MVNO and MVNE operating models — covering cost structure, control, integration complexity and long-term strategic optionality.
- [Why MVNO Unit Economics Break at Scale — and What Platform Architecture Has to Do With It](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-unit-economics-billing-architecture): Why real-time billing architecture determines MVNO margins at scale — a practical analysis for MVNO founders, finance directors and platform evaluators.
- [AI and Automation: Transforming Telecom BSS/OSS Operations](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/ai-and-automation-transforming-telecom-bss-oss-operations): Explore how AI empowers telecom BSS/OSS—from predictive maintenance to CRM automation—reshaping operations and customer journeys.
- [Billing for the Internet of Things: Challenges & Solutions](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/billing-for-the-internet-of-things-challenges-solutions): Learn how convergent BSS solves IoT billing challenges—micropayments, massive device volumes, real-time charging—turning usage data into telecom revenue.
- [Unlocking the Benefits of BSS: Essential Features for MVNOs in Today's Market](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/unlocking-the-benefits-of-bss-essential-features-for-mvnos-in-todays-market): Discover the essential Business Support System (BSS) features that can help Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) thrive in today's competitive market.
- [The Role of a Centralized Product Catalog in Revolutionizing Telecommunications](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/the-role-of-a-centralized-product-catalog-in-revolutionizing-telecommunications): The article about the importance of product catalog and use cases in the telecommunications industry. 
- [Discovering the Benefits of Convergent Billing Systems for Modern Businesses](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/discovering-the-benefits-of-convergent-billing-systems-for-modern-businesses): What is a convergent billing system, where do they apply and what benefits do they bring to business? Let's take a brief look at them in this article
- [How to Build a Digital Transformation Roadmap for Your Business](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/how-to-build-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-for-your-business): Discover how to create a digital transformation roadmap for your business with our comprehensive guide. Learn what's important to consider and ensure success
- [2023 Predictions: What New Experiences and Opportunities Can We Expect in the Tech Industry?](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/2023-predictions-what-new-experiences-and-opportunities-can-we-expect-in-the-tech-industry): The technological sector is continually changing and influencing the future in ways we never imagined. What new  opportunities can we expect in 2023?
- [What is Billing Mediation and Why It Is Important Part of BSS](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/what-is-billing-mediation-and-why-it-is-important-part-of-bss): Learn about the importance of billing mediation and how it can streamline your billing process, improve accuracy, and optimize revenue assurance.
- [How Subscription Billing Can Unlock New Revenue Streams: An In-Depth Guide](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/how-subscription-billing-can-unlock-new-revenue-streams-an-in-depth-guide): In this article, we discuss the benefits of subscription billing and how it can help businesses unlock new revenue streams. Read on to learn more!
- [5 Benefits of Implementing a Convergent Billing System](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/5-benefits-of-implementing-a-convergent-billing-system): Discover the benefits of convergent billing: increased efficiency, better customer satisfaction, unified system, higher revenue, and lower costs. 
- [MVNO vs MVNE vs MVNA: who does what in the value chain](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-vs-mvne-vs-mvna): Definitions, a who-owns-what table across MNO, MVNA, MVNE and Light, Medium and Full MVNOs, and the point at which an enabler turns into an aggregator.
- [How to launch an MVNO in 2026: stage-by-stage guide and checklist](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/how-to-launch-an-mvno): The five launch stages, who owns each integration, five risks that move dates, a pre-signature checklist and regulatory notes for SA, Nigeria, Kenya and the EU.
- [How much does it cost to start an MVNO? A cost-structure guide](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-launch-cost-structure): Where MVNO launch money goes by operating model, sourced market cost ranges, CAPEX versus OPEX delivery, and the four cost drivers that break budgets.
- [MVNE and MVNO BSS platforms in 2026: an honest comparison](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/best-mvne-mvno-bss-platforms-2026): Twelve MVNE providers, MVNO-in-a-box platforms and BSS vendors compared by category, delivery form, models and named references, with a selection framework.
- [MVNO in South Africa: hosts, MVNE platforms, RICA and MNP](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-south-africa-launch-guide): Who hosts South Africa's 23 MVNOs, the three enablement routes, what RICA, POPIA and MNP add to the plan, and a realistic launch timeline.
- [Nigeria MVNO licence: the five NCC tiers and what Tier 3–5 needs](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-licensing-nigeria-ncc-tiers): The NCC's five MVNO tiers, sourced fees for Tiers 4 and 5, why few of Nigeria's 40-plus licensees have launched, and what a Tier 3–5 operator needs in place.
- [The MVNO business model: how MVNOs make money](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-business-model): Where MVNO revenue comes from, what eats the margin, seven business-model archetypes with examples, and why the operating model changes the P&L.
- [Multi-IMSI explained: what it is and when an MVNO needs it](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/multi-imsi-explained): How a multi-IMSI SIM works, how it differs from sponsored roaming and eSIM profiles, which MVNOs need it, and what it does to rating and settlement.
- [Why banks launch MVNOs, and what it takes](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/why-banks-launch-mvnos): The retention, data and revenue cases behind bank MVNOs, sourced examples from Capitec to Nubank, and what a bank needs in place before it launches one.
- [MVNO in Mexico and Latin America: market, hosts and platform needs](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-mexico-latam-market-guide): Mexico and Brazil MVNO numbers with sources, the wholesale-network versus bilateral-host question, the segments growing, and what a LatAm BSS has to do.
- [MVNO in a box vs your own BSS: what 'turnkey' really includes](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-in-a-box-vs-own-bss): What an MVNO-in-a-box SaaS platform includes, where it stops, how three-year cost compares with owning your BSS, and how to migrate later.
- [MVNO glossary: the terms behind MVNE, MVNA, BSS and launch](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-glossary): Plain-language definitions of 28 MVNO terms, from MNO, MVNE and Full MVNO to OCS, MNP, DSA, eSIM and multi-IMSI, each with why it matters at launch.
- [MVNO licence in Saudi Arabia: rules, hosts, launch](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-licence-saudi-arabia): How CST licenses MVNOs, the four operators trading and their hosts, what the 2020 application round required, and the porting rules a platform must meet.
- [From Reseller to Full MVNO: How Much of the Stack a Brand Should Own](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/reseller-to-full-mvno): Sky Italia stopped reselling Fastweb SIMs in September 2026 and became an MVNO. What each step up the MVNO ladder gives a brand, and how to plan the next one.
- [Enhancing the Network Provider Ecosystem for Optimal Performance](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/enhancing-the-network-provider-ecosystem-for-optimal-performance): The network provider ecosystem is an essential part of the digital environment and is crucial for allowing digital transformation.
- [How a Partner Relationship Management System Can Help You Scale Your Business](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/how-a-partner-relationship-management-system-can-help-you-scale-your-business): Discover the benefits of a Partner Relationship Management system in improving collaboration, managing partnerships, and achieving business growth goals
- [MVNO Markets in LATAM & Africa: Trends, Opportunities and Strategy](https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-markets-in-latam-africa-trends-opportunities-and-strategy): Explore how MVNOs are scaling in Latin America and Africa. Key market trends, business models, challenges, and the role of modern BSS/MVNE platforms.

## Company

- [About Avante](https://avantebss.com/en/company/about): We are Avante, and we develop & deliver software solutions for various areas of business
- [Contact](https://avantebss.com/en/company/contacts): request a demo or consultation
- [Privacy policy](https://avantebss.com/en/privacy)

## Optional

- [Full text of the site for LLMs](https://avantebss.com/llms-full.txt)
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# Home

BSS/OSS for operators and MVNOs

Avante is a BSS/OSS vendor for the telecom industry. We build, integrate and run the charging, billing, product catalogue, CRM and provisioning that mobile operators, MVNOs and MVNE platforms depend on, with one charging engine and one customer record behind every plan.
The same stack serves service providers outside mobile: utilities, energy, banking, data storage and processing, wherever usage has to be rated, billed and settled. Deployed on your premises, in a private cloud or as a managed service.

## We take our clients' business to the next level

Avante delivers convergent charging and billing, partner and settlement tools, and the integrations that tie an operator's processes together. The figures below come from delivered projects.

# About Avante

We are Avante, and we develop & deliver software solutions for various areas of business

## What we do

We actively develop our product line, regularly supplementing it with modern solutions.
This enables our customers to use in their business modern omnichannel customer interaction tools, accumulate their customer experience and build complex ecosystems based on its analysis, including various loyalty programs and partner services.

## Our history

We once made it our goal to create software products that would help telcos to serve subscribers quickly and efficiently. An excellent line of IT solutions and great project experience became our calling card.
Now our solutions are used not only in the telcos, but also by banks, insurance companies, energy supply companies and large media and service centers.

- Help companies to accelerate business efficiency and profitability by supporting and empowering all business processes.
- Develop and implement high-end services and information systems.
- Invent and launch our own state-of-the-art innovations.

## Products

We specialize in the development of convergent charging/billing and partner ecosystems, as well as solutions to integrate all business processes, reduce costs and effectively build interaction policies.

- OSS/BSS: Scalable and flexible convergent billing system and business support solutions.
- MNO Suite: Complete solution for MNO/MVNO/MVNE operators.
- PRM system: Universal and flexible Partner Relationship Management.
- Subscription platform: Empower your business with all-in-one subscription management platform.

- 21 BSS projects delivered for MNOs and MVNOs
- 15 live MVNOs on Avante
- 3 MVNE platform deployments
- Since 2006 BSS delivery experience

## Part of the TM Forum Community

Avante is proud to be a member of TM Forum, a leading global industry association that drives digital transformation and collaboration across the telecom sector. Our membership underscores our commitment to adopting and contributing to industry best practices, ensuring that we deliver innovative, high-quality solutions that align with global standards.

# Solutions

## MVNx Suite — MVNO · MVNE · MVNA — BSS/OSS for MVNOs, MVNEs and MVNAs

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno

Avante MVNx Suite: the BSS/OSS to launch and run an MVNO, host MVNOs as an MVNE or aggregate as an MVNA. Medium in 4–6 months, 15 live MVNOs since 2006.

The platform behind 15 live MVNOs and 3 MVNE deployments, running all three roles from one stack.
- Highlights: Launch — your own MVNO, Medium in 4 to 6 months · Host — other operators as an MVNE or MVNA · Migrate — a live base onto your own BSS

Delivered projects and production load, not roadmap ambitions — the reason an MVNO business case survives contact with the host operator.
| 21 | 15 | 3 | 12M+ | 150M+ | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSS projects delivered | live MVNOs on Avante | MVNE platform deployments | subscribers served | load proven in testing | delivering BSS since |
(Avante project data. Load figure from platform load testing, not a single live deployment.)

### Where the line runs between you and the network

An MVNO is a commercial business running on someone else's radio. How much of it is yours depends on where the platform boundary sits: below the line the host carries the traffic, above it you own the product, the subscriber and the margin. Billing, charging, catalogue, CRM, provisioning and partner management are the band in the middle.
- One open API — REST, asynchronous events and WebSocket, so your systems integrate once
- Standard telecom interfaces — provisioning, charging, mediation, SIM and eSIM, number portability, roaming
- Yours — brand, product, margin: brand and proposition · pricing and margin · subscriber relationship · channels and campaigns · your app, CRM and data platform
- Avante MVNx Suite — delivered, integrated and operated by Avante: product catalogue · online charging · convergent billing · CRM and self-care · provisioning and mediation · partner management · settlement
- Host operator — coverage and network: radio access and core · HLR / HSS · SMSC and A2P · eSIM platform · roaming and interconnect
(The filled band is what Avante delivers, integrates and operates. In a Full MVNO the lower band moves up: the core elements become yours, on the same platform and without a second subscriber migration.)

### Built for three kinds of operator

- Brands launching their own MVNO: Banks, retailers, public bodies, ISPs and ICT providers that want to own the product, the subscriber data and the margin rather than take a reseller deal off the host's shelf. Start Medium and grow to Full without a second migration.
- Operators and enablers hosting MVNOs: MNO wholesale teams, enablers and aggregators that need one multi-tenant BSS to onboard partners, rate wholesale traffic and settle with each tenant, instead of building a bilateral integration for every MVNO.
- MVNOs outgrowing their host or enabler: Live MVNOs whose current host cannot give them the tariff logic, the data or the channels the next product needs. Migrate the base to your own BSS in one window, keep history and active plans, and carry on growing.

### Choose the control your business needs

The operating model decides who owns the subscriber, the data and the margin. It is a commercial decision rather than a technical one, and it belongs before the platform shortlist.
| Dimension | Reseller / Light | Medium (own BSS) | Full MVNO | MVNE / MVNA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns billing, catalogue, CRM | host or enabler | you, on Avante | you, on Avante | you, for every tenant |
| Who owns subscriber data | host or enabler | you | you | you and your tenants |
| Core network elements (HLR/HSS, packet core) | host | host, via interfaces | yours or via partners | host or yours |
| Own numbering and interconnect | no | in some markets | yes | yes |
| Typical time to commercial launch* | weeks–months | 4–6 months | 8–10 months | 6–12 months |
| Path on Avante | — | Medium → Full on one BSS, no re-migration | — | tenants onboard on one platform |
(Avante planning assumptions from delivered projects; the clock starts once the host agreement and the legal framework are confirmed. Model names vary by market.)

### What is in the suite

One product catalogue, one charging engine, one customer record. The modules deploy as a whole or only in the scope your model needs.
- Charging and billing: Avante OCS — real-time online charging · Avante Billing — prepaid, postpaid, hybrid · Product Catalog — plans, bundles, partner rules · Avante IBS — interconnect and settlement
- Provisioning and traffic: Avante SP — low-code service provisioning · Avante Mediation — traffic collection and rating input · Dynamic SIM Allocation — DSA · Number portability — MNP adapters
- Channels and care: Avante CRM — agent workspace, 360° record · Selfcare — portal and app · Avante PRM — partners, dealers, agents · Avante Loyalty — rewards and programmes
- Integration and regulatory: Avante API — REST, events, WebSocket · Avante BPM — and WFM · Avante DMP — data platform, reporting · Regulatory extracts — and statutory reporting

### Five stages, sixteen to twenty-six weeks

Durations are taken from delivered projects. Host and legal readiness is the critical path; Avante supports that track but cannot decide it.
| Stage | weeks | Detail | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 1–3 | MVNO model, plans, segments, service model and the target IT landscape. | 2–3 w |
| Host and legal · critical path | 1–20 | Host agreement, numbering, SIM supply, regulatory approvals. Owned by you, the host and the regulator; Avante supports the negotiation and the technical annex. |  |
| BSS platform | 4–11 | Platform deployment and a working test environment. | 4–8 w |
| Integrations | 10–21 | Your app and channels, the host operator, payments, KYC, number portability. | 6–12 w |
| Launch | 23–26 | Pilot, Friends & Family, then commercial start. | 2–4 w |
(Stages overlap. The bars show indicative placement on a 16–26 week plan, not contractual dates.)

### Beyond the software

- Business case and model choice: One discovery workshop settles the financial model, the segments and offers, and the target operating model.
- Host operator negotiations: Wholesale terms, coverage, interfaces and SLAs. We know what the host will ask for and what the contract has to pin down.
- Network components through partners: Packet core, HLR/HSS, eSIM and SMS platforms when your model needs them, scoped and integrated with the BSS.
- Managed operations: Year one as a managed service if you have no in-house BSS team, with 24×7 support from launch. On-premises, private cloud or SaaS, including an OPEX-based launch.

### Where an MVNO earns its keep

- Banks and fintech: a mobile line that grows the core product: card spend to data, salary customers to plans, telecom signals for risk.
- Retail and loyalty: shopping earns data and points bring the bill down, while the store and the app become the sales channel.
- Government and public sector: identity, rules and records inside your perimeter; coverage from the host.
- Enterprise, ISP and ICT providers: B2B and B2G mobile with sponsored billing, employee limits and enterprise logic that standard MVNE setups do not offer.

### Delivered on Avante

Also on Avante: a leading banking MVNO delivered in six months to the bank's security and integration standards; a unified BSS for a leading operator in Kazakhstan; BSS for a private LTE network.
- Brilliantel · Africa: Enterprise MVNO for Brilliantel, South Africa — B2B and B2G segments with sponsored billing and enterprise product structures beyond standard MVNE setups. Delivered on an OPEX model.
- VENTAmobile · Europe: Full BSS/OSS stack for VENTAmobile, Latvia — sponsored roaming, multi-IMSI, M2M and eSIM services, plus wholesale voice and SMS transit.
- LANCK · Europe + Africa: Multi-market BSS rollout for LANCK Telecom — MVNO launches, charging and billing, and interconnect management across several European and African markets.

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: What is the difference between an MVNO, an MVNE and an MVNA? A: An MVNO sells mobile service to end customers under its own brand without owning spectrum or radio network. An MVNE provides the platform (BSS/OSS, SIM management, interconnect and operations) that one or many MVNOs run on. An MVNA buys wholesale capacity from a host operator in bulk and re-wholesales it to several smaller MVNOs, usually on an MVNE platform. Avante supplies the BSS/OSS for all three roles.
- Q: Does Avante act as an MVNE or provide the network? A: No. Avante is a BSS/OSS vendor. We supply and operate the platform; the host operator provides coverage, and network elements your model needs (packet core, HLR/HSS, eSIM platform) come from the host or from our partners, integrated by us. The subscriber data, the product logic and the margin stay with you.
- Q: How long does it take to launch an MVNO on Avante? A: A Medium MVNO (own BSS, own commercial logic) takes four to six months from the point the host agreement and the legal framework are confirmed. Platform readiness on its own is about three months; a Full MVNO with its own core elements takes eight to ten. These are planning assumptions from delivered projects, not guaranteed dates. Integrations and host schedules set the pace.
- Q: Can we start as a Medium MVNO and become a Full MVNO later? A: Yes, and without migrating subscribers twice. Medium and Full run on the same Avante BSS; moving up adds network elements and interfaces, not a new platform. A delivered reference moved from Medium to Full and to a multi-host setup on the same stack.
- Q: Which MVNO models does the platform support? A: All of them: reseller and light, medium, full, and multi-tenant MVNE and MVNA operation. A reseller or light model rarely needs its own BSS, and we say so. Our customers are the operators that want to own product, data and margin, and the enablers that host them.
- Q: Where is the platform deployed? A: On your premises or in a data centre you approve, in a private cloud, or as a managed service. Government and banking customers typically run inside their own perimeter; enterprise launches have used an OPEX-based model.
- Q: Which markets does Avante work in? A: Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, with delivered projects in the EU, South Africa and Kazakhstan among others. Number portability, KYC and regulatory reporting are configured per market.
- Q: What do we get from the readiness call? A: Thirty minutes with a team behind 21 BSS and MVNO implementations, and three outputs: the host-side assumptions to validate first, where BSS, OCS and CRM responsibility starts and stops, and a minimum MVP scope for go-live.

### Launching an MVNO doesn't have to take a year

Book a 30-minute readiness call. You leave with a target model, a scope boundary and a first-cut MVP, plus an honest view of whether Avante is the right fit.

## Operating models — Which operating model: Light, Medium, Full, MVNE or MVNA?

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models

Who owns billing, data, core and numbering in each MVNO model, time to launch, and what Avante delivers in each. Includes an interactive model selector.

The model decides who owns the subscriber, the data and the margin. Most organisations choose it after the platform. Choose it first.
- Highlights: 5 models — Light, Medium, Full, MVNE, MVNA · 4 to 6 months — the standard Medium launch · One BSS — Medium and Full, no re-platforming

### The choice as one ladder

The model sets the cost structure, the time to market, the integration effort and how much room you have to change course later. Three of the five are rungs on the same ladder: each adds a layer of the operator to what you own, and the top two share a platform. The other two are that same stack turned outwards and run for other operators rather than for your own base. The comparison and the five-question selector below turn the shape into a decision.
- Reseller / Light: Brand, distribution and the customer relationship. The host or an enabler runs SIM management, rating, billing and interconnect, so the product is limited to what their shelf and pricing tools allow.
- Medium (own BSS): Adds the product catalogue, charging, billing, CRM and the subscriber data, integrated with the host network. Four to six months once host and legal readiness are confirmed.
- Full MVNO: Adds HLR/HSS, packet core, own numbering, interconnect and roaming. The same Avante BSS stays underneath, so moving up is an extension rather than a second launch.
- Turned outwards, for other operators: MVNE — the same stack made multi-tenant, with per-tenant catalogues, branding and settlement · MVNA — enablement plus one bulk wholesale agreement re-sold in tiers
(The table below carries the detail dimension by dimension. The ladder only has to show the shape of the choice.)

### What the models actually mean

Terminology in this market is not standardised. This is how we use the terms on this site: one column per model, and the bands show who runs which layer of the stack.
| Model | Brand | BSS | Core | Radio | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reseller / Light — "thin", branded reseller | ● you | ○ host / enabler | ○ host | ○ host | The host or a third-party MVNE runs SIM management, HLR/HSS, rating, billing and interconnect. You own the brand, distribution and the customer relationship — and, in the light variant, care and tariff presentation. The product is limited to what their shelf allows. |
| Medium — "enhanced", own BSS | ● you | ● you | ○ host | ○ host | Your own product catalogue, charging, billing, CRM, self-care and partner management, integrated with the host through provisioning, charging and mediation interfaces. Subscriber data and commercial logic are yours; in some markets the numbering range and the SIMs are too. |
| Full MVNO — "thick" | ● you | ● you | ● you | ○ host | Adds the network layer: own HLR/HSS or subscriber data management, own packet core or gateways, own numbering, own interconnect and roaming agreements. The host provides spectrum, radio access and capacity only. The most control, and the most operational responsibility. |
| MVNE — Mobile Virtual Network Enabler | ◐ your tenants | ● you, multi-tenant | ◐ host or you | ○ host | An infrastructure layer rather than an MVNO: one multi-tenant platform providing BSS/OSS, SIM management, interconnect and operations to several MVNOs at once, between the host and its partners. For specialist enablers, and for MNO wholesale teams scaling a portfolio. |
| MVNA — Mobile Virtual Network Aggregator | ◐ your tenants | ● you, wholesale tiers | ◐ host or you | ○ host | A wholesale intermediary that buys host capacity in bulk under one agreement and re-wholesales it to smaller MVNOs, usually running them on an MVNE platform. It needs tiered wholesale rating and settlement with every tenant. |
(Filled bands are yours, dashed are shared or held per tenant, outlined belong to the host.)
(Bands, top to bottom: brand, distribution and the customer relationship; BSS — catalogue, charging, billing, CRM and self-care; core — HLR/HSS, packet core, numbering, interconnect and roaming; radio, spectrum and capacity.)

### Who owns what in each model

*Avante planning assumptions from delivered projects; the clock starts once the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed.
| Dimension | Reseller / Light | Medium (own BSS) | Full MVNO | MVNE | MVNA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand, marketing, distribution | you | you | you | your tenants | your tenants |
| Customer care | host / enabler (light: you) | you | you | you, per tenant | you or tenants |
| Product catalogue and pricing logic | host / enabler | you | you | you, per tenant | you, wholesale tiers |
| Online charging and billing | host / enabler | you | you | you, multi-tenant | you, wholesale + retail |
| Subscriber data and CRM | host / enabler | you | you | you and tenants | you and tenants |
| SIM / eSIM issuance and inventory | host / enabler | you (in most markets) | you | you, per tenant | you, per tenant |
| HLR/HSS, subscriber data management | host | host (via interface) | you | host or you | host or you |
| Packet core, gateways | host | host | you or partner | host or you | host or you |
| Numbering range | host | some markets | you | per tenant / yours | yours or per tenant |
| Interconnect and roaming agreements | host | host | you | you | you |
| Wholesale agreement with the host | via enabler or host | you | you | you | you, in bulk |
| Time to commercial launch* | weeks – 3 months | 4–6 months | 8–10 months | 6–12 months | 6–12 months |
| Upfront investment | low | medium | high | high | high |
| Independence from the host | low | medium | full | medium | medium |
| Long-term optionality | lower | high (Full on the same BSS) | high | high | high |

### What Avante delivers in each model

- Reseller / Light — an honest answer: A light MVNO on an enabler's platform rarely needs its own BSS, and we will say so. Where Avante fits: when the enabler's tools cannot deliver your offer (loyalty integration, real-time pricing, your own data) and you are ready to move to Medium. We migrate the base in one window and keep history and active plans.
- Medium — the standard Avante launch: Product catalogue, OCS, convergent billing, CRM and agent workspace, self-care, PRM, loyalty, BPM, provisioning and mediation interfaces to the host, MNP, KYC and payment integrations, regulatory reporting. Four to six months after host and legal readiness; managed service in year one if you have no BSS team.
- Full — the same BSS plus the network layer: We add HLR/HSS and subscriber data management, packet core and gateways through partners, own numbering, interconnect settlement and roaming clearing, all on the same platform and data model. There is no second subscriber migration and no re-platforming. A delivered reference moved Medium → Full → multi-host on one stack.
- MVNE — multi-tenant by design: Tenant onboarding, per-tenant catalogues, branding and self-care, shared or dedicated charging, wholesale rating between you and the host, settlement with each tenant, tenant APIs and reporting. Three MVNE platforms delivered.
- MVNA — wholesale on top of enablement: Bulk wholesale agreement modelled once; tiered re-wholesale pricing per tenant; sub-tenant settlement, revenue share and regulatory reporting per operator.

### Find your model in five questions

- : Does your proposition need pricing or reward logic the host does not offer (loyalty-linked data, balance-based rewards, sponsored billing, family or B2B limits)? — No / Some / Yes, it is the proposition
- : Do you need subscriber and usage data inside your own CRM, data platform or risk engine? — No / Aggregated is fine / Yes, event-level
- : When do you need to be commercially live? — Within 3 months / 4–6 months / 8–12 months is acceptable
- : Do you have, or will you build, a telecom operations team (core, numbering, roaming, interconnect)? — No / Through a managed service / Yes
- : Will you host or aggregate other brands or operators on your platform? — No / Possibly later / Yes, that is the business

### The upgrade path that is usually a migration, and how to avoid it

"We can always upgrade to Full later" is true in principle. In practice, when the light MVNO's subscriber base, billing records, SIM inventory, number ranges and catalogue sit inside the enabler's infrastructure, moving them is a migration project on the scale of the original launch: service continuity, billing history, number management, porting windows.
The way to keep the option genuinely open is to hold those assets on your own BSS from the Medium stage. On Avante, Full adds network elements and interfaces to the platform you already run; it does not replace it. That is the difference between an upgrade and a second launch.

### Three questions that decide the model

- Control appetite: Work backwards from the product. A standard SIM with branded packaging and basic bundles is a light MVNO. Real-time balance integration with a financial account, individual-level pricing, or loyalty rules on purchase events need your own catalogue and charging engine, which means Medium at least.
- Operational capacity: Full is an organisational decision as much as a platform one. It needs engineers who understand HLR/HSS, numbering, roaming and interconnect. Some of that can be outsourced (our managed service covers the BSS), but network operations need an owner.
- Strategic timeline: A Medium launch on a platform already in production is a four to six month project; Full with custom network integration is typically twice that. When the mobile product is tied to a bank's app or a retailer's loyalty platform, the cost of delay is a digital product that moves on without it.

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: What is the difference between a Full MVNO and a Light MVNO? A: A light MVNO owns the brand and the customer relationship while the host or an enabler runs billing, SIM, HLR/HSS and interconnect. A full MVNO runs all of those itself, with its own core elements, numbering, interconnect and roaming, and buys only spectrum and radio access from the host. Medium sits between the two: own BSS and commercial logic, host network.
- Q: Is "thin", "thick", "enhanced" or "medium" the same thing? A: Roughly. Thin usually means light or reseller; thick, enhanced and medium are used for operators with their own BSS and, in some definitions, some core elements. Model names vary by market and regulator (Nigeria, for example, licenses five tiers); what matters is who owns billing, data, SIM, numbering and core, whatever the label says.
- Q: Can a light MVNO convert to a full MVNO on the same platform? A: Only if the platform was built for it. Platforms designed for reselling typically cannot extend to own HLR/HSS, own charging or additional network integrations. On Avante, Medium and Full share one BSS, so the extension is a project on the same platform rather than a migration to a new one.
- Q: What is the main risk of choosing the wrong model? A: Timeline and cost, in that order. Underestimate the control you need and you face a capability gap after launch, then a migration at an inconvenient time. Overestimate it and you spend a year building infrastructure for capabilities you will not use while a competitor launches in four months.
- Q: Does an MVNE need a different platform from an MVNO? A: It needs the same functions with multi-tenancy on top: tenant isolation, per-tenant catalogues and branding, shared or dedicated charging, wholesale rating and settlement per tenant. Avante MVNx Suite runs both from one architecture, which is why an MNO can start with a few bilateral MVNO partners and move to platform-based enablement without replacing the stack.
- Q: Do we need an MVNA? A: Only if you intend to buy capacity in bulk and re-wholesale it to other operators. For a single brand, the question is Medium versus Full; for an enabler, whether tenants contract the host directly or through you.

### Decide the model before the platform

Thirty minutes with our MVNO architecture team on your control requirements, timeline and operating capacity. You leave with a written model recommendation and the scope it implies.

## Platform & architecture — The platform: what is inside, and how it connects

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/platform

Inside Avante MVNx Suite: real-time charging, convergent billing, catalogue, CRM, provisioning, MNP, eSIM, one open API and host interfaces.

Avante MVNx Suite sits between your business and the host network: one API above it, standard telecom interfaces below.
- Highlights: One API — REST, asynchronous events, WebSocket · Below the API line — Avante integrates and operates it · Deployment — on-premises, private cloud or managed

### Where the platform sits

Your app, CRM, loyalty engine, data platform and payment gateway connect above the line through one API. The host's radio, core, SMSC, HLR/HSS, eSIM, MNP and roaming platforms connect below it through standard telecom interfaces.
- Avante API — open REST · asynchronous events · WebSocket — one integration surface for the whole stack
- Standard telecom interfaces — provisioning, online charging, mediation, SIM and eSIM, number portability, roaming, settlement
- Your landscape — you own and operate: app and web · CRM · core business systems (core banking, ERP, POS) · data platform / CDP · payment gateway · loyalty engine
- Channels and care: CRM agent workspace · Selfcare · Seller / dealer portal · Chatbot
- Business processes: BPM · WFM · Order capture · KYC
- Customer and campaigns: CRM · Campaign management · DMP / CDP · Loyalty
- Charging and billing: Product Catalog · Online Charging (OCS) · Convergent Billing · Interconnect (IBS)
- Provisioning and traffic: Service Provisioning · Mediation · DSA · MNP · Traffic integrator
- The host operator — host owns, Avante integrates: radio and core · SMSC / A2P · HLR / HSS · eSIM platform · MNP platform · roaming
(Everything below the API line is Avante's responsibility to integrate and operate. Select the components and integrations your first offer requires.)

### Modules

- Charging and billing: Avante OCS · Avante Billing · Avante Product Catalog · Avante IBS
- Provisioning and traffic: Avante SP · Avante Mediation · Dynamic SIM Allocation · Number portability
- Channels and customer care: Avante CRM · Avante Selfcare Portal · Avante PRM · Avante Loyalty
- Integration, process and regulatory: Avante API · Avante BPM / WFM · Avante DMP · Regulatory

### One integration surface

You integrate once, with the Avante API. Your app, CRM, data platform and payment gateway work against one contract, and the host operator's systems below it are connected and operated by Avante.
- Open REST — synchronous: products · subscribers · orders · balances · payments
- Asynchronous events — push: lifecycle · usage thresholds · porting · payment outcomes
- WebSocket — live: agent workspace · chat · other real-time channels
(Asynchronous events are the feed a bank's risk engine or a retailer's loyalty platform subscribes to.)

### Interfaces to the host operator

Interface responsibilities and the technical annex are agreed at discovery; the host's engineering queue is usually the long-lead item.
| Function | Interface / protocol | Model where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Subscriber provisioning | HLR/HSS provisioning interface (host-specific; SS7/Diameter-based or API) | Medium (host HLR/HSS), Full (own) |
| Online charging | Diameter Gy / Ro, or host charging API | Medium, Full |
| Policy | PCRF / PCF integration where the host exposes it | Medium (optional), Full |
| Usage records | mediation feeds (CDR/EDR) from host and own elements | all |
| SMS / USSD | SMSC, A2P, USSD gateway | all; USSD self-service common in Africa and the Middle East |
| SIM and eSIM | SIM profile and eSIM platform (SM-DP+) integration | Medium, Full |
| Number portability | national clearinghouse adapter and certification | markets with MNP |
| Roaming | TAP/NRTRDE clearing, GRX/IPX transport, real-time roaming charging where the host supports it | Full; Medium via host |
| Settlement | wholesale reconciliation with the host; tenant settlement for MVNE/MVNA | all |

### What "pre-built integration" means here

A vendor library of "200 or more pre-built integrations" can mean three different things.
Avante's library covers host network interfaces, number portability adapters across multiple markets, payment and mobile-money gateways, KYC providers and roaming clearing. Before a plan is finalised we run an integration scoping phase that classifies each connector for your deployment into one of those three categories, so the delivery timeline reflects what is reusable and what is a project.
- Built once: A connector built for a previous customer and not deployed since.
- Maintained and certified: Actively maintained, certified against the current version of the external system, and in production at several customers.
- Not built yet: Something the vendor is confident it can build.
- For HLR/HSS provisioning, MNP and the primary payment gateway, before signing: How many production deployments · Which API version · Who maintains it · Whether it is in the licence

### Deployment options

|  | On your premises | Private cloud | Managed service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the data lives | Your perimeter or an approved data centre | A dedicated environment in your region | Avante's managed environment |
| Who operates it | You, with Avante support | You or Avante | Avante, 24×7 from launch |
| What crosses the boundary | Signalling and traffic only | Per your security standards | Agreed in the service description |
| Typically chosen by | Government and banking customers | Multi-market operators | Launches without an in-house BSS team |
| Commercial model | Licence | Licence or subscription | OPEX-based |
- In every option: 150M+ — subscriber load proven in testing · multi-host — one BSS across several host networks · multi-market — multi-currency and multi-language operation · role-based — every access logged under a role model

### Security and compliance

- Access: Role-based access with a full audit trail.
- Perimeter: Deployment inside the customer's perimeter where required.
- Regulatory: Per-market KYC and SIM registration records, statutory extracts and lawful-interception hand-off points defined with the host under national law.

### One workspace instead of four systems

An agent answering a billing question should not have the catalogue in one tab, the charging system in another and the SIM inventory in a third. Below is the shape of the Avante CRM agent workspace: one subscriber record, with the plan, the allowances, the SIM and the history attached to it.
- Avante CRM: Subscribers · Orders · Catalogue · Campaigns · Partners · Reports
- Subscriber record: active · postpaid · corporate account · multi-line
- Plan and allowances: Data — 12.4 / 20 GB · Voice — 340 / 500 min · Messaging — unlimited · Roaming — EU zone, on
- SIM and eSIM: Profile — eSIM, downloaded · ICCID — on file · Spare profile — one · Device — registered
- Recent activity: Invoice — issued · Top-up — confirmed · Plan change — scheduled · Roaming — enabled by agent
(A schematic of the agent workspace rather than a screenshot. Field values are illustrative and hold no customer data.)

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: Is charging real-time or batch? A: Real-time. Avante OCS rates usage as it flows and terminates sessions when balances are exhausted, which is what keeps prepaid margins intact at scale. Batch rating leaves a window in which subscribers consume beyond their balance.
- Q: Does the platform support prepaid and postpaid in one system? A: Yes. Avante Billing is convergent: prepaid, postpaid and hybrid plans run in one rating architecture, so a subscriber can move between them and a product range can expand without a second billing system.
- Q: How does the BSS talk to the host operator? A: Through standard telecom interfaces: provisioning to HLR/HSS, Diameter-based online charging, mediation feeds, SMSC/USSD, SIM/eSIM platforms, MNP clearinghouses and roaming clearing, plus wholesale settlement. Which of these apply depends on the operating model, and the technical annex lists them per project.
- Q: Can we integrate our own app, CRM and data platform? A: Yes, through the Avante API: REST for transactions, asynchronous events for lifecycle and usage, WebSocket for real-time channels. Bank and retail launches typically integrate the customer app, the loyalty or CDP platform and the payment gateway.
- Q: Where does the data live? A: Where you decide: on-premises, in an approved data centre, in a private cloud or in Avante's managed environment. Government and financial-services deployments keep the subscriber database and records inside their own perimeter.
- Q: Which Avante products are in the MVNx Suite? A: The suite is assembled from the Avante product line: OCS, Billing, Product Catalog, IBS, SP, Mediation, CRM, Selfcare Portal, PRM, Loyalty, BPM, WFM, DMP and Campaign Management. It is deployed whole or as the modules your model needs.

### See it before you scope it

A demo of the catalogue, charging and agent workspace on an offer like yours, and a first cut of the interface list for your host.

## Launch process — How we launch an MVNO: five stages, 16 to 26 weeks

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/launch

Five stages from discovery to launch in 16–26 weeks, who owns what, the five integrations that set the pace, delivered timelines and a timeline builder.

For a scoped Medium launch we plan four to six months from the point the host agreement and the legal framework are confirmed.
- Highlights: 16 to 26 weeks — five stages, overlapping · Critical path — host agreement, numbering, approvals · 2 long-lead items — started before contract signature

### 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 | Weeks | Track |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 1–3 | you and Avante |
| Host and legal | 1–20 | critical path: you, the host, the regulator |
| BSS platform | 4–11 | Avante |
| Integrations | 10–21 | Avante and third parties |
| Launch | 23–26 | you, Avante and the host |
(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

- 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.
- 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.
- BSS platform (4 to 8 weeks): Platform deployment in your chosen environment, catalogue and charging configuration for the opening offers, a working test environment.
- 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.
- 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.

### 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

| Scope | Duration |
|---|---|
| Retail loyalty MVNO: commercial launch on existing host infrastructure | 2 months |
| Ecosystem brand: BSS stack ready for a Friends & Family launch | 2.5 months |
| Standard mono-MVNO: platform readiness | 3 months |
| Live MVNO migrated to Avante: 200k+ subscribers in one window | 5 months |
| Greenfield banking MVNO: commercial launch | 6 months |
| Greenfield banking MVNO: concept to launch across 7 regions, with dedicated packet core and M2M | 10 months |
(Avante-reported project durations. Define the deliverable before comparing timelines. Platform readiness, commercial launch and migration are different scopes, and every launch also depends on host readiness, approvals and integration complexity.)

### What we do beyond the BSS

- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Network components through partners: Packet core, HLR/HSS, eSIM and SMS platforms for Full models, scoped and integrated with the BSS.
- 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

- Q: How long does it take to launch an MVNO? A: 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.
- Q: What is on the critical path? A: 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.
- Q: Why do MVNO launches slip? A: 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.
- Q: Can we launch without roaming? A: 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.
- Q: What if the host operator has never hosted an MVNO? A: 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.
- Q: What does the first call cost? A: 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.

## MVNE & MVNA platform — MVNE and MVNA platform: one BSS for every operator you host

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvne

Host and aggregate MVNOs on one multi-tenant BSS: tenant onboarding, per-tenant catalogues, wholesale rating and settlement. 3 MVNE platforms delivered.

A separate integration per partner works for three MVNOs. At ten it is the constraint, and an MVNE architecture is what removes it.
- Highlights: One platform — every tenant onboards to the same stack · Per tenant — catalogue, branding, self-care and data · MVNA layer — bulk wholesale and settlement on top

### Six partners, two architectures

Avante MVNx Suite is the platform architecture: delivered three times for enablers, and available to MNO wholesale teams and aggregators. What separates the two is not the software. It is whether the tenth partner costs what the third one did.
- Bilateral: Partner 1 · Partner 2 · Partner 3 · Partner 4 · Partner 5 · Partner 6
- One MVNE platform: Partner 1 · Partner 2 · Partner 3 · Partner 4 · Partner 5 · Partner 6
- Nodes: its own integration · MVNE platform — one integration to the host · Host network
(Bilateral: every partner is configured, tested, operated and escalated on its own, so the operating cost tracks the partner count. On the platform: partners onboard from a template onto shared infrastructure, and the integration to the host is built once.)

### Three ways to run wholesale

- Bilateral: Each MVNO has its own interconnect, its own operational interface into your OSS and its own escalation path. Fine for a handful of partners. Beyond that the operating cost grows in step with the partner count, and so does the queue for your engineering team.
- MVNE platform: SIM management, catalogue, charging, billing, interconnect and operational support run centrally, with tenant isolation. Onboarding becomes a configuration exercise, and wholesale revenue can grow without the operating cost growing with it.
- MVNA: You hold the bulk wholesale agreement with the host and re-wholesale capacity to smaller operators on your platform, with tiered pricing and settlement per tenant. In practice it is the enablement layer with a wholesale business on top.

### For MNO wholesale teams

The real choice for a wholesale team is between managing each partnership as a direct relationship and running an enablement function on shared infrastructure. That is what separates operators with three MVNO partners from those with twenty. On the platform you can offer partners a light or medium model on your terms and keep the network interfaces under your control, while each partner still gets its own catalogue, branding, self-care and data. If a partner later wants its own BSS, the migration is planned rather than improvised, because it is the same Avante stack.

### What an enabler gets

- Tenant onboarding: A new operator is a configuration job: brand, catalogue template, numbering block, SIM/eSIM inventory, channels, users and roles. It is cloned from a template and adjusted rather than built.
- Per-tenant catalogue, pricing and branding: Each tenant owns its plans, bundles, promotions and reward rules within limits you set, plus white-label self-care, an app and its own customer communications.
- Shared or dedicated charging and billing: Real-time OCS and convergent billing per tenant on shared infrastructure, or dedicated instances where a tenant's security or regulatory model requires it.
- Wholesale rating and settlement: Usage is rated against your host agreement and against each tenant's wholesale tariff. Settlement, revenue share and reconciliation with every tenant and with the host run automatically.
- Tenant API and portals: Tenants connect their own systems through the same open API. They also get a tenant portal for products, subscribers, orders and reports, and a seller portal for their dealers.
- Operations and regulatory per tenant: Number portability, KYC and SIM registration, statutory reporting and lawful-interception hand-off handled per operator under one operating model.
- Tenant isolation and audit: Data isolation between tenants, role-based access and a full audit trail. Banks, public bodies and regulators ask about this first.

### For aggregators: the MVNA layer

An MVNA buys capacity from the host in bulk under one agreement and re-wholesales it to several smaller operators (brands, communities, regional players) that would not get host terms on their own. On Avante the MVNA runs on the enablement platform above, with the wholesale business modelled on top:
- One host agreement, many tariffs: The bulk wholesale contract is modelled once; each tenant gets its own re-wholesale price list, tiers and commitments.
- Sub-tenant settlement: Monthly settlement, revenue share, minimum commitments and reconciliation per operator, with the host settlement on the other side.
- Tenant lifecycle: Onboard, suspend, migrate or offboard an operator without touching the others; move a tenant to its own BSS when it outgrows the aggregation model.
- Regulatory reporting per operator: Each tenant reports as the licensed entity it is; the aggregator reports on the wholesale relationship.
- Margin visibility: Wholesale cost against retail and re-wholesale revenue per tenant, per product, per period.

### Beyond standard MVNE setups

Enablers compete on what their tenants can sell. Standard enablement platforms tend to leave out the following; Avante includes them:
- Enterprise and public-sector logic: Sponsored billing, where a company pays an agreed part of an employee's usage and the rest is billed to the individual. Limits by employee and group, allocated accounts and reporting, private APN. Delivered for Brilliantel's B2B and B2G MVNO in South Africa.
- Loyalty and partner rules in the catalogue: Purchase events, points and partner offers configured as reward rules in the product catalogue, so a retail or bank tenant can run its loyalty proposition without custom development.
- A path to own BSS: When a tenant needs more control than enablement allows, it moves to a Medium MVNO on the same Avante stack. That is a planned migration, not a re-platforming.

| 3 | 15 | multi-host | 150M+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| MVNE platform deployments | live MVNOs on Avante | one BSS across several host networks | subscriber load proven in testing |

### Delivered

- LANCK Telecom · Europe and Africa: Multi-market BSS rollout covering MVNO launches, charging and billing, and interconnect management across several European and African markets, on one operational backbone.
- Brilliantel · South Africa: Enterprise-focused MVNO with billing models for B2B and B2G that standard MVNE setups do not provide, delivered under an OPEX-based model.
- VENTAmobile · EU: Platform stack for an operator offering sponsored roaming, multi-IMSI, M2M and eSIM to partners and enterprises.

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: What is the difference between an MVNE and an MVNA? A: An MVNE provides the platform and operations that MVNOs run on: BSS/OSS, SIM management, interconnect, support. An MVNA is a wholesale intermediary. It buys capacity from the host in bulk and re-sells it to smaller MVNOs, usually on an MVNE platform. Many enablers do both; on Avante the MVNA layer is the wholesale and settlement business modelled on top of the enablement platform.
- Q: Does Avante act as an MVNE? A: No. Avante supplies and, if you wish, operates the BSS/OSS for your enablement business. The network, the host agreements and the tenant relationships are yours.
- Q: How many tenants can the platform host? A: The platform is multi-tenant by design, with subscriber load proven at 150M+ in testing. In practice the limit is set by your host capacity and your operations model rather than by the BSS.
- Q: How is a new MVNO onboarded? A: From a tenant template. Brand, catalogue, numbering, SIM/eSIM inventory, channels and users are configured, the tenant's own systems connect through the Avante API, and the tenant goes through pilot and launch on your standard process. It is configuration and testing work rather than a development project.
- Q: Who owns the subscriber data? A: Contractually, the licensed operator, which is your tenant. Technically, tenant data is isolated on the platform with role-based access and an audit trail. You see the wholesale and settlement view; the tenant sees its subscribers.
- Q: Can an MNO use this for its own sub-brand as well as for partners? A: Yes. A digital sub-brand is a tenant like any other, with its own catalogue and channels, running on the same charging and billing as the partner MVNOs.
- Q: What does the platform need from the host network? A: The same interfaces as a single MVNO (provisioning, online charging, mediation, SMSC/USSD, SIM/eSIM, MNP, settlement), connected once and shared by all tenants. For an MNO running its own enablement, these are internal interfaces.

### Scale wholesale without scaling the queue

A working session with our MVNE architecture team covers your partner pipeline, your host interfaces and your operating model. You leave with a tenant onboarding process you can quote to partners.

## Banks & fintech — Banking MVNO: a growth channel, not an IT project

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/for-banks

Launch a banking MVNO in 4–6 months on your own BSS: card-spend rewards, telecom risk signals, cheaper SMS and a Medium-to-Full path. 5 bank and fintech MVNOs.

Banks already make money from mobile. A banking MVNO on Avante pays back in four ways rather than one.
- Highlights: 4 to 6 months — to launch on your own BSS · 4 value streams — revenue, core growth, cost, risk · 6 months — a delivered greenfield banking MVNO

### Banking MVNOs are already a P&L line

"Banks, supermarkets, and broadband and TV service providers continue to be key players in the MVNO market." — Matthew Reed, Chief Analyst, Omdia, February 2025. Omdia expects the fastest MVNO growth in the Middle East and Africa: 17.6% a year to 2029.
- R442 million: Capitec Connect's net income for the year to February 2026, up 129% on the prior year; 1.5 million three-month-active subscribers. Launched in 2022.
- 1 million+: FNB Connect active subscribers, with eSIM now 10% of monthly SIM sales.
- 333M → 438M: MVNO subscribers worldwide, 2026 to 2030; service revenue from $47bn to over $54bn.
(These are independent businesses, not Avante deployments. They establish the mechanism; your business case sizes the opportunity.)

### Four value streams, each configured rather than developed

- New revenue: Direct telecom revenue from plans, top-ups and bundles under your brand. Card spend earns data; a utility payment earns an SMS bundle; minutes convert to cashback. For scale, Capitec reached around 6% of its client base in three years.
- Core business growth: Subsidise mobile, monetise the core: repay on time and earn free data, salary customers get a plan, premium tiers include mobile. FNB reports higher retention and lifetime value where customers hold both products. On an Avante microfinance deployment, a data reward for on-time repayment improved repayment discipline by seven percentage points (measured on that deployment, not a public audit).
- Cost of communication: SMS, USSD and push on your own routes, so you set price, routing and quality and do not depend on the infrastructure of an operator you compete with. Corporate mobile and M2M for ATMs and POS run on the same platform. On Avante deployments, SMS has come out roughly five times cheaper in an own stack (measured on those deployments, not a public audit).
- Risk and fraud: Telecom signals the credit bureaus do not hold. A SIM swap becomes a stop signal, a transaction during an active call becomes a fraud flag, and roaming country and SIM lifecycle feed scoring. These are added features, never a sole decision, and they depend on a lawful basis, consent and an agreed data-processing model.
(Pick two or three streams for the MVP. Configure, measure and expand without rebuilding the stack.)

### What it looks like for your customer

Each stage is a reason to return to the one before it, which is what separates a mobile line sold beside the account from a mobile line built into it.
- Join the plan in the bank app: eSIM or SIM, number kept, KYC reused from the bank's own onboarding where the regulator allows.
- Link the account: card, salary, subscription or loyalty status becomes a reward rule.
- Bank and earn: spend, repay, save: eligible events add data, minutes or bill credit, with the benefit and its cap visible in the app.
- Use it, top it up, manage it: balances, allowances, roaming and family lines in the same app as the account.

### Scenario library: 450 ready-made mechanics

- Loyalty — bank → mobile: card spend → discount, data or minutes · account balance or status → telecom reward · salary customer → special plan · salary customer → family benefits · premium customer → mobile bundle · bank subscription → mobile included · cashback → mobile payment · partner activity → data and discounts
- Rewards for unused allowances: rollover of unused data, minutes and SMS · unused allowances → extra reward · daily mobile usage → reward · loyalty tier → reward multiplier · unused allowances → VAS or digital option · group and family reward
- Engagement — mobile → bank: active subscriber → banking communications · mobile → bank subscription · mobile profile → personalised offer · declining activity → win-back · new MVNO customer → bank onboarding · mobile top-up in the bank app · roaming and travel → trip-related offer · offer response → segment refinement
- Monetisation and ARPU: mobile + card · mobile + subscription · mobile + cashback · allowance upsell · time-limited bundles · regional and country bundles · VAS and digital services · sponsored mobile service for customers
- eSIM and digital distribution: eSIM in the bank app · travel eSIM · allowance balances in the app · eSIM and bundle upsell · B2B eSIM for employees · eSIM in a partner storefront · eSIM as a partner reward
- B2B and SME: business banking → mobile for business · corporate mobile for employees · employer-sponsored service · limits by employee and group · allocated accounts and reporting · annual and fixed-term contracts · postpaid billing and adjustments · private APN and enterprise portal
- Trust and fraud prevention: secure SIM/eSIM for authentication · SIM/eSIM lifecycle → risk signal · mobile event + transaction → correlation · active call session → risk flag · roaming and current country → risk signal · telecom activity → scoring attribute · communication channel control
- Partners and ecosystem: partner brand and dedicated offer · partner sells eSIM and mobile service · partner sponsors customer mobile service · B2B2C model · mobile offers in the marketplace · MVNO partner sales programme · ecosystem bundles
- Operational efficiency: dynamic SIM allocation · multi-IMSI and roaming optimisation · host operator and partner management · product catalogue for rapid testing · segment-specific plans · threshold-based spend controls · convergent balances · reporting by product and segment
(Fraud-prevention scenarios require a valid legal basis, customer consent, availability of the underlying events and an agreed data-processing model.)

### Turnkey MVNO: Avante delivers the stack; the bank works on offers from week one

- Complete BSS stack: Plans, offers, customer journeys, communications, rewards and integrations ship as a scenario library proven on live deployments.
- Open APIs and integrations: One integration surface for the bank app, bank CRM, core banking, data platform, payment gateway and loyalty/CDP, with a phased rollout of the target IT estate.
- Managed BSS as a service: Year one runs as a managed service with 24×7 support from launch. No in-house BSS team is needed.
- Growth without re-platforming: Business enablement alongside the technology: financial model, consulting, roadmap and support in host operator negotiations. Medium to Full on one BSS.
(The bank owns the proposition. Avante owns the platform, the integrations and the operations.)

### Reseller builds the host's business; Medium builds the bank's

Model choice is agreed with the host operator and the regulator. The host earns wholesale revenue in every model. → Compare models in detail
| Reseller / Light: control stays with the host | Medium / Full: the asset is the bank's |
|---|---|
| Reseller is an agency model: the host owns subscribers, plans and revenue. Light lets the brand and contracts be the bank's, but billing, pricing logic and data stay in the host's loop. There is no foundation for testing hypotheses, because you hold no data of your own and the product is limited to the host's shelf. | Medium: own BSS and own commercial logic, live in four to six months. Full adds network data and autonomy, in eight to ten. Medium to Full runs on one BSS, with no second subscriber migration and no re-platforming. |

### Five stages, sixteen to twenty-six weeks to launch

- Discovery — 2 to 3 weeks: Target model, launch segments and opening offers, the data model and integration scoping. Output: MVP scope, responsibility matrix, critical path, preliminary business case.
- Host and legal — the critical path: Host agreement, numbering, SIM supply, licence or registration, regulatory approvals. Owned by the bank, the host and the regulator; Avante drafts the technical annex and the interface requirements and supports the negotiation.
- BSS platform — 4 to 8 weeks: Platform deployment in the bank's chosen environment, catalogue and charging configured for the opening offers, a working test environment.
- Integrations — 6 to 12 weeks: Bank app, host operator interfaces, bank systems and payment gateways, plus KYC and number portability. Runs partly in parallel with stage 3.
- Launch — 2 to 4 weeks: Pilot, then Friends & Family, then commercial start. Hypercare and managed operations from day one if contracted.
(Timing is confirmed once the host and the legal model are chosen.)

### What could a paying mobile base contribute?

Enter your assumptions: paying lines by year three, monthly contribution per line after network, rewards, payments and direct service costs, and the share of the base you expect to convert. The tool returns annual contribution and the scale equation. It is not a forecast, and it is not Avante pricing.

### What data the bank gets, by model

| Data group | Available data | Medium | Full |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscriber profile | MSISDN, IMSI, ICCID/eSIM ID, SIM status, activation date, status | yes | yes |
| Product profile | plan, services, add-ons, bundles, limits, remaining allowances | yes | yes |
| Balances and payments | balance, charges, debits, failed top-ups, debt, auto-pay | yes | yes |
| Lifecycle events | activation, suspension, plan change, SIM/eSIM reissue, termination | yes | yes |
| Number portability | porting record, status, donor and recipient operators | yes | yes |
| Call and SMS metadata | event, A/B number, direction, duration, sender ID, delivery status, cost | via host | yes |
| Data traffic | volume, APN, session metadata, RAT, QoS, cost | via host | yes |
| Roaming events | visited country and network, usage, roaming bundle, travel trigger | via host / VAS | yes |
| Core network events | registration, sessions, policy and charging events | limited / via host | yes |
| DPI attributes, location (cell-level, not GPS) | service categories, traffic class; cell ID, region, geofence, visited country | own component / host feed | with DPI / LBS |
("via host" means through the host operator or a VAS integration; "with DPI / LBS" means an own component is required.)

### Delivered for banks and fintechs

- A greenfield banking MVNO: digital platform with advanced billing and a differentiated customer experience, delivered in six months to the bank's security and integration requirements.
- A live MVNO migrated onto Avante: an operating bank MVNO moved to the same platform and delivery method as the greenfield launch; more than a thousand bank agents work in the Avante agent workspace.
- Five fintech and bank MVNOs: run on Avante across our deployments; references and detail under NDA.

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: Why would a bank launch an MVNO? A: Four reasons banks give: a recurring telecom revenue line under the bank's brand; more engagement and retention in the core product when mobile rewards are tied to banking behaviour; cheaper and fully controlled SMS, USSD and push; and telecom signals (SIM swap, active call, roaming) that improve fraud detection and scoring. Capitec and FNB are the public examples; a further five bank and fintech MVNOs run on Avante under NDA.
- Q: How long does a banking MVNO take to launch? A: Four to six months for a Medium model once the host agreement and legal framework are in place, and eight to ten for Full. The critical path runs through the host and the regulator rather than the software.
- Q: Do we need our own telecom team? A: Not to launch. Year one runs as a managed service with 24×7 support. The bank's teams work on offers, channels and the customer, and build telecom capability at their own pace.
- Q: Can we reuse the bank's KYC for SIM registration? A: Where the regulator allows it. SIM-registration rules differ by market (RICA in South Africa, NIN-SIM in Nigeria, national-ID checks in Kenya); we configure the KYC flow per market and integrate with the bank's onboarding where permitted.
- Q: Which model should a bank choose? A: Usually Medium: own BSS, own catalogue and data, integrated with the bank app. Full is the planned next step once network data or autonomy justify it. Reseller and light models leave the data and the pricing logic with the host, which removes most of the reasons a bank launches in the first place.
- Q: Can telecom data be used in credit decisions? A: As an added feature, never a sole decision, and only with a lawful basis, customer consent, the underlying events and an agreed data-processing model. The platform provides the events; the bank's risk and compliance functions decide the use.

### One workshop produces a go / no-go decision pack

We align on the target model, launch segments and opening offers, roles of the bank, the host and Avante, and the data model. You leave with an MVP scope, a responsibility matrix, the critical path, a launch roadmap and a preliminary business case.

## Retail & loyalty — Retail MVNO: earn beyond the basket

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/for-retail

A mobile service that earns from monthly spend and rewards shopping: loyalty-linked data, receipt-to-reward rules, stores and app as the channel.

Launch a mobile service under your brand: earn from the monthly connectivity spend, and reward customers for shopping with you.
- Highlights: Two offers — more data, or a lower bill · One stack — catalogue, loyalty, partner tools, billing · The channel — your stores and your app

### A new revenue stream, built around your shoppers

- Recurring revenue from monthly spend: Sell plans and top-ups under your brand and keep the contribution after network and service costs. A paying base grows alongside the retail business.
- Repeat shopping (shop → data): Eligible purchases earn data or mobile bill credit. Focus rewards on selected products, visits or spending thresholds. Give members another reason to choose your stores.
- Reward economics (points → data): Offer a mobile benefit fulfilled at the agreed wholesale cost. Set a budget and a reward cap per member. Test the value and cost against cash discounts.
- Your channels (stores + app): Put the mobile offer in your app and selected stores, and use the existing member relationship to introduce it. Include onboarding and channel costs in the case.
(One customer relationship: mobile contribution plus the opportunity for more retail value. Actual contribution and retail uplift depend on take-up, costs and measured customer behaviour.)

### Retailers already connect shopping and mobile

- Pick n Pay Mobile, South Africa: relaunched in July 2025 with an app, instant eSIM activation and self-registration; Smart Shopper purchases earn 1MB of data per rand spent.
- Tesco Mobile, United Kingdom: 5.7 million customers at the end of 2024; mobile spending earns Clubcard points and Clubcard vouchers reduce the bill.
- Carrefour Mobile: live in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland and Brazil; members link a loyalty card to a SIM and redeem points for credit.
- Bait (Walmart), Mexico: around 20 million lines; Mexican MVNOs now hold 15.9% of the market, ahead of Movistar.
- Shoprite, Mr Price, TFG, Spar: South African retailers with live MVNOs on Cell C and MTN.
(Independent businesses, not Avante deployments. They establish the mechanism; size the opportunity on your own customer base.)

### An offer customers can understand

A proposed offer: keep your number, link your membership, earn benefits on eligible purchases.
- Option A · More data: A fixed monthly price. Eligible shopping adds data within a funded allowance.
- Option B · A lower bill: A fixed mobile package. Redeem points against the bill within a funded limit.
(Why customers would consider switching: rewards on everyday purchases, one linked membership, the same number, a reward and cap they can see, and a brand and channels they already know. Start with the benefit your members value most.)

### The customer journey

The benefit is only worth what the next shop is worth, so the journey is a circle rather than a funnel: the reward is spent on the line, and the line is topped up by shopping with you again.
- Join the mobile plan: in the app or at the till, with a SIM or an eSIM.
- Link the loyalty account: the card or account becomes the reward rule.
- Shop and earn: a receipt scan or a linked-card purchase triggers the benefit under the programme's rules.
- Use the balance: data or bill credit the customer can see, in your app.

### Growth scenarios: extend the offer as customers show what they value

- Member benefits: mobile spending earns loyalty points · member status unlocks a plan benefit · points reduce the mobile bill within a cap · a paid loyalty tier includes extra data
- Basket → mobile: basket → data or minutes next month · target SKU → multiplier · receipt → bonus · programme status → package · partner purchase → data · paid loyalty tier → mobile included · family on one profile · number porting → welcome reward
- Mobile → store: unused allowance → store voucher · declining activity → win-back offer · new SIM → programme onboarding · top-up at the till → points · roaming and travel → trip-related offer · offer response → segment refinement · repeat payment → loyalty reward · group and family reward
- Distribution and eSIM: SIM at the till · eSIM in the app · registration at the till or in the app · tourist SIM in the malls · eSIM in a partner storefront · allowance balances in the app · time-limited bundles · regional and country bundles
- Subscription and marketplace: mobile inside the paid loyalty tier · mobile + delivery subscription · marketplace mobile offers · sponsored mobile service for customers · mobile + card · mobile + cashback · allowance upsell · VAS and digital services
- B2B (staff, suppliers, franchisees): employee plans · employer-sponsored service · supplier and franchisee plans · courier and fleet plans · limits by employee and group · POS terminals and IoT on M2M SIMs · allocated accounts and reporting · private APN and enterprise portal
(Candidate scenarios, subject to commercial rules, available events and integration scope. Configure supported rules; assess new integrations separately.)

### Avante connects the reward promise to the mobile account

- Configure: Product teams shape the offer. Supported plans, rewards and partner rules are configured, and billing applies the charge and the benefit to the customer's account.
- Connect: A purchase turns into a benefit: integrate the receipt or loyalty event, check eligibility, apply the reward. We can demonstrate the whole flow on your chosen offer.
- Operate: Avante implements and supports the BSS. Managed service and 24×7 support can be included in the agreed operating scope.
- Expand: Add products, partners and network components as the model grows. The delivered Medium-to-Full reference shows the path.
- Your systems connect once: loyalty engine · POS / receipts · app and e-commerce · ERP · CDP / retail media · payment gateway, all through the Avante API. The host operates its network, you own your channels, and Avante delivers the platform and the integrations.

### Choose the control your offer needs

For deeper loyalty integration, compare the actual capabilities and economics of both options. Model names vary by market. → Compare models
| Host-led / light models — a practical entry point with a narrower scope | Own BSS / Medium, with a path to Full — more control over products, billing and reward rules |
|---|---|
| Use more of the host's or enabler's platform for a smaller initial operating scope. Check the actual pricing tools, loyalty interfaces and customer-data rights available under the contract. Suitable when those tools can deliver the offer and the economics work. | Control products, billing and reward rules in your own BSS, integrated with loyalty. Add network functions through Full MVNO when the extra control justifies the investment. Avante supports a modular path; interfaces and any migration work are scoped in advance. |

### Launch one offer. Prove the economics. Expand.

For a scoped Medium launch Avante plans around four to six months after host and legal readiness; confirm this in discovery. A retail loyalty MVNO on existing host infrastructure has gone commercially live in two months. Timing is an Avante planning assumption, not a guaranteed launch date.
- Define value — business case: Choose a member segment, one reward and the target economics.
- Secure the host — readiness gate: Agree wholesale terms, coverage, approvals and the operating model.
- Build the MVP — agreed scope: Deploy the BSS and connect the first offer to loyalty, payments and sales.
- Run the pilot — measure: Check activation, rewards, service quality, paying retention and contribution.
- Expand — decision gate: Add stores and offers when the agreed commercial and service thresholds are met.

### What could a paying mobile base contribute?

- Illustrative economics, not a forecast: 10,000 average paying lines × $3 per month contribution (after network usage, rewards, payments and direct service costs) = $360k per year; 50,000 lines at the same unit contribution produce $1.8m. Replace the inputs with yours; deduct acquisition, fixed platform and operating costs; include launch investment and working capital in payback; add incremental retail gross profit only when you can measure it. Use actual host terms and a downside case for take-up, usage and churn.

### Delivered on Avante

- A retail loyalty MVNO: purchases and mobile rewards linked on Avante: a receipt scan or a linked-card purchase triggers mobile benefits under partner-specific reward rules; 100k+ subscribers, 30+ partners configuring their own offers in the catalogue; commercial launch two months after start on existing host infrastructure. Reference detail available under NDA.
- An operator at scale: Avante's largest MVNO reference moved from Medium to Full and to a multi-host setup on the same BSS; a reference for platform scale and operation. Retail returns need a retail business case.

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: Can a retailer become an MVNO without a telecom team? A: Yes. The host operator provides the network, Avante implements and can operate the BSS, and your teams work on the offer, the stores and the app. Retailers from Tesco to Pick n Pay run mobile services this way.
- Q: How does shopping turn into mobile data? A: A purchase event — receipt scan, linked-card transaction or loyalty-programme event — is checked against the reward rules in the product catalogue; eligible events add data, minutes or bill credit to the mobile account, within a funded cap the customer can see. The rules are configuration, and partners can manage their own offers within the model you set.
- Q: Do we need a full MVNO to link loyalty and mobile at transaction level? A: No. A Medium MVNO with an API between the billing platform and the loyalty engine delivers real-time reward logic; Full adds network elements you only need when independence from the host justifies it.
- Q: What does a retail MVNO earn? A: Contribution per line after network, rewards, payments and service costs, times the paying base — plus retail uplift you can measure. The calculator on this page runs the equation on your inputs; the investment decision follows your costs and payback target.
- Q: Can we sell SIMs at the till and eSIMs in the app? A: Yes — SIM at the till, eSIM in the app, registration at either, tourist SIMs in malls, allowance balances in the app; all in the standard scenario library.
- Q: How fast can we launch? A: Medium: four to six months after host and legal readiness. Where the host's infrastructure and interfaces are already in place, a loyalty MVNO has launched commercially in two months.

### See how this could work for your retail business

In the first conversation: your market and the customers you want to serve, the loyalty benefit you want to create, your app and store channels, Avante's relevant references and the scope of a demonstration on your offer. Then we build the case together: a proposition and a scoped pilot, economics on your costs and host terms, a delivery plan with clear responsibilities, and a decision on the pilot.

## Government & public sector — Secure MVNO for government: rent the network, not the identity

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/for-government

Subscribers, rules and records stay inside the state perimeter, in an approved data centre. Coverage from the host, SLA priority, a second network as backup.

A ministry pays for mobile service as a customer and controls none of it as an owner. A government MVNO changes that.
- Highlights: Inside the perimeter — identity, records, policies, the BSS · From the host — coverage only · Delivered — a closed loop for a private LTE network

### Starting point: your staff are customers of commercial operators

- Identity in a commercial database: Numbers, devices and staff profiles are held in the operator's commercial database, outside the ministry's perimeter.
- Internal calls are visible outside: Who calls whom inside the ministry appears in the operator's records like any ordinary subscriber.
- No policy control: The ministry cannot decide which devices, destinations or hours official communication is allowed on.
- In a crisis you queue with everyone else: Official traffic shares capacity with civilian subscribers, so there is no priority at the moment it is needed most.

### Only signalling and traffic cross the boundary

The MVNO core is deployed in an approved government data centre. Interfaces to the host network (online charging, provisioning, mediation, SIM and eSIM, settlement) are detailed in the technical annex.
- Inside the government perimeter: subscriber database and staff profiles · call-record archive · access policies and keys · BSS and charging system
- everything the host operator needs, and nothing else: signalling · user traffic
- On the host operator's network: radio access and core · SMSC · eSIM platform · roaming and interconnect
(We have built the closed loop before: a BSS for a private LTE network providing connectivity across a restricted mining territory. Own network, own perimeter, own access rules.)

### Your perimeter, their coverage

The platform behind it: 15 live MVNOs · 12M+ subscribers served · 3 MVNE installations · 150M+ load proven in testing.
- Identity inside the perimeter: Numbers, devices and staff profiles sit in a dedicated instance inside the government perimeter, not in the operator's database.
- Priority written into the contract: Priority for official subscribers during congestion is a requirement on the host, fixed in the SLA when the operator is chosen. Avante drafts the requirement and checks performance against it; the host delivers.
- A second network as insurance: One BSS runs in multi-host mode, so the failure of one network does not stop the ministry.
- One tariff, departmental budgets: Rates are agreed once. Each department gets its own budget and limits, and premium services or roaming can be blocked in real time.
- Audit and sovereign control: Every access to the data is logged under a role model. Administration stays with the ministry.
- Standard interfaces, no changes at the host: Only signalling and user traffic cross the boundary, over standard telecom interfaces. Nothing has to change on the operator's side.

### The host carries the traffic, not your identity data

| Ministry | Avante | Host operator |
|---|---|---|
| Security policy and access rules | Identity, access and charging core | Spectrum, radio network, coverage, capacity |
| Rules for personnel and devices | Traffic control and audit events | Transport to the agreed point of interconnection |
| Monitoring and incident response | Integration, support and staff training | Interconnect, roaming, SLA |
|  |  | Lawful interception under national law |
(Identity and rules belong to the ministry. Traffic and coverage belong to the operator. The boundary is the contract itself, fixed in the wholesale agreement and the MVNO service description.)

### The host gains a tenant it does not lose; the regulator gains a template

Market reference: dedicated priority mobile services for public safety already exist. FirstNet in the United States has 8.4 million connections with 24/7 priority and pre-emption on AT&T; ASTRID Blue Light Mobile in Belgium is a priority service for emergency and government agencies on Proximus. Sources: FirstNet, July 2026; ASTRID. Both are independent programmes, not Avante deployments.
- For the operator: long revenue, low churn: a government tenant does not migrate for a discount · base consolidation: staff spread across every operator today move onto one network · volume without investment: wholesale traffic on the existing network, with no secure BSS to fund · someone else's risk removed: the ministry's identity data and policies are not its concern.
- For the regulator: the market opens without spectrum: a new service layer on existing networks · new revenue: licence fees, numbering charges, annual regulatory payments · data in national jurisdiction: civil servants' data stored and processed in-country with logged access · every control preserved: interception, numbering, emergency calls and reporting, as today.

### Choose the model first. The build follows.

- Target model: Full (8 to 10 months): Own core, network data and full autonomy. It gives the ministry the most control and asks the most of the operator. The closed domain is complete: identity, policies, records and audit inside the perimeter.
- Medium: Own BSS, identity and charging inside the perimeter, with the host's core. This is the alternative where time or scope argue for it. The choice between Medium and Full is made at the assessment stage, and the clock starts once the host agreement is signed and the regulator has approved.

### How we get there

- Joint assessment with the operator: Feasibility on the host side, and the target model.
- Architecture and accountability matrix: Who does what, and what is fixed in the contract.
- Secure pilot: A limited group of subscribers, and a security review.
- Commercial launch: Rollout to the ministry's full headcount.
(The decision today: approve a joint assessment with the host operator and select the target model.)

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: What is a government MVNO? A: A mobile service for public-sector staff run by the state or its agency as a virtual operator: the host operator provides coverage and carries traffic; the government owns the subscriber database, the usage rules, the records and the audit trail, on a BSS deployed inside its own perimeter.
- Q: Where is the platform deployed? A: In an approved government data centre or the ministry's own infrastructure. Only signalling and user traffic leave the perimeter; subscriber data, call records, policies, keys and the charging system stay inside.
- Q: How is priority during congestion delivered? A: By the host operator, under its SLA. Priority for official subscribers is written into the wholesale agreement when the operator is selected; Avante drafts the requirement and verifies performance against it.
- Q: What happens if the host network fails? A: The BSS runs in multi-host mode, so a second network can be contracted as insurance; the failure of one network does not stop the ministry.
- Q: Does the host operator need to change its network? A: No. The MVNO connects through standard telecom interfaces (online charging, provisioning, mediation, SIM and eSIM, settlement), all detailed in the technical annex.
- Q: How is lawful interception handled? A: Under national law, by the host operator on the traffic it carries, with hand-off points agreed in the accountability matrix. Interception, numbering, emergency calls and reporting remain with the regulator as today.
- Q: How long does it take? A: Full model: eight to ten months once the host agreement is signed and the regulator has approved; a Medium model is faster. The path is interconnection and IMSI → integration and testing → secure pilot → commercial launch.

### The next step is a joint assessment

A working session with your host operator and your security team. It ends with a target model (Medium or Full), an accountability matrix and the scope of a secure pilot: which group, which services, which security checks.

## Enterprise, ISP & ICT — Enterprise MVNO: the billing logic standard enablement lacks

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/mvno/for-enterprise

Add mobile to an enterprise portfolio: sponsored billing, employee limits, private APN, M2M. Billing logic standard MVNE setups lack. Built for Brilliantel.

You already sell fibre, SD-WAN and managed services. Adding mobile makes every account converged, provided the billing can carry what enterprises ask for.
- Highlights: Sponsored billing — the company pays part, the employee the rest · One invoice — fixed, mobile and M2M on one rating engine · Delivered — Brilliantel, South Africa, on an OPEX model

### One enterprise account, many kinds of line

An enterprise customer is not a list of subscribers. It is one contract with cost centres under it, several kinds of line under those, and one invoice out of the bottom. Standard enablement platforms flatten that into subscribers, which is where sponsored usage, allocated accounts and M2M fleets stop being configurable.
- One enterprise contract
- Cost centres and groups: departmental budgets · spending limits · allocated bundles · approvals
- Employee lines: sponsored split · personal top-up · roaming and premium rules · device policy
- M2M and IoT lines: terminals and fleets · sensors and meters · private APN · bulk lifecycle
- One invoice, one record: fixed · mobile · M2M · adjustments and credits
(Sponsored billing means the company pays an agreed part of an employee's usage and the rest is billed to the individual, on the same account and the same invoice run.)

### Why an ICT provider adds mobile

- Converged accounts: Fibre, wireless, SD-WAN and mobile on one contract, one invoice and one account team. That is the retention argument enterprise buyers understand.
- Enterprise billing logic: Sponsored billing, where the company covers an agreed part of an employee's usage and the rest is billed to the individual. Cost centres, limits and approvals. Postpaid with adjustments and fixed-term contracts.
- B2G and regulated customers: Public-sector and regulated accounts need departmental budgets, audit trails and in-country data. A Medium or Full model on your own BSS can meet those requirements; a reseller deal cannot.
- M2M and IoT on the same platform: POS terminals, ATMs, fleet and courier lines, sensors: M2M SIMs with a private APN, pooled allowances and allocated reporting, billed with the rest of the account.

### Market evidence

- Brazil: the MVNO market grew to 11.3 million accesses by Q2 2026, with growth "driven especially by corporate demand and new digital ecosystems", and IoT/M2M operators holding the largest shares.
- IoT MVNOs: 290 million connections in 2025, expected to reach 600 million by 2031.
- South Africa: 23 MVNOs live, with enterprise and B2G propositions among the newest entrants.
(Independent market data, not Avante deployments.)

### Scenario library: B2B, SME and public sector

- Corporate mobile: corporate mobile for employees · employer-sponsored service (sponsored billing) · limits by employee and group · allocated accounts and reporting · annual and fixed-term contracts · postpaid billing and adjustments · private APN and enterprise portal · B2B eSIM for employees
- SME and channel: business account → mobile for business · dealer and franchisee plans · supplier and partner plans · partner sells eSIM and mobile service · partner terms and incentives · B2B2C model
- Public sector: departmental budgets and limits · premium services and roaming blocked in real time · audit under a role model · in-perimeter deployment · priority requirements in the host SLA → Government MVNO
- M2M and IoT: POS terminals and ATMs on M2M SIMs · courier and fleet plans · pooled allowances · multi-IMSI and roaming optimisation · sponsored roaming for devices · lifecycle and threshold-based spend controls
- Operations: dynamic SIM allocation · host operator and partner management · product catalogue for rapid testing · segment-specific plans · convergent balances · reporting by product, account and segment
(Candidate scenarios, subject to commercial rules, available events and integration scope.)

### Why Avante for an enterprise launch

- Beyond standard MVNE setups: Enterprise-specific billing logic and product structures for corporate and public-sector use. This is why Brilliantel chose its own BSS over an enabler's shelf.
- Convergent billing: Fixed, mobile and M2M on one rating engine and one invoice. Prepaid, postpaid and hybrid in the same system.
- One API for your stack: CRM, ERP, ticketing and the customer portal connect through the Avante API. The host operator's interfaces are our responsibility.
- OPEX-based launch and managed operations: Launch under an OPEX model to reduce upfront capital, then run year one as a managed service with 24×7 support.

### Which model for an ICT provider

| Reseller / Light on an enabler | Medium on your own BSS |
|---|---|
| Fast entry, standard consumer-style plans, billing and data stay with the enabler. Sponsored billing, cost-centre limits and allocated reporting are usually not available. | Own catalogue, charging and billing with enterprise logic; subscriber data in your CRM; converged invoicing with your existing services. Four to six months after host and legal readiness; Full later if network autonomy justifies it. |

### Route to launch

- Discovery — 2 to 3 weeks: Target model, enterprise product list and opening offers, integration scoping across the existing service portfolio. Output: MVP scope, responsibility matrix, critical path.
- Host and legal — the critical path: Host agreement, numbering, SIM supply, licence or registration, regulatory approvals. Avante drafts the technical annex and the interface requirements and supports the negotiation.
- BSS platform — 4 to 8 weeks: Platform deployment, catalogue and charging configured for the opening enterprise offers, a working test environment.
- Integrations — 6 to 12 weeks: Host operator interfaces, CRM and ERP, payment gateways, KYC and number portability. Runs partly in parallel with stage 3.
- Launch — 2 to 4 weeks: Pilot, then Friends & Family, then commercial start.
(Hardware or hosting secured up front keeps infrastructure readiness off the critical path.)

### Delivered: Brilliantel, South Africa

Brilliantel, a South African telecommunications and ICT provider that serves enterprise customers with fibre, wireless, SD-WAN, MPLS and satellite services, selected Avante for an MVNO launch centred on B2B and B2G, segments where standard MVNE models are often not sufficient. The platform supports enterprise-specific billing logic and product structures, including sponsored billing. The hardware platform was secured up front and the project is delivered under an OPEX-based model designed to reduce upfront capital requirements.

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: What is sponsored billing? A: A corporate customer covers an agreed part of an employee's mobile usage (a monthly allowance, specific services, or usage within limits) and the remainder is billed directly to the individual subscriber. This needs split billing at the product level, which is configured in the Avante catalogue rather than developed.
- Q: Can we bill mobile on the same invoice as fibre and managed services? A: Yes. Avante Billing is convergent: mobile, fixed and M2M services on one account, one rating engine and one invoice, with cost centres and allocated reporting for enterprise accounts.
- Q: Do enterprise customers need a Full MVNO? A: Usually not. Medium, meaning your own BSS with enterprise logic, covers sponsored billing, limits, private APN and allocated reporting. Full becomes relevant for public-sector customers that need identity data and records inside their perimeter, or when network autonomy is part of the proposition.
- Q: How do M2M and IoT lines fit? A: As products in the same catalogue: M2M SIMs with private APN, pooled allowances, lifecycle controls and threshold-based spend limits, billed with the account. Multi-IMSI and sponsored roaming are available for devices that travel.
- Q: How fast can an ICT provider launch? A: Medium: four to six months after the host agreement and legal framework are in place. Existing enterprise relationships and secured infrastructure shorten the commercial and readiness tracks.

### Bring your enterprise product list

Thirty minutes with our team: which enterprise billing scenarios your customers ask for, what the host will need to support them, and the minimum scope for a B2B launch.

## Payment and Taxes Control for Governing Bodies

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/payment-and-taxes-control-for-governing-bodies

Empowering governments and regulatory bodies to effectively monitor telecom operators, ensuring accurate revenue reporting and compliance with tax obligations.

### Streamline revenue oversight and tax compliance with Avante tax assurance solutions

- Comprehensive transparency: Gain a helicopter view of telecom operations with tools for raw data processing, revenue tracking, and data visualization.
- Enhanced tax collection: Optimize the collection of taxes, penalties, and payments with accurate and reliable calculations.
- Regulatory confidence and compliance: Ensure operators meet their financial responsibilities with a solution tailored to government oversight needs.
- Tax oversight with automated solutions: Automate error detection and reporting processes to save valuable time and enhance the efficiency of your governing operations.

### Why Telco Payments and Taxes Control Are Essential for Government Operations

Our platform simplifies telco revenue and tax management, giving governing bodies and regulation authorities full control and transparency to enforce compliance and boost efficiency of telecom operators.

### What our solution can do for you?

- Eliminate revenue leakage: Activate reliable tax collection to fund essential services and eliminate errors.
- Reduce compliance risks: Detect discrepancies early, avoid revenue leaks, and ensure compliance with regulations.
- Enhance transparency and trust: Build trust among stakeholders and demonstrate accountability in governance.
- Improve efficiency and save time: Automate tax audits, reconciliations, and reporting and move away from manual tasks.

## Revenue Assurance

https://avantebss.com/en/solutions/revenue-assurance-suite

Empowering telecom operators to safeguard earnings, enhance profitability, and streamline operations by addressing revenue leaks, inefficiencies, and discrepancies across your network

### Safeguard revenue streams with Avante advanced revenue assurance solutions

- Comprehensive revenue visibility: Gain end-to-end visibility into your revenue streams, from service activation to billing, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.
- Revenue leakage detection: Detect anomalies and prevent fraud with real-time monitoring and advanced analytics, protecting your business and customer trust.
- Enhanced customer experience: Ensure accurate billing and transparent communication to maintain customer confidence, enhance retention, and maximize lifetime value.
- Automation and efficiency: Automate error detection, reconciliation, and reporting processes to save time and focus on growing your business.

### Why Revenue Assurance Matters

Our Revenue Assurance Solution is tailored for telecom operators, internet service providers, and enterprises looking to protect their revenue streams and optimize their financial health in today’s fast-paced telecom environment.

### How it benefits your business?

- Eliminate revenue leakage: Secure every dollar earned to directly improve your financial performance
- Maximize profitability: Optimize financial performance and reduce operational costs
- Improved customer experience: Enable billing accuracy to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Stay compliant with the regulations: Meet regulatory requirements with robust audit trails

# Partners

## Partners and integrators: sell and deliver Avante in your market

https://avantebss.com/en/partners

Sell and deliver Avante BSS/OSS and MVNx Suite in your market: who we look for, where a partner earns, how delivery and support are split.

You know the market, the language, the regulator and the customer. Avante brings the product, the delivery experience behind it and the second line. Together that is a BSS or MVNx project a local team can win and keep.

### Who we look for

A partner is not a lead source. The partnerships that work are the ones where somebody on your side can sit in front of an operator's CTO or a bank's programme director, understand what is being asked, and still be in the room after go-live. Four shapes of company usually fit that description.
- Systems integrators with an operator practice: You already deliver core, OSS or IT projects for operators in your region and know how their procurement, testing and change processes actually work. Avante gives you the BSS and MVNx layer to bid with when the tender asks for billing, charging, CRM, provisioning or partner management.
- Local IT companies close to a bank, a retailer or a public body: The customer already trusts you with their systems and is starting to think about a mobile proposition, or about telecom-grade billing for something that is not mobile at all. You bring the relationship and the local delivery; we bring the platform and the operator-side experience nobody expects an IT house to have.
- BSS and transformation consultancies: You advise operators on target architecture, revenue assurance or a BSS replacement, and sooner or later the recommendation needs a product behind it. Partnering keeps you in the delivery instead of handing the project to whoever wins the software selection afterwards.
- Distributors and value-added resellers in telecom: You already carry telecom software or infrastructure and have the contracts, the invoicing and the local presence to resell them. Avante adds a BSS/OSS line that comes with implementation, localisation and support work attached, rather than a licence to move on its own.

### What a partner earns, and what stays with Avante

A partnership only holds if both sides can name what they are paid for. The lines below are the work itself, sorted by who does it. What each line is worth, and how licence and subscription revenue is shared, is commercial: it belongs in the partner agreement for your market, not on a public page.

### Where the line runs between you and us

The split is a working arrangement, not a legal fiction: it decides who the customer calls, who changes the configuration, and who fixes the product when the answer is in the code. The bands below are how we usually draw it.
- Deal registration, joint pre-sales and one scope both sides can quote from
- Shared working surface — documentation, test environment, certification and an escalation path with names on it

### Stage by stage: who does what


### How a partnership starts

There is no tier list to join and no portal to sign up on. What follows is how we work with partners today: five steps from a first conversation to a first joint deal.
- First conversation: Your market, the customers you already serve, what you want to sell and how much of the delivery you want to own. We say honestly where we see a fit and where we do not.
- Terms for your market: Scope, roles, territory and the commercial terms are agreed for your market and written down. Everything about money belongs in this step and nowhere else.
- Enablement: Product and configuration training for your delivery team, a positioning session for the commercial one, access to the documentation and a test environment your engineers are meant to break.
- First joint deal: You bring the opportunity and register it; our architects join the demo, the workshop or the RFP answer; the scope is written so both sides quote from the same document.
- Delivery and what follows it: You deliver locally with our delivery core behind you, keep the first line, and pick up the change and managed-service work that comes after go-live. What you take on next widens with what you have actually delivered.

### What you take into the portfolio

Two things to sell, on one platform. Avante BSS/OSS is the stack an operator runs its commercial business on. Avante MVNx Suite is that same stack packaged for MVNOs, MVNEs and MVNAs. Both are sold as the modules a customer's model actually needs, not as an all-or-nothing suite.


### When the deal is an MVNO

Part of the pipeline will be mobile: a bank, a retailer or an ISP that wants its own mobile proposition, or an operator that wants to host others. That deal has a shape of its own. Somebody owns the customer and the brand, somebody owns the licence and the network, and somebody owns the platform in between. The revenue divides along those lines, not along anyone's org chart.
The customer's operating model decides where the division falls, which is why it is worth settling before the platform shortlist. A reseller on someone else's platform keeps the brand and little else. A Medium MVNO on its own BSS keeps the catalogue, the charging, the billing and the subscriber data. An enabler keeps all of that for every tenant it hosts, and sells the hosting: that side is covered on the MVNE and MVNA platform page. For a partner, this is the difference between a small resale and a delivery project with years of work behind it.
- The reseller or brand: Owns the customer, the brand and the channel, and sells inside the catalogue scope and price envelope the platform owner allows.
- The host operator: Owns the licence, the radio and the core, and the wholesale agreement the traffic is bought under.
- The platform owner: Owns the BSS: catalogue, charging, billing, tenants, commissions and settlement, and therefore the numbers the other two are paid from.

### Frequently asked questions

- Q: What does Avante expect a partner to bring? A: A market you already work in, customer relationships you already have, and people who can carry a technical conversation with an operator or a large enterprise. Local delivery capacity matters more than telecom billing experience: product knowledge is trainable, trust in your market is not.
- Q: Do we have to be a telecom company? A: No. A large part of the demand for this platform comes from banks, retailers, public bodies and ICT providers, not from operators themselves, and the integrators around them are usually IT companies, not telecom specialists. One thing is not optional: somebody on your side who owns the technical conversation and stays in it after go-live.
- Q: What are the commercial terms? A: They are agreed per market and per deal, and this page publishes no rates, shares or tiers because there is no standard scheme to quote. Ask in the first conversation: it is the second thing we discuss, after whether there is a fit at all.
- Q: Who talks to the customer? A: You do. Deal registration exists so that the partner who brought an opportunity is the one credited for it, and so that two routes do not arrive at the same customer with the same platform. Our architects join demos, workshops and RFP answers when you want them there.
- Q: Who supports the customer after go-live? A: You keep the first line, in the local language and local working hours. Second line on the product sits with Avante: defects, escalations that reach the code, patches. Where the customer buys managed operations, which side runs them is settled before the contract is signed.
- Q: Can a partner deliver an Avante project on its own? A: Over time, a large part of it: configuration, integrations to the customer's systems, localisation and support are exactly what a local team should own. The product-side work stays with us until your team has delivered enough to take it: architecture, host and network interfaces, migration of a live base. That judgement is made per project, not by a certificate.
- Q: What if our customer wants to become an MVNO? A: Then the operating model decides most of the scope: who owns the catalogue, the charging, the billing and the subscriber data, and who owns the licence and the network. Start from the operating models page, bring us in early, and expect the host agreement and the regulator to set the timeline rather than the software.

### Start with your market, not with a form

Tell us where you work, who you already sell to and how much of the delivery you want to own. If there is a fit we will say so and put the terms for your market in writing; if there is not, that is a shorter conversation.

# Products

## Subscriber Management System

https://avantebss.com/en/products/ams

Avante AMS — an AAA server that keeps subscriber access parameters and service profiles current in real time.

Avante AMS subscriber account management system (AAA-server) is an element of OSS. Its primary function is to organize effective interaction between AMS and switching equipment when a subscriber's service or access parameters change. This system allows the subscriber's profile on the equipment to be changed without disrupting his connection. The profile is kept up to date in real time.
The system is used to provide modern managed services to telecom operators. The system provides numerous opportunities if the company commits to managing the services provided to the subscriber in real time.

### Key features

- Service packages: The system allows to create several service packages, targeted at different subscriber segment groups and switch between them in real time.
- Information service: Improving the quality of customer service by promptly providing technical information to subscribers. For example, what the subscriber does wrong at a given moment.
- Quota for services: The system allows to configure quotas for different services. In this case, as the quota approaches, the system requests the next quota, reducing the accounts receivable.
- Boost option: It is possible to temporarily change your connection parameters in order to receive a limited-time service at the fastest available connection speed.
- Unique services: The system enables the creation of unique services and the provision of various packages to subscribers that control the speed of access to various popular Internet resources. Furthermore, when combined with DPI systems, it enables the subscriber to maintain separate tariffs for traffic consumed by these resources.
- Speed management: By providing free traffic to popular messengers and video content sites, operators can provide advanced services to their subscribers while successfully competing with the market's largest and advanced companies.
- Authorization protocols: The system supports all basic authorization protocols currently existing on the market. The main protocol used on the market is RADIUS in its various modifications, also some major projects use DIAMETER protocol support.
- Real time control: All switching of subscriber profiles takes place in real time. When a subscriber's allotted quota is reached, they are automatically deactivated from accessing services.
- Profile change: Profile switching can occur automatically in response to certain events in the BSS, as well as manually by the subscriber, for example, through the self-service portal if they purchase an option or enable the "parental control" option.

### System architecture

The solution is multi-component, and consists of a set of functional modules:
AMS AAA - the system's core, allowing all other components to collaborate. The technologies employed enable the system to process large amounts of data in multiple independent streams. The entire subscriber servicing working principle is embedded in the system core: authentication and authorization, control of concurrently used sessions, changing subscriber servicing profiles, and timely command transfer for session termination.
IMDG Hazelcast is used for subscriber data distributed storage and operational access. Tarantool, a NoSQL database, is used as persist. Working with various types of equipment necessitates storing a large number of different parameters that define specific types of equipment.
AMS Integration is intended for integration with external company systems. This block includes the exchange and information functions required for quality and timely customer service.
Gateway DHCP is designed to process requests from DHCP clients, searching for a subscriber in the desired AMS_AAA cluster and forwarding responses from AMS_AAA to DHCP clients.

## Convergent Billing System

https://avantebss.com/en/products/billing

Avante Billing — a convergent billing system that supports the business processes of telecom operators and other businesses regardless of scale.

Avante Billing is a convergent billing system which fully supports business processes of telecom operators and other businesses regardless of scale. Our solution is fully tested and certified for 25 million active telecom subscribers. It’s based on modern technologies and modular architecture and covers a full range of services.
It’s a serious tool for balanced package offers and telecommunication services. In addition to charging/billing services and traffic, the system provides flexibility and quality of mutual settlements with subscribers, rolling-out all kinds of loyalty programs, launching market enabling a quick response to the competition.
For a modern telecom operators' IT infrastructure, Avante BSS is the infrastructure core. Its flexible interfaces integrate all telco's systems like CRM, SD, financial subsystem etc.
For corporate customers Avante Billing system provides functionality which significantly optimizes costs of B2B services and provides full range corporate service features.

### Key features

- Convergence: Modern providers require simultaneous billing, record-keeping and accounting for services that include different models: prepaid, pay-as-you-go and credit.
- Batch Billing: The best possible solution for telcos providing a bundled service portfolio. It is possible to provide services in packages to large partners, establishing a balance of demand for the services that are offered.
- Multicurrency: As we operate in different countries and interact with numerous partners in other countries, there is a need for settlements in different currencies. A combination of multiple settlement options makes it reality.
- Multi-balance: Since the services provided are multi-balance, provider is able to set up complex options for the allocation and consumption of subscriber charges in relation to different services, building a hierarchy between and defining the rules for prioritizing top-ups.
- Bills and Payments: The invoice builder allows you to customize the required forms with the possibility of customization for clients and services. Automate incoming payments with API integration with payment systems.
- Reporting: Built-in capabilities for generating various reports within the system, as well as uploading the required data sets to external systems, such as: ERP, CRM, Accounting, Financial monitoring and others.
- Bonuses and Accumulators: The business advantage is the setting up in the accumulator system of objects for accounting and control with the accumulation of indicators separately. The use of customizable accumulator thresholds occurs in bonus programs with the ability to accrue bonuses.
- Charging: Avante Billing system uses a smooth-piece model, which has proven itself perfectly for western producers. The method contains an extensive range of features supporting various billing schemes. The flexibility of tariff plan settings in the user-friendly interface and storage version support contributes to the rapid introduction of unique offers to the market with full history.
- Flexible System Parameters: The billing system allows adding and customizing parameter display rules for arbitrary set, counterparty system connection, contracts, subscriber applications, basic and additional services. Customizable parameters contain service and technical parameters of information units required for working with data information and calculated parameters, statuses, etc.

### System architecture

Avante Convergent Billing system is a set of functional modules. The modular architecture provides any customer with an individual set of modules to implement business processes running at the current moment with and build-up the capabilities for growing of the company and the range of services.
The most important feature of the system architecture is the load of multithreaded critical processes and the possibility of their physical distribution on separate servers. The system is horizontally scalable by clasters.
The system provides all necessary APIs for for smooth into the existing IT-infrastructure. It fully enables the integration with business applications and service platforms.

## Business Process Management

https://avantebss.com/en/products/bpm

Avante BPM — a business process management and automation system for telecom operators.

Avante BPM is a software solution for automating enterprise business processes. Automation of business processes through an ordering system allows you to flexibly generate content and steps for each customer. When performing these operations, documents of a certain type can be generated (e.g., invoices, work orders, etc.), subscriber services can be connected and disconnected, and internal system parameters can be changed.
The Order designer allows you to design a chain of movements for any business process of an enterprise. The two main components of Avante BPM are Docflow and Workflow.
The ability to route a document between performers in accordance with predefined requirements, with the ability to configure the control of predefined KPIs. This changes the stage of the document lifecycle depending on its current position in the route.
The mechanism that allows transferring orders from one process participant to another according to a predefined route. At the same time, accompanying documents can be transmitted along with the order. An order is a document containing information about the work to be performed.

### Key features

- Docflow: The ability to route a document between performers in accordance with predefined requirements, with the ability to configure the control of predefined KPIs. This changes the stage of the document lifecycle depending on its current position in the route.
- Workflow: The mechanism that allows transferring orders from one process participant to another according to a predefined route. At the same time, accompanying documents can be transmitted along with the order. An order is a document containing information about the work to be performed.
- Business Process Designer: A tool for independent modeling of business processes of any complexity and structure. The system can both use the data accumulated in the ACP and request information from external sources. The solution uses the Camunda platform with full support for BPMN 2.0 notation.
- KPI Tracking: The system has the ability to add control of various KPI on the state of the order. It can be such parameters as controlling the time of execution of one or another stage of the business process and forming a corresponding message if it is exceeded by the users above the specified parameter.
- Business-processes library: As part of the system delivery, the client is given access to a library ready-made business processes based on our experience. Most of our customers choose ready-made processes and adapt them to the needs of their business.
- Dashboard: The user can monitor all important business process metrics in real time. With the Dashboard, the employee responsible for the quality of the business processes performs periodic monitoring and, if necessary, intervenes in the process.
- Customizable interface: The designer used for setting up the interface allows you to add optional parameters and directories, thereby adapting the system to constantly changing market requirements. It is also possible to bind customizable printed forms of documents to any state of the order.
- Integration: Avante BPM has unlimited possibilities of integration due to its open structure and extensive customizable API. Solution is Low-code due to Camudna platform and Avante advanced business process customization platform

### System architecture

In most cases Avante BPM takes the central position and is actively used to build business processes, its flexible integration interface allows you to organize quality joints with other systems (CRM, Billing, ServiceDesk, technical accounting, financial system, etc.).
The solution is highly productive and performs all necessary processes at the same time without losing the declared speed. The system logs all activities and allows you to analyze this information in a convenient way for user training and optimization of complex processes. The latter is necessary when it is the task of fulfilling business processes according to the declared KPI.
Avante BPM can be used to interact with the entire IT environment used in the company.
In this case, the order can automatically address various external systems to obtain the necessary information to move to the next stage of processing. These orders result in so-called "end-to-end" business processes.

## Core BSS for Telecom

https://avantebss.com/en/products/bss

Avante Core BSS — products for revenue management, business process management and workforce management.

### Key features

- Convergent Billing System: Carrier-grade convergent charging and billing system for all types of businesses.
- Online Charging System: Real-time solution for balance control, online charging and service management
- Workforce Management: System for planning and managing the internal and external human resources
- Business Process Management: Solutions for creating, managing and optimizing business processes
- Avante OSS: Equipment and infrastructure management systems, used by operators to manage their communications networks
- Sales & Marketing BSS: Increase sales and revenue by implementing products for sales automation, real-time marketing, and customer satisfaction management
- Partner management: Automate processes and improve the efficiency of work with partners and agents

## Campaign Management

https://avantebss.com/en/products/cm

Avante CM — real-time marketing assistance and promotion management.

Avante CM expands the capabilities of the core products Avante CRM and Avante PC, and it simplifies key sales processes through dynamic offer personalization and intelligent management of cross-selling processes, as well as providing the company's marketing department with an up-to-date customer profile.
Based on these characteristics, the system creates a dynamic offer display and chooses tailored offers for each customer in real time.

### Key features

- Golden record: A set of attributes that uniquely identify a customer and allow the system to make quick decisions and provide relevant offers to that customer. A profile is made up of 30 to 40 attributes that are both set and derived based on customer experience analysis.
- Flexy objects: Dynamic pop-up interface elements that provide the operator the relevant offers for the customer, the history of interaction, and the ability to record the customer's reaction to the offers. Flexy objects can be activated by a variety of events or actions.
- Customization: The ability to add and adapt display rules for any set of parameters associated with various system entities such as counterparty, contract, subscriber application, service, and additional service. Customizable parameters can hold both service information and data that will be utilized in the future.
- Bundle offers: Flexible rules for bundling offers, customizing compatibility and availability of supplied services, and binding products to distinct customer groups (e.g., by territory) or unique predetermined subscriber segments are all available.
- Personalization: The system allows to create personalized offers for each customer in real time. Using this tool allows to increase the average bill and increase customer loyalty.
- Data enrichment: The system collects and analyzes additional marketing data, which can be used in other systems, for reporting and analysis of information and making forecasts.
- Customer's request: When a customer contacts the company, the system automatically requests information on them (for example, in online banking, personal account, application).
- Customer Profile analysis: The customer is instantaneously segmented by the CM system, which evaluates their profile, current products, interests, wants, and a variety of other factors.
- Making an offer: Based on the customer's information and the theme of the customer request, the system makes a customized offer to the customer in real time.
- Sending an offer: Display offers on a CRM storefront or self-service site, or distribute them to customers automatically via push or SMS alerts.

### System architecture

When a customer contacts the company, the system automatically requests information on them (for example, in online banking, personal account, application).
The customer is instantaneously segmented by the CM system, which evaluates their profile, current products, interests, wants, and a variety of other factors.
Based on the customer's information and the theme of the customer request, the system makes a customized offer to the customer in real time.
Display offers on a CRM storefront or self-service site, or distribute them to customers automatically via push or SMS alerts.

## Telecom CRM

https://avantebss.com/en/products/crm

Avante CRM — an enterprise customer relationship management system built for operators.

Avante CRM is a client-centric multifunctional platform designed to centralize customer data management and improve the quality of service and customer loyalty. The system gather and analize the history of interaction with customers and other related information to build targeted offers.
The area of the system application is the automation of business processes of sales and interaction with the client. Using Avante CRM allows building and optimizing business processes of customer service to maximize results.

### Key features

- Bundles: The system allows you to create flexible rules for bundling offers, to customize the compatibility and availability of the services offered, to create products that are linked to different subscriber groups (for example, by territory) or to individual pre-generated segments.
- Flash-objects: Customize the output of only those offers that are available and recommended to the final customer. After identifying the final customer in the Avante system, Avante PC generates and provides the salesperson with a ready set of offers in the form of a Flash object to be offered to the customer
- Loyalty programs: The ability to seamlessly configure bonus and discount programs, which are the rules for accruing certain bonuses, or providing discounts when the threshold values of the batteries are reached. Supported bonuses can be both tangible and monetary.
- Customizable system parameters: The system allows to add and configurate display rules for an optional set of parameters. These parameters are linked to different system entities, such as counterparty, contract, subscriber application, service, and additional service.
- Collecting and aggregating data: Increase the efficiency of collecting and analyzing information about potential clients, followed by segmentation of the client base and preparation of targeted offers. Consider the level of customer satisfaction with the services provided to reduce churn and increase LTV.
- Organization and control of sale channels: Monitoring of all sales and service processes in one system with the ability to analyze effectiveness and make changes in a timely manner. The manager's interface allows you to control all important metrics and get reports on schedule or on demand.

### System architecture

CRM-systems are a grouped set of consolidated information about the client, necessary for its operational services and operates according to the principle of "one window", i. e., all the information necessary for decision-making is given to the seller in a single structured form.
Avante CRM allows to customize the display parameters independently in the form and sequence suitable for the company's sales department. This feature significantly increases the speed and quality of customer service and, therefore, has an impact on their loyalty.
Using the Avante CRM together with Avante Product Catalog allows to display in the interface a personalised list of offers available to the given customer. Also, when integrated with a call center, the system allows you to automatically open a customer card when the caller is identified by the incoming number.

## Data Management Platform

https://avantebss.com/en/products/dmp

Avante DMP — centralized data storage for analytics and reporting.

Avante DMP analytical data warehouse allows companies to solve problems of collecting, processing and analyzing large volumes of information, building reports or providing this information for further processing in BI systems.
Avante DMP allows to make the intelligent analysis of huge data arrays, quickly form aggregated reports, effectively solve problems of correlation of heterogeneous data, reduce the burden of queries on transactional systems, expand data accounting structures caused by various changes in the organizational structure of the company.

### Key features

- Collecting and analyzing data: Aggregation and structuring of data from different sources with further processing according to predefined algorithms and the formation of complex analytical and marketing reports
- Automation: Setting up automatic control of changes in key indicators and calculation and target metrics with the possibility of transferring them to other systems. Generation and automatic updating of data "showcases" for external BI-systems.
- Subject orientation: Information in the system is focused on decision support tasks. This information in aggregate form is used to build a "profile" of the customer and allows the other systems to quickly make decisions on the provision of certain services to the customer.
- Minimizing information redundancy: The system allows to filter service and other information that is not directly related to client "profile" parameters and leave only the information that is really taken into account by PC, Seflcare Portal, CM. As a rule, a set of such "important" parameters is rarely more than 40 pieces.
- Data Integrity: The data in the information warehouse comes from a variety of sources, where they may have different names, attributes, units, and coding methods. After loading into Avante DMP the data is cleared of individual attributes, i.e., as if reduced to a common denominator.
- Time invariance: Temporal invariance of data is achieved by fixing time attributes in conjunction with the data fed into the system. As a result, records in the system are snapshots of data made at certain time intervals. This feature makes their further processing more convenient.

### System architecture

The data warehouse building approach used in Avante DMP for integration of heterogeneous data sources is fundamentally different from the approach of dynamic integration of heterogeneous databases.
The system performs normalization, unification and integration of heterogeneous data in a single storage. Data can come from the repository of historical information, operational databases (CRM, Billing, Service Desk, Inventory, etc.) and external sources.
Based on the results of processing, Avante DMP puts the data into "showcases". Showcase is a set of axes and data for further processing by BI tools. Usage of BI tools allows to add columns from the showcases in real time, so client can build visual forms of reports and change their format on their own. Avante DMP includes a basic tool for building and displaying reports. This tool can be used together with complex BI systems.

## Interconnect Billing System

https://avantebss.com/en/products/ibs

Avante IBS — inter-operator settlement management.

Avante Interconnect Billing System is designed for automation of inter-operator billing settlements between different tier operators. The system is a serious tool for building a comprehensive inter-operator reporting both with upstream and downstream.
This system enables a modern telecom operator to conduct flexible and high-quality mutual settlements with its partners, and to launch competitive market offers. A flexible integration interface provides a high-quality connection to external reporting systems used by the operator.

### Key features

- Tariff setting: The system allows adding and adjusting flexible tariffing rules at any time, while fixing the date of change in case of retariffing.
- Retarification: Ability to rollback all executed processes, reissue invoices for the period, considering the clarifications and changes made. Thus, the system allows to perform a complete retariffication based on the data obtained during the preliminary stage.
- Margin calculation: The system performs statistical analysis of data on the volume of calls and their cost characteristics and calculates the profitability of destinations.
- Reporting and analytics: Consolidated analytical reporting and statistical analysis of the attractiveness of individual areas usage with the ability to automatically upload data to the external systems for deep analysis.
- Financial module: Issuing bills for consumption and counter bills for reconciliation with operators and the ability to accept different types of payments and maintain a partner's balance in the system.
- Matrixes: To simplify the loading processes and reconfiguration of matrixes, a specialized interface is used to perform this in mass processing mode.

### System architecture

Avante IBS is an independent system that uses a separate DBMS instance. Since such systems are required to deal with large amounts of data, the processes are oriented to mass data processing in multi-threaded modes.
Additional system convenience is the ability to repeatedly perform the operation of linking and relinking the downloaded traffic, iterative work on tariffing and reconciliation, tools for finding and eliminating discrepancies. With the system it is possible to bill both independently and by uploading all the necessary data to an external system.
The system has a standard API that allows to quickly integrate the system into the existing infrastructure. This applies both to integrating with the business applications in use, and to the various technical platforms through which the customer service is provided.

## Loyalty Management

https://avantebss.com/en/products/loyalty

Avante Loyalty — a platform for creating and running loyalty programs.

Avante Loyalty allows creating and managing loyalty programs. Design and launch attractive loyalty programs and campaigns aimed at building long-term relationships with your customers.
The solution integrates with other Avante products and extends the capabilities of other systems with additional tools for handling customer loyalty programs.
Using advanced rewards and customer motivation programs as a part of your marketing strategy gives your company easy-to-use tools for managing customer loyalty and increasing revenues.

### Key features

- Status Model: Customizable set of statuses, conditions and rules of transition between them.
- Periodic and event driven processing: Flexible customization of the processing and calculation rules.
- Working with partners: Use partner offers as a tool to create your own bonus program
- Bonus offers constructor: The visual interface of the administrator contains the bonus offers designer that allows you to create new offers quickly without involving IT-specialists.
- Reporting system: The product allows you to create reports of different depth and detail periodically or by request. A special report designer is used for customization.
- Moving points: It is possible to transfer points between clients, and also to convert points in a monetary balance or services of the company.

### System architecture

Avante Loyalty is a part of the modular Avante OSS/BSS solution and integrates seamlessly into the IT landscape, extending the capabilities of the platform. The system supports the use of multiple sources and data loading from both Avante products and external systems.
System results (ratings, scores, ranks, levels, etc.) can be retrieved from any external systems with support for online (REST calls, event bus) and offline (files, database) uploads.

## Billing Mediation System

https://avantebss.com/en/products/mediation

Avante Mediation — a prebilling system that collects and pre-analyses network statistics.

Avante Mediation is a system for collecting, preparing, filtering, unifying and enriching traffic. By traffic we mean information reflecting the consumption of certain services by customers. Systems of this type are used by telecom operators (CDR), the banking sector (transactions), energy/utility companies (data from meters) and other companies selling third-party services and performing independent settlements with subscribers.
The system supports a large set of rules, allowing both to filter unnecessary or service traffic, and to enrich the data by various additional information required for further processing (to put billing zones, labels of belonging to a particular group, etc.).

### Key features

- Data filtering: Cleans incoming data from service information, controls errors and duplicates. Data validation and discarding of invalid and untargeted entries is performed during filtering.
- Data Aggregation: Used in case of collecting traffic in a highly detailed format. As a rule, such detail is not required for billing and in this case, the traffic must be aggregated to the required value.
- Introduction of new network elements: The system allows you to quickly and efficiently commission new elements and nodes in the operator's network. There is a possibility of preliminary equipment testing before putting it into operation to verify whether the data it transmits is correct and complete.
- Flexible configuration: Extensive capabilities for installing and configuring sets of collection and processing of statistics, as well as monitoring their status using the system interface installed in the central unit.
- Collecting and processing statistics: The system enables correct collection and processing of statistics collected from distributed devices of different manufacturers.
- Monitoring: Health monitoring of all major components of the system and notification the administrator when a failure occurs. All collected information is automatically processed.

### System architecture

Avante Mediation is a complex multi-component solution consisting of a set of basic functional modules. These modules allow to form different functional content to build solutions of different complexity.
The system supports multi-threaded data processing that allows processing large arrays of incoming data, transforming them in the required way and in case of necessity aggregating them to the required volume. Traffic processing rules are set using an interface and are intuitive.

## Online Charging System

https://avantebss.com/en/products/ocs

Avante OCS — a universal online charging system for prepaid and postpaid.

Avante OCS is a powerful solution for real-time balance control and billing of services provided, as well as their management. It supports Prepaid, Postpaid, and hybrid models, giving operators the flexibility they need to tailor their pricing plans to meet the needs of their subscribers.
One of the key features of Avante OCS is its support for bonus and discount balances, which enables operators to create complex and personalized tariff plans for their subscribers. Additionally, the system's flexible subscriber funds quota function allows for the simultaneous consumption of multiple services on a single subscriber balance, preventing "deficit" even when several services are being used simultaneously. This feature helps operators to significantly reduce their risk of receivables when working with high-risk customer categories.

### Key features

- Versatility: Work on 3G, GSM, LTE, 5G, etc. networks and support of CAMEL and DIAMETER protocols.
- Efficiency: High system efficiency and system fault tolerance with full redundancy.
- Billing: Billng seconds, bytes, units, VAS services. Support of billing by tariff grids, roaming connections, including billing of bundled offers.
- Scaling: Horizontal platform scaling without service interruption.
- Flexibility: Support for all billing schemes, tokens, packages, and bundles.
- Favorite numbers: Support of "favorite numbers", special and system numbers with individual billing.
- Multibalance: Support for monetary and material balances at the service and contract level, and multi-balance at the service and contract level. Ability to prioritize the expenditure of monetary and material balances.
- Synchronization: Equal balancing of subscriber's funds between services, synchronization of data with offline billing.
- Service control: The ability to instantly block/unblock services when you reach a certain balance without the possibility for a subscriber to go into technical deficit.

### System architecture

All system components are separated and redundant, these requirements are due to high fault tolerance requirements for the systems of this class and complexity. And the redundancy is performed both on the software level and on the "hardware" level.
Avante OCS can be integrated with the billing system to improve efficiency, increase customer service, and overall system usability. The system receives all the necessary set of reference information used in the billing process from the billing system. Information about the billed completed connections is sent back to the system.
The use of the In-Memory Data Grid (Hazelcast) allows directories (rate plans, services, balance configurations, etc.) and variable data (reserves, variable balances, etc.) to be stored online. The system architecture supports both vertical and horizontal scalability, allowing you to increase system performance without any limitations.

## Telecom OSS

https://avantebss.com/en/products/oss

Avante OSS — the equipment and infrastructure management systems operators use to run their networks.

### Key features

- Mediation System: Pre-billing system for collecting and preliminary analysis of data and statistics
- Service Provisioning: Management system for interaction with equipment and external resources
- Account Management System: Subscriber Access Parameters Management Platform
- Core BSS: Avante Core BSS products are designed for revenue management, business process management and workforce management
- Sales & Marketing BSS: Increase sales and revenue by implementing products for sales automation, real-time marketing, and customer satisfaction management
- Partner management: Automate processes and improve the efficiency of work with partners and agents

## Partner Management

https://avantebss.com/en/products/partner-management

Automate processes and improve the efficiency of work with partners and agents.

### Key features

- Partner Relationship Management: Universal and flexible Partner Relationship Management System
- Smart Control of Distribution: Warehouses balances and movement of equipment management and control solution
- Interconnect Billing System: Centralized automated solution supporting multiparty agreements with different service providers
- Core BSS: Avante Core BSS products are designed for revenue management, business process management and workforce management
- Sales & Marketing BSS: Increase sales and revenue by implementing products for sales automation, real-time marketing, and customer satisfaction management
- Avante OSS: Equipment and infrastructure management systems, used by operators to manage their communications networks

## Product Catalog

https://avantebss.com/en/products/pc

Avante PC — centralized information storage about the company's services and products.

Avante PC (Product Catalog) is a single point of preparation and designing the company offers, provided to customers, and subsequently billed in Avante Billing. The system allows to significantly simplify and speed up preparation and introduction of new offers to the market, formation of new packages and performing marketing actions.
The product will be especially useful for companies that actively use various marketing tools and targeted personalized offers to attract and retain customers. It can be telecom operators, banks, insurance companies, marketplaces and other companies that sell third-party services as part of their package offers and conduct independent mutual settlements with customers.

### Key features

- Faster TTM: Minimizes the time to generate, test, and prepare new offers for sales in the system. Provides marketing services with an intuitive interface that allows you to consistently perform all stages of proposal preparation.
- Segmentation: Allows you to conveniently bind the offers for different customer segments prepared in Avante DMP. Subsequently, it allows the company to account for its own profit transparently and easily in the context of the respective segmentation.
- Convergence: Allows creating and maintaining up-to-date convergent market prepaid and postpaid offers, which gives the company an opportunity to expand the ways of service provision regardless of the rules of service accounting in the system.
- Setting up services: The system provides a convenient and intuitive interface for configuring the tree of provided services of unlimited nesting. Also, for clarity, the system provides a tree-like display of the service hierarchy and the ability to add certain services to the products under development with inheritance of all their parameters.
- Adding parameters: Possibility to expand the set of parameters of the service or any other entity of the system at any time. Parameters can be both references, textual with configurable validation mechanism, and computable.
- Step-by-step setup: The system supports step-by-step development of a new offer or promotion. The work starts at the marketing level and includes the assembly of the new product structure, then the work is done at the billing level (setting up the necessary billing rules for the new product) and ends at the service level (command binding).
- Setting up accessibility: For each proposal individually configured conditions of availability and compatibility for different categories of customers. This feature allows you to avoid offering your clients services that contradict the logic and the client's experience. Availability customization also allows you to avoid cannibalization of your own base.
- Offer priority: Set up the "storefront" priority of the product offers, and promotions created in Avante PC. This setting allows you to organize the "storefront" and display the offers that give the best conversion rate or are important for the company.
- Proposal mapping: Adding Avante PC to the company infrastructure allows mapping heterogeneous services maintained in different accounting systems (billing or ERP) and prepare a convergent offer storefront for further display in the CRM system or self-service portal.

### System architecture

Avante Product Catalog is built on the principle of division into three logical levels: marketing level, billing level and service level. Logical division is connected with the necessity of working in the system by employees of different departments, which, in their turn, operate with their own data level.
The marketing level contains tools for constructing offers and implements a variety of options for allowing or restricting access to certain products to subscribers from different segments
Billing level contains a set of objects with the help of which the flexible mechanisms for providing offers (products, services, additional services), embedded in the marketing level, are implemented in the billing model of the system.
At the service level, a stock or offer is configured in terms of executing all necessary commands on the switching equipment or in external IT systems.

## Partner Relationship Management

https://avantebss.com/en/products/prm

Avante PRM — a universal and flexible partner relationship management system.

Avante PRM is the system for structuring the interaction with multiple partners, which is characterized by: transparency, manageability, clear terms of partner interaction, automation of partner services factual accounting, implementation of sophisticated schemes of mutual settlements based on the constructor, organization of partner's mutual settlements reconciliation and generation of reports in automatic mode.

### Key features

- Ratings: If there are several partners working in the same territory, the first priority is to rank and prioritize in order to distribute orders automatically. There is a rating system for this purpose, which motivates partners to do a better job of fulfilling orders.
- Rewards: Sophisticated compensation schemes and proper calculation are becoming more in demand, because nowadays the percentage of income most partners are often not satisfied with. One of the decisive conditions is the quality of performance and the final result.
- Penalties: In some cases it's necessary to apply the procedure of penalties for the transfer of an order for execution and/or poor performance. For example, this may be the case if the service has abandoned the company with a popular brand in the market.
- Reporting: Online reporting helps control the most important indicators of the provider company observing the balances in partners' warehouses, the number of fulfilled partners' orders, the effectiveness of sales outlets, and the quality level of partner staff training.
- Routing: Functionality for routing orders with the possible configuration and collection with a single entry point. For example, it can be a marketplace website or call center to transfer to the performer or to a regional 3rd level partner in the automatic mode.
- EDR processing: The system collects and structures complex data regarding past events - for example executed orders from different sources directly from partners IT platforms. Remuneration calculation is performed in the EDR Avante PRM.
- Remuneration calculation: The system supports sophisticated and combined calculation systems for partner remuneration with or without fulfilled or unfulfilled sales plans. Compensation schemes can be set up in a developed designer GUI.
- Document workflow: The system produces a set of documents, part of which allows you to provide the partner with the necessary documentation for services provided to end users. Another part is a package of documents for mutual partner settlements.
- Reconciliation procedure: The partner companies need to reconcile and calculate a fee based on the results of the activity. If discrepancies are found, they are necessarily analyzed and corrected. If this cannot be done, it will be necessary to calculate the average value of the discrepancies.

### System architecture

The Avante PRM system is often used as separate and independent product, integrated with external information sources in with file exchange and APIs. The system user interface is a thin client, where DBMS solutions from different vendors are applied with selection based on project tasks.
The modular structure of Avante PRM allows to flexibly use the functionality in different variants if necessary:
Analyze impressive data sets from an intellectual perspective
Generate reports or prepare showcases for BI systems
Expand the structure of data accounting by means of customizable parameters
Implement various complex algorithms for mutual settlements
Set up the procedure for controlling changes in key indicators automatically

## Sales & Marketing BSS

https://avantebss.com/en/products/sales

Increase sales and revenue with products for sales automation, real-time marketing and customer satisfaction.

### Key features

- Customer Relationship Management: Client-centric multifunctional CRM platform for automation of business processes of sales and interaction with the client
- Product Catalog: Centralized storage of information about the services and products of the company
- Campaign Management: Real-time marketing assistance and promotion management system that simplifies key sales processes
- Selfcare Portal: Flexible and powerful self-service portal (personal account) for subscribers and partners
- Data Management Platform: Centralized data storage for analytics and reporting with advanced marketing tools and user profiling
- Loyalty Management: Flexible platform for creating and managing customer loyalty programs
- Core BSS: Avante Core BSS products are designed for revenue management, business process management and workforce management
- Avante OSS: Equipment and infrastructure management systems, used by operators to manage their communications networks
- Partner management: Automate processes and improve the efficiency of work with partners and agents

## Distribution Management

https://avantebss.com/en/products/scd

Avante SCD — a distribution control system for dealers and points of sale.

Avante Smart Control of Distribution is designed for management of the sales network of companies and their partners. The system allows to keep records of stock balances and organize the equipment movement control in partner warehouses. Control is performed from the moment of goods receiving at the central warehouse to the shipment to the end user. The solution also allows organizing the workflow of the company's service departments, both in-house and partner.
With Avante SCD, the company can organize the assembly of equipment sets from individual components and assign a serial number to the final set, which will be used for further accounting. Keeping the serial records of the equipment installed by a subscriber allows to keep its subsequent service and warranty repair, as well as to replace individual components within the framework of the final set maintenance.

### Key features

- Equipment management: Working with equipment in the system begins either with the loading of a complete set or its formation from the previously loaded components. The system records all further movements of this equipment before binding it to the end user.
- Balance control: Real-time control of balances in their own and partner warehouses and setting up alerting scenarios and events when threshold values are reached.
- Working with partners: The system allows organizing a flexible and multi-level accounting system of sales outlets of partners and provides them with all necessary tools for planning purchases, placing, and coordinating orders of new batches, documentary support.
- Reporting: All types of reporting are fully supported: from bills of lading and write-off acts to complex analytical reports showing the current warehouse filling and forecasting the amount of necessary future purchases.
- Automation: Setting up automatic control of changes in equipment balances and the ability to generate documents to control traffic (invoices, certificates)
- Data analysis: Analysis according to predefined algorithms, formation of complex analytical and marketing reports and unloading of data for further processing in external systems

### System architecture

Avante SCD may be a part of the Avante BSS as well as an independent product. Information can be received from various sources and then it will be processed and uploaded to the system for further work. Avante SCD provides the ability to send processed information or notifications to other IT platforms and supports all modern integration methods.
For partners, this system is a universal tool for accounting and distribution of received equipment among sub-partners, receiving and processing requests for installation or service coming from the company, registering new end users in the HQ. The partner gains these opportunities by tools in the partner's personal account.

## Selfcare Portal

https://avantebss.com/en/products/scp

Avante Selfcare Portal — a flexible self-service portal for subscribers and partners.

Avante Selfcare Portal is a cutting-edge self-service portal that enables customers to execute a variety of administrative tasks for the services they use on their own. The platform enables complete customization of the system for the needs of the organization, providing customers with the most comprehensive range of self-service alternatives.
The ability of Avante Selfcare Portal to perform under tremendous load and tolerate one-time bursts of subscriber activity is an important feature. The system, which has over one million subscribers, is installed in a cluster configuration to handle peak loads and eliminate service outages.

### Key features

- All in one place: All the information you need for convenient self-service is in one place: contact information, linked packages and services and their current statuses, account balances, both monetary and real (bonus).
- Display of offers: Displays the deals offered to any specific customer from the company. These offers are generated by the systems Avante PC and Avante CM, and the set of available offers can change depending on the actions of the customer.
- Management of services: A customer can control their own products and services, both those that are currently connected and those that are accessible for connection or purchase. For example, a user can independently connect a package of services required for international travel (roaming).
- Payment acceptance: Avante Seflcare Portal is compatible with a variety of online payment systems. Payments are received and credited in real time.
- Financial information: Displaying the history of the company's financial relationships with the customer. It could be bills, invoices, payments history or transations.
- Details: Detailed information regarding a subscriber's use of services. The data can be shown in the subscriber's personal account interface or distributed as a file through e-mail.

### System architecture

The system is built to handle high loads and a big number of subscribers. For optimum fail-safety, the system is constructed using technologies that allow the load on the subscriber self-service portal to be distributed equally. One major difference in this method is that both subscriber authorization routing and load balancing on individual pieces combined in a cluster are fully automated.

## Service Provisioning

https://avantebss.com/en/products/sp

Avante SP — a management system for interaction with equipment and external resources.

Avante SP (Service Provisioning) equipment management system is an intermediate platform between the Billing System and control resources (for example, switching equipment used in the operator's network). The system's primary goal is to organize effective interaction between Billing and control resources when a subscriber's service status or access parameters change.
Using Avante Service Provisioning in a telecom operator enables the company to provide a quick and dependable system for delivering managed services to customers. The system is actively used in distributed networks of large federal and regional operators and supports cluster scaling.

### Key features

- Command testing: The system allows pre-testing of command execution on switching equipment and performs all debugging procedures and tests
- Plugins library: Our ready-to-use plug-in library includes solutions for over 200 equipment from well known vendors and various custom solutions.
- Monitoring: The system enables you to automate the monitoring of all critical processes, as well as control and analyze historical data.
- Recovery: The system has the ability to configure necessary checks and algorithms for system actions in the event of an emergency failure or hardware failure to perform a specific command.
- Distributed network: The system has been well-proven in large operator distributed networks as an industrial fault-tolerant solution that supports a distributed architecture.
- Plugin development: The ability to develop plugins and change configuration independently allows you to expand system functionality without relying on a vendor.
- Hardware Management: Enable and disable services in real time, as well as run bulk management commands that have been pre-programmed.
- Customer service improvement: The system allows for real-time polling and management of the equipment, greatly simplifying the work of the customer care and technical services departments and reducing customer service time.

### System architecture

The solution includes a modern "thin" interface that allows the user interface to be ergonomically and functionally configured during implementation to suit a variety of operational tasks. The ability to configure desktops allows company specialists to make all of its settings in the future.
The system's various layouts allow for high fault tolerance and the avoidance of control command loss due to individual component failures. In each project, the final configuration of the solution is developed individually with the customer. It considers a wide range of conditions, including the operator's activity, equipment fleet, used systems and their capabilities, volume of sent commands, operating personnel qualification, and so on. Avante SP contains several functional blocks:
Used to receive control commands from external information systems, such as billing, inventory systems, the integration bus or CRM-systems.
Used for executing control commands on a particular hardware instance. The distributed scheme of work with regional outlets is supported.

## Workforce Management

https://avantebss.com/en/products/wfm

Avante WFM — a powerful workforce management system for field teams.

Avante WFM is a tool for managing your own and third-party human resources, such as independent installers or individual crews. The system is required for planning of human resources in connection with the business processes of the company, further monitoring of tasks execution, processing, and operative correction of planned tasks.
This system can be used to control and manage both the company's own resources and those of independent contractors. The work begins with the unification and typification of the resources involved and ends with the control of their fulfillment of the declared KPI.

### Key features

- Efficiency Control: Control the efficiency of existing business processes with customizable algorithms for automatic KPI control. If a target KPI is rejected, the system creates an automatic notification to the head of the department.
- Typification: Ability to perform typification of performers, both individuals and teams. The system allows to group them according to various parameters (qualification level, type of work performed, territorial location, etc.).
- Resource accounting: The system allows you to keep track of resources in the context of individual employees, as well as combining them into teams. It is possible to link various additional parameters to each resource, allowing their typing and various groupings.
- Schedule: The system provides a flexible resource scheduling interface that takes into account the binding of objects, the availability of free resources and declared SLAs. In case of force majeure, the system allows you to reschedule resources automatically or manually.
- Task control: Monitoring of performed tasks is conducted both automatically by configured KPIs, and manually by the direct supervisor, the system uses the color-coded tasks for which there may be a violation of the declared SLA.
- KPI control: The control of timely performance of the assigned tasks is performed on the basis of the specified KPIs. If they are violated, the system will notify the employees concerned, allowing them to intervene in time and correct the situation before the stated SLAs are violated.
- Performer's interface: To document the fact of work on the field (customer address), the system provides a mobile interface installer, allowing him to record on the spot the fact of connecting or repairing equipment and consumables spent on the job.
- Job plan: As a result of job scheduling, each installer or foreman receives a visualized job plan. This is done either as a set of work orders or as a list of tasks in the installer's interface. As soon as these tasks are completed, he marks its status.
- Work Order Generation: The formation of work orders is performed automatically with grouping by executors. The work orders provided to the performer contain all the information necessary to perform the order (address, customer's notes, etc.).

### System architecture

Avante WFM usage provides the company with continuous monitoring and cost optimization of the use of available or attracted resources required to fulfill the company's objectives. In terms of global architecture, the system works in close cooperation with Avante BPM and is usually linked to the current business processes of the company. However, the system can also be used separately in integration with the client's external IT environment.
Avante WFM receives installation or service repair tasks from CRM, BPM or SD company, performs the necessary scheduling of available resources and generates the necessary set of documents for work execution and receipt of consumables by the team. To do this, the system makes a request to the warehouse system for the availability of the required amount of these materials.
To record the results of work at the client's site, an appropriate mobile app is often used by the installer. Both the location (geolocation) and time of service provision, as well as connection parameters important for the acceleration of the business process, are recorded. After the work is completed and the result is recorded, the system transfers the task to the BPM system for its further implementation by various services of the company.

# Customers

## Enterprise MVNO Platform for Brilliantel, South Africa

Region: Africa. Deployment of the Avante BSS/OSS platform for Brilliantel to support an enterprise-focused MVNO business in South Africa, including advanced billing models for B2B and B2G services. The solution creates a flexible foundation for enterprise mobile services and enables commercial models beyond standard MVNE setups.

## BSS Transformation for Transtelecom, Kazakhstan

Region: Asia. Transformation of Transtelecom Kazakhstan’s BSS environment to support mobile services and converged product offerings on the Avante platform. The project improved the stability and reliability of core operational processes and the underlying IT infrastructure.

## MVNO Platform for Venta Mobile, EU

Region: Europe. Deployment of a full platform stack for Venta Mobile, covering the core components required to launch and operate an MVNO and integrate with third-party systems. The solution enabled an independent IT environment with modern billing and the system connectivity needed for scalable service delivery.

## Platform for a Leading Banking MVNO in the CIS

Region: CIS. A digital platform built for a major banking MVNO in the CIS, designed to support advanced billing capabilities and a differentiated customer experience. The project was delivered in six months in line with security and integration requirements, creating a strong foundation for rapid service rollout.

## Unified BSS Platform for a Leading Telecom Operator in Kazakhstan

Region: Asia. Migration to a unified platform for a leading telecom operator in Kazakhstan, supporting convergent billing, a centralized product catalog, and more flexible service monetization. The transformation improved operational efficiency, accelerated the launch of new offers, and established a scalable digital foundation for further growth.

## Expansion of BSS platform across Europe and Africa for LANCK Telecom

Region: Europe • Africa. Next phase of a multi-market BSS rollout enabling MVNO launches, advanced charging and billing, and interconnect management across several European and African markets. The deployment accelerated time-to-market, strengthened monetization control, and created a unified operational backbone for secure and scalable service delivery across multiple regions.

# Insights

## Agent-ready BSS/OSS: what telecom operators need before AI can run operations

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/agent-ready-bss-oss-telecom-ai-operations

AI-driven telecom operations depend on integration, not models. What BSS/OSS transformation and API governance must deliver before agents can act.

An AI assistant at a large operator worked out the fix for a business billing dispute in about four seconds: apply a credit, correct the rated plan, reissue the invoice. A person then spent two days executing it. The credit needed an approval the system could not record, the plan change had to be re-keyed into a second catalog, and the invoice could not be reversed without a manual ticket. The model was not the constraint. The operating environment was.

That gap between deciding and executing is where BSS/OSS transformation is now heading. In August 2026 Liberty Latin America signed a ten-year engagement under which Amdocs will manage and transform its end-to-end IT ecosystem, running it through an agentic operating system with the stated aim of moving from traditional IT operations to an AI-driven model. In the same quarter, Amdocs disclosed a multi-year managed services agreement with a leading South American provider covering a full OSS stack with AI-driven application management. Neither is really a vendor story. Both point at the same shift: large operators have stopped buying AI features and started buying an operating model.

The question is no longer whether AI can assist telecom teams. The question is whether telecom operations are ready for AI agents to act safely across systems those agents do not own.

## Why telco operations resist automation

A single customer request rarely stays inside one system. Take a residential subscriber moving from a 300 Mbps broadband plan to a converged bundle with a mobile line. The request passes through CRM and customer identity, the product catalog and pricing rules, order management, billing and online charging, provisioning, network and service inventory, assurance, at least one partner system for the mobile leg or the device financing, notification services, and in several markets a regulatory record.

Each of those systems has its own state model and its own idea of what "active" means. They also fail in different ways. Automating any one step is straightforward, and most operators already have. The chain is the hard part, because it has no single owner. Where the systems are loosely coupled, an AI layer can propose a correct action and still be unable to complete it. What looks like an AI limitation is usually an integration limitation.

## From copilots to agents: execution changes the risk model

Three things are routinely described with the same word, and they carry very different exposure.

![agent ready 1 95](/img/insights/agent-ready-1_95.webp)

A copilot recommends; a human executes and absorbs the error. A workflow automates a predefined path with a fixed decision tree, and its behaviour is known before it runs. An agent selects a path at runtime within a scope somebody has to define.

The moment execution moves from the human to the agent, the cost of a wrong decision changes scale. A copilot that misreads a tariff wastes a minute of an advisor's time. An agent with write access that misreads a bulk suspension rule can put tens of thousands of lines into the wrong state before anyone notices, and in a prepaid environment the customer notices first.

Agentic AI shortens operational cycles. It also shortens the distance between a bad decision and its consequences. That is why the practical agenda for agentic operations is unglamorous: permissions, allowed action sets, approval thresholds, audit trails, rollback paths, observability, exception handling, and a defined blast radius per action type.

## API readiness: agents should call business capabilities, not databases

The architectural decision that matters most is what an agent is allowed to touch. An agent must never write to a billing table, a subscriber record, or a network inventory object directly. It should invoke governed business capabilities: create order, change plan, suspend service, apply credit, trigger provisioning, open an assurance case, request a settlement report.

The difference matters because a capability carries everything the raw write does not. "Apply credit" checks eligibility and the policy limit, records who authorised it, notifies the customer and creates the accounting entry. A direct database update does none of that and leaves a discrepancy for somebody to reconcile at month end.

Capability APIs built for agents need more discipline than APIs built for a portal. The agent needs a catalog to know what exists, and role-based access control so its scope is enforced outside the prompt rather than inside it. Contracts need versioning, because an agent that learned one signature will keep calling it. Idempotency keys matter more than usual here: a retry after a gateway timeout must not issue the same 50 EUR credit twice. Then validation and policy checks at the capability boundary, structured logging tied to a correlation ID, and rate limits. An agent stuck in a loop repeats a mistake faster than any human operator ever has.

## Data consistency: agent-ready operations need a shared operational truth

Automation amplifies whatever the data already says. Most operators carry known inconsistencies that human teams have quietly learned to work around: CRM shows a service as active while provisioning still has it pending; billing charges one tariff while self-care displays another; inventory does not reflect the access resource actually in use; a partner system has not confirmed activation; assurance sees a live fault on an order that order management has already closed.

An experienced advisor recognises these for what they are and calls the right team. An agent takes them at face value. Given a pending provisioning record on a service the customer is actively using, an agent may reopen a fulfilled order, re-trigger activation, and generate a second charge. Nothing failed, technically. Every system did what it was told.

The precondition is a shared operational truth. Master data with clear ownership per attribute, a canonical product model that catalog and billing both resolve to, a service inventory that matches what is actually connected. Around that, event streams that publish state changes instead of forcing systems to poll each other, reconciliation on a schedule rather than at month end, and one view that shows a customer's state across all domains at once. AI cannot orchestrate operations reliably if each system describes the customer, the product and the service differently.

## Cross-domain orchestration, not an AI layer on top

Agent-ready BSS/OSS is three layers with clear responsibilities: the AI and agent layer decides, the orchestration layer executes and controls, and the BSS, OSS and partner systems remain systems of record.

![agent ready 2 95](/img/insights/agent-ready-2_95.webp)

Inside a governed loop the agent understands the context, selects a permitted action, calls the correct business capability, verifies the result, writes the audit trail, and hands exceptions to a human with enough context to act. The orchestration layer owns what agents are bad at: sequencing across domains, timeouts, and compensation. If provisioning fails after charging has already applied, something has to reverse the charge, restore the previous plan, and close the order with the correct reason code. That is transactional design, not a better prompt.

## Human-in-the-loop: where autonomy should stop

Some actions should never be fully autonomous, regardless of model quality. Mass tariff or price changes, credits and refunds above a defined threshold, suspension of an enterprise or wholesale account, changes to settlement terms with partners, emergency network actions during an incident, and anything with a regulatory or tax consequence.

The workable pattern is graded autonomy. Credits below 20 EUR execute automatically; between 20 and 200 EUR they need supervisor approval; above that, finance. A cumulative cap limits how much an agent population can issue in an hour, so a systematic misreading is contained rather than discovered in the monthly report. In practice these thresholds get written after the first incident. Writing them before is considerably cheaper. Agent-ready does not mean fully autonomous. It means every action has an appropriate level of autonomy, approval and control.

## Why multi-market operators need this first

Groups operating across several countries hit this earlier. Different legacy stacks per OpCo, different catalogs, different regulators and consumer protection rules, different currencies and tax treatments, different partner ecosystems, and local process variants that exist for good reasons.

The value of an agent-ready layer in that setting is not unification. It is the ability to scale one governed practice without rebuilding every local system. A capability contract for "suspend service" can be defined once at group level and mapped to seven different implementations underneath, with the same permissions, the same audit format, and the same approval thresholds. The mapping layer absorbs the differences the agent should not have to reason about.

## What to modernise before deploying agents

The preconditions that separate a pilot from an operating model:

- BSS/OSS capabilities exposed as governed APIs, not screens or database access
- a unified product catalog, or an explicit mapping layer between catalogs
- consistent customer, product and service data with defined ownership
- event-driven integration between domains rather than batch reconciliation alone
- an orchestration engine that handles sequencing, retries and compensation
- role-based permissions for machine identities, not only for people
- immutable audit logs that record intent, actor, approval and outcome
- tested rollback and compensation procedures per action type
- exception workflows that route to a human with full context
- observability across the customer journey, not per system
- integration standards for partner and wholesale interfaces

None of this is exotic. It is ordinary BSS/OSS transformation work, which is exactly why it gets postponed in favour of the AI pilot, and why the pilot then stalls at the moment it has to write to something.

## AI readiness is integration readiness

The operators that win in AI-driven telecom operations will not necessarily be the ones with the most advanced model. They will be the ones whose BSS and OSS environment allows safe, governed, cross-domain execution, where every automated action is permitted, logged, reversible and observable.

That is an architecture decision, and it is being taken now, in ten-year engagements. At Avante we see the same order of operations in every serious programme: the integration layer first, the agents second.

## Brilliantel Selects AVANTE for Enterprise-Focused MVNO Launch in South Africa

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/news/brilliantel-selects-avante-for-enterprise-focused-mvno-launch-in-south-africa

AVANTE will provide the BSS/OSS platform for Brilliantel’s MVNO launch in South Africa, supporting enterprise and government-focused service models.

AVANTE has signed a commercial agreement with Brilliantel, a South African telecommunications and ICT company, to provide the billing and operational support platform for Brilliantel’s planned MVNO launch in South Africa.

The project is centered on B2B and B2G market segments, where standard MVNE models are often not sufficient. Brilliantel’s planned market approach requires more tailored commercial and service capabilities, including enterprise-specific billing logic and product structures designed for corporate and public-sector use cases.

One example is sponsored billing, where a corporate customer covers an agreed part of an employee’s mobile usage, while the remaining amount is billed directly to the individual subscriber. Capabilities of this kind are expected to form part of Brilliantel’s differentiated value proposition in the MVNO market.

The hardware platform for the project has already been secured, allowing implementation to move forward with infrastructure readiness addressed from the outset. The project will be delivered under an OPEX-based model designed to reduce upfront capital requirements and support an efficient launch structure.

Brilliantel enters the mobile market with an existing business, an established customer base, and active relationships in the enterprise and government segments through its broader connectivity and ICT services portfolio. This gives the company a practical commercial foundation for entering the MVNO space with a focused market proposition.

For AVANTE, this agreement reflects continued demand for flexible BSS/OSS platforms that can support operator models beyond standard MVNE configurations, especially in cases where enterprise-oriented commercial logic is a core part of the service proposition.

---

**About Brilliantel**

Brilliantel is a South African telecommunications and ICT solutions provider serving enterprise customers with connectivity and managed network services, including fibre, wireless, SD-WAN, MPLS, satellite, and related solutions across South Africa and the broader region.

## Cross-Border MVNOs in Africa: When Mobile Connectivity Becomes Part of the Remittance Ecosystem

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/cross-border-mvno-africa-remittances

Why cross-border MVNOs in Africa are a category apart from travel eSIM — remittance economics, multi-country BSS/MVNE requirements and settlement risk.

A Zimbabwean electrician in Johannesburg carries two numbers. The South African one gets him work, pays his rent through a wallet, and receives the OTPs his bank sends. The Zimbabwean one is how his mother reaches him and how the family account back home stays verified. He has been doing this for six years, which makes him neither a roaming customer nor a domestic subscriber. The travel eSIM was not designed for him and neither was the local MVNO, and there are roughly 25 million people in Africa living the same way.

That gap is pulling a third operator category into existence. Call it the cross-border MVNO: connectivity as the cheap, high-frequency entry point into a payments relationship, which is where the money actually sits. The volumes justify the attention. Sub-Saharan Africa took in roughly $56 billion in recorded remittances in 2024, and around $1.4 trillion moved through mobile money wallets in the region during 2025, about two-thirds of the global total by value.

## The travel eSIM was built for someone else

Most travel eSIMs are data-only: no MSISDN, no SMS, no voice. That is a reasonable trade for a two-week holiday, because your home SIM stays in the phone and keeps receiving the codes your bank sends.

For a resident migrant the same design breaks in ways that compound. Keeping a home SIM live for years purely to receive SMS means paying line rental in a currency you no longer earn. Local employers, landlords and government portals want a local number and often accept nothing else. Mobile money onboarding is tied to a locally registered SIM in most markets, so a data-only profile locks the user out of the dominant payment rail in the country they actually live in.

Registration rules make this harder. Nigeria requires foreign nationals resident beyond two years to hold a National Identification Number, with shorter stays running on passport and visa pages. Malawi moved to biometric SIM registration in 2025, Ghana is folding liveness checks into its verification drive, and South Africa is overhauling RICA. A product that treats the subscriber as anonymous throughput cannot survive contact with any of this, and travel eSIM economics assume exactly that: acquire, sell 10 GB, never see the customer again.

## Two numbers, one identity

Once you accept that the user lives in both places, the local number stops being a SIM and becomes a key. In the origin market it is tied to the family wallet, the utility account, school fees. In the destination market it is tied to payroll, the local wallet, the KYC record at the bank. The migrant runs two identity graphs, and every cross-border action needs both live at the same moment. Sending money home means authenticating in Johannesburg and confirming delivery in Harare. If either number lapses the transaction fails, usually at the worst possible time.

A cross-border MVNO is functionally an operator holding both ends of that graph in one account: one subscription, several MSISDNs across different countries, one identity record, one balance visible on both sides. It sounds mundane and is hard to build, which is why the category is defensible.

## Why connectivity, wallet and remittance belong in one product

The remittance side explains the bundle. Sending $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa still costs around 8.8% on average against a UN target of 3%. Intra-African corridors are the worst offenders: South Africa to Mozambique has run above 14%, South Africa to Malawi close behind. Those spreads reflect thin corridor volumes, correspondent banking friction and compliance cost per transaction, plus the fact that the customer has nowhere better to go.

Bundling attacks that cost base from an unusual direction. Acquisition is already paid for by the connectivity product. KYC has been performed once for SIM registration and can be extended rather than repeated. Distribution runs through the agent network that already sells airtime. The remittance leg becomes a margin line on an existing relationship rather than a standalone business fighting for CAC payback.

Retention works the same way. Airtime sent to a relative's number is a remittance in miniature, often the first cross-border transaction a new customer makes, and a low-stakes way to build trust before moving a month's wages.

The catch is licensing. Connectivity, e-money issuance and cross-border transfer are three separate regulatory perimeters in almost every market, so the wallet ledger must stay segregated from the telecom ledger. Bundling the experience does not mean merging the balance sheets.

## What a multi-country BSS/MVNE has to support

Most MVNE platforms were designed for one country, one host operator, one currency, one regulator. A cross-border MVNO breaks each assumption on day one. The load-bearing requirements:

- **Multi-country, multi-currency subscriber ledger** with one customer identity spanning several MSISDNs and several national KYC records, each with its own validity state.
- **Per-market product catalogue and tariff engine**, since bundles, VAT and sector levies differ by country and change often.
- **Number and eSIM inventory management** across multiple host operators: RSP integration, multi-profile provisioning, entitlement handling for secondary devices.
- **Mediation across heterogeneous CDR formats**, with reconciliation that flags wholesale disputes before the invoice is paid.
- **KYC orchestration per jurisdiction**: different ID types, biometric requirements and re-verification cycles, plus a way to attach a foreign identity document to a local subscription where rules allow.
- **A segregated wallet ledger** with its own audit trail, KYC-tiered limits and AML screening hooks.
- **Regulatory reporting by market**, because a consolidated report satisfies nobody.

Nigeria shows how fast this is formalising. The NCC has issued more than forty MVNO licences across five tiers, with fees from roughly ₦35 million to ₦500 million, and its 2026 draft Business Rules explicitly cover SIM and eSIM management alongside numbering and interconnection. Licences have proven easier to obtain than launches: by late 2025 only one Nigerian MVNO had gone commercially live, and platform readiness is much of that gap.

## Settlement is where the model quietly bleeds

Four counterparty types sit in the flow: host operators, the MVNO, banks, and payment or mobile money providers on both ends. Each settles on a different cycle, in a different currency, under a different contract. Host operators invoice monthly in local currency against wholesale rate cards, often with minimum volume commitments that assume domestic growth. Payment partners want prefunded float in the payout country. Banks apply their own FX spread and cut-off times. The MVNO sits in the middle holding currency exposure it never intended to take.

Three things reduce the pain materially. Treat float as a treasury function rather than an operational afterthought, deciding deliberately where balances sit and in what currency, then pricing that into the corridor. Net where legal structure permits, so intra-group flows do not each incur a full correspondent banking leg. Use regional infrastructure where it now exists: PAPSS reached 28 countries by mid-2026 with more than 190 banks and fintechs connected and the CEMAC central bank joining, removing a hard-currency hop from a growing number of corridors.

Reconciliation discipline matters more than any of it. Telecom revenue assurance and payments reconciliation are different crafts, and this model needs both, running against one customer record. Airtime margins alone will not absorb a settlement error.

## The risks that don't appear in the business case

**KYC divergence.** SIM registration KYC and financial KYC are not the same standard, and the gap between them is where regulators look first. A subscriber verified adequately for a SIM is nowhere near sufficient for a wallet holding a month's salary, and tiered limits have to reflect that.

**Currency.** Soft-currency exposure in these corridors is structural. Retail FX spread is a legitimate revenue line, but it is increasingly scrutinised, and pricing it as hidden margin invites both regulatory attention and competitive undercutting.

**Data residency.** The constraint most likely to force an architecture rewrite. Nigeria's NDPA restricts cross-border transfer by default, its implementation directive has been in force since September 2025, and telecom rules separately require subscriber data to sit in-country. Kenya's Data Protection Act imposes conditional transfer requirements, with its regulator consulting on cross-border guidance through mid-2026. A platform holding one customer record across five countries answers all of this at once, usually through per-country data planes and a federated identity layer rather than a single database.

**Regulatory asymmetry.** MVNO frameworks exist in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Senegal but not uniformly across the continent, and e-money licensing, local shareholding rules and transfer permissions vary independently of the telecom regime. Corridor selection is a regulatory decision as much as a commercial one, and the corridor with the best migration volume is frequently not the one you can launch first.

None of this makes the category harder than it looks. It makes it harder than the pitch deck looks. The demand underneath is not going to soften. The open question is whether operators treat payments as a feature bolted onto a SIM, or treat the SIM as the cheapest way anyone has found to acquire a payments customer who stays for a decade.

## Avante Deploys Comprehensive MVNO BSS/OSS Platform for VENTAmobile

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/news/avante-deploys-mvno-platform-for-ventamobile

Avante has deployed its MVNO BSS/OSS platform for VENTAmobile, supporting service launches, integrations, roaming and telecom operations.

Avante, a provider of BSS/OSS software solutions for the telecommunications industry, announces the successful deployment of its comprehensive MVNO platform for VENTAmobile, a Latvian telecom operator specializing in mobile communication services, roaming and voice and SMS traffic transit.

The Avante MVNO Suite provides VENTAmobile with a complete IT and network enablement platform covering critical BSS/OSS functions required to operate and scale MVNO services. The solution also supports integration with external systems, helping VENTAmobile accelerate service launches, optimize operational processes and strengthen its position in the roaming and transit market.

Founded in 2015, VENTAmobile provides sponsored roaming worldwide, multi-IMSI capabilities, M2M solutions, eSIM services and competitive wholesale voice and SMS transit. With Avante’s platform, the operator gains a future-ready foundation to expand its service portfolio and deliver cost-effective telecom services to partners and enterprise customers.

> “For us at VENTAmobile, this project is more than just an infrastructure upgrade. It is a step toward the future of telecommunications. By working with Avante, we have gained a flexible, future-ready platform that allows us to innovate faster, adapt to market changes and deliver greater value to our partners and customers worldwide. This collaboration positions us to play a stronger role in shaping tomorrow’s mobile ecosystem,” said Viktors Topors, Member of the Board and spokesperson for VENTAmobile.

> “Our work with VENTAmobile reflects the growing demand for MVNO enablement platforms that combine speed, reliability and flexibility. Avante’s BSS/OSS suite is designed to support operators as they transform their business models and deliver new telecom services,” said Issa Chini, VP Strategy & Growth at Avante.

### About VENTAmobile

VENTAmobile is a Latvian telecom operator founded in 2015, specializing in mobile communication, global roaming, and voice and SMS traffic transit. As an associated GSMA member, the company uses its own communication platform to deliver instant SMS worldwide, flexible voice routing and reliable roaming services. VENTAmobile provides businesses and partners with simple, cost-effective and scalable telecom solutions.

## The Integration Problem in MVNO Launches: Why the Software Is Rarely What Slows You Down

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-integration-launch-timeline

Why MVNO launch delays are driven by integrations, not platform software — a practical guide to scoping integration risk before committing to a timeline.

The platform was ready in month four. The MVNO went live in month eleven. The seven months in between were spent almost entirely on integrations — specifically, on a number portability adapter that failed certification testing twice, and on an HLR/HSS provisioning interface with the host MNO that required three rounds of technical alignment because the MNO had upgraded its core network between specification sign-off and the testing window.

The BSS vendor was not at fault. The platform itself was functioning correctly from month four. The project manager had built the delivery plan around platform milestones. Integrations were treated as a parallel workstream that would "run in parallel." They did — until the parallel workstream became the critical path and stayed there for seven months.

This is the most common source of MVNO launch delays. It is also the least commonly anticipated at project initiation. Platform capability is visible and evaluable. Integration scope is diffuse, dependent on third parties with their own schedules, and genuinely unpleasant to scope in detail before a contract is signed. So it tends not to get scoped properly.

## What actually needs to connect

An MVNO sits between the host MNO's network and its own subscribers. The BSS platform manages the subscriber relationship — billing, products, lifecycle — but it cannot operate in isolation. It needs to communicate with the MNO's network, with regulatory systems, with the MVNO's commercial platforms, and with operational infrastructure. Each connection is a discrete project.

**MNO network interfaces**

The most critical integration is the HLR/HSS — the database that maps each SIM to its active service profile on the host network. When a subscriber activates, changes their plan, or is suspended, the MVNO's BSS must send a provisioning instruction to the MNO's HLR/HSS and receive confirmation. This is not a simple API call. The interface uses SS7 or Diameter signaling protocols, and the MNO has its own engineering change control process. Booking a testing slot on the MNO's network engineering calendar typically takes 6 to 12 weeks after technical specification is agreed — regardless of how quickly the MVNO's side is ready.

Beyond HLR/HSS, there may be PCRF integration for data session policy management, SMS-C for message routing, and USSD gateway integration for markets where USSD-based self-service is standard. This includes most of Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Middle East, where USSD-based top-up and balance checks are the primary subscriber interaction channel.

**Regulatory interfaces**

Number portability is the wild card in most MVNO projects. In markets with mobile number portability, the MVNO must integrate with the national clearinghouse and complete certification testing before porting any subscriber numbers. Certification slots are booked through the regulatory body on its own calendar. In some markets the next available slot is 8 to 12 weeks away at any given point. In markets where number portability is relatively recent — parts of the Gulf, several African markets — the interfaces are less mature and certification processes more involved.

KYC adds another dependency. Most markets require subscriber identity verification at activation, and the technical approach varies: document upload with manual review, real-time biometric verification, or integration with national identity databases. Each provider has its own sandbox environment and certification process, and these do not run on the MVNO project's schedule.

**Commercial and business systems**

CRM, ERP, payment gateway, dealer management systems — these tend to be treated as lower-risk because the technology teams involved are more familiar with them. Payment gateways in particular look straightforward on paper. REST APIs, well documented. In practice, each payment provider has its own fraud rules, its own certification requirements for new merchants, and a sandbox that may behave differently from production. In markets where mobile money is the primary top-up channel — M-Pesa, Orange Money, MTN MoMo — the integration specifications and approval processes are provider-specific and cannot be assumed from prior experience with other payment systems.

**Roaming**

Setting up roaming requires bilateral agreements with partner networks, registration with GSMA clearing systems (TAP/NRTRDE for clearing, GRX or IPX for data transport), and live testing with a representative set of partner networks. Commercial negotiations, technical setup and testing combined take four to six months for basic roaming capability. Roaming is often deferred to post-launch to manage initial timeline risk. For MVNOs where it is material to the proposition — business-focused, diaspora-focused, or dual-SIM targeting — this is a sequencing decision with commercial consequences that should be explicit in the project plan, not implicit.

## Why different integration categories fail in different ways

MNO network interfaces are usually well-documented — the MNO has done this before — but they are schedule-dependent on the MNO's engineering organisation. The MVNO cannot accelerate the MNO's internal change control process. The only mitigation is starting the technical alignment earlier than feels necessary and getting a completed specification into the MNO's queue before the overall project plan is finalised.

Regulatory integrations fail because of factors outside anyone's control: certification slot availability, interface changes made by the regulatory body, testing failures that require a fresh queue position rather than a simple re-test. Number portability failures are particularly costly because they typically block commercial launch entirely. An MVNO that cannot port numbers in cannot take subscribers from competitor networks.

Commercial integrations fail for a different reason: scope drift. The CRM integration that was "a simple data sync" becomes more complex when the data model doesn't map cleanly to BSS subscriber records, or when the required synchronisation frequency creates performance issues under load. ERP integrations follow the same pattern — financial reporting requirements that seemed clear at specification stage acquire complexity when the BSS's handling of multi-period billing cycles meets the ERP's accounting logic.

## What "pre-built integration" actually means

MVNO platform vendors routinely claim large integration libraries. 200 or more pre-built integrations is common in vendor materials. Understanding what this means in practice requires asking more specific questions.

There is a real difference between:

- A connector built for a previous customer deployment, sitting in the vendor's codebase, not deployed since
- A connector actively maintained, certified against the current version of the external system, deployed in production at multiple customers
- Something the vendor is confident they can build, based on experience with similar interfaces

The first requires a scoping exercise before anyone knows if it is fit for purpose. The second can be treated as a reusable asset. The third is a custom integration project with a delivery timeline and a risk profile, regardless of how it is described in the sales conversation.

Four questions that distinguish between these categories:

- How many current production deployments does this specific connector have?
- What version of the external system's API is it certified against, and when was it last updated?
- When the external system publishes an API change, who owns the connector maintenance — the platform vendor or the customer?
- Is this connector included in the standard platform licence, or is it scoped and priced separately for each implementation?

For integrations critical to the deployment — HLR/HSS provisioning, number portability, the primary payment gateway — these questions should have specific answers before the contract is signed.

## Building a timeline that reflects reality

Most MVNO project timelines are built around platform delivery milestones. The platform vendor knows their own delivery capability and quotes accordingly. Third-party integration timelines get estimated, usually optimistically.

A timeline built around integration critical paths looks different. Realistic ranges for common integration types — actual durations vary by market and provider:

- HLR/HSS provisioning interface with host MNO: 8–14 weeks from specification sign-off to confirmed testing completion, dependent on MNO engineering schedule
- Number portability certification: 10–20 weeks, dependent on regulatory body availability and first-time pass rate
- Primary payment gateway: 4–8 weeks from sandbox access to production certification
- Roaming setup (basic bilateral capability): 16–24 weeks from commercial agreement to live testing
- KYC integration: 4–10 weeks, heavily provider and market dependent

A project manager working toward a 6-month launch needs to verify at planning stage that the HLR/HSS testing window can be booked within weeks 6–10, that number portability certification can be completed before month 5, and that no roaming capability is required at launch. If any of those assumptions don't hold, the timeline doesn't hold either.

## Integration due diligence before project start

These are the questions that surface integration risk before a delivery commitment is made:

**On the MNO side:**

- What is the typical lead time from technical specification agreement to testing window availability on your HLR/HSS?
- Are any core network upgrades planned during the implementation period?

**On regulatory interfaces:**

- What is the current wait time for a number portability certification slot in this market?
- Has the regulatory body made interface changes in the past 18 months?

**On the platform vendor's integration library:**

- For each critical integration in this deployment, how many current production instances does the connector have?
- Which integrations require custom development, and what does that add to the delivery timeline?

**On roaming:**

- Is basic roaming capability required at commercial launch, or can it follow within three to six months?
- Who manages the GSMA clearing registration and bilateral agreement process?

## How Avante MVNx Suite addresses this

[Avante MVNx Suite](/en/solutions/mvno) includes a library of pre-built connectors covering MNO network interfaces, number portability adapters across multiple markets, payment and mobile money gateways, and roaming clearing integrations. Avante's implementation methodology includes an integration scoping phase before project planning is finalised — to identify which connectors are reusable from prior deployments and which require custom development, and to build timelines that reflect third-party schedule dependencies rather than platform-only milestones. The connectors in MVNx Suite's integration library represent active deployments across more than 20 operator environments, not historical one-off implementations.

## FAQ

### **Why do MVNO integrations take longer than the project plan says they will?**

Usually a combination of three things. Third-party schedules that the project cannot control — the MNO's engineering queue, the regulatory body's certification calendar, the payment provider's merchant approval process. Specification gaps that only become visible when the actual system interfaces are examined. And first-time certification failures, which reset queue position rather than allowing an immediate retry. Each of these is predictable in the abstract and still manages to catch projects off-guard in practice.

### **What actually distinguishes a pre-built connector from a custom integration?**

A genuine pre-built connector has been deployed in production before, is maintained by the platform vendor against the current API version of the external system, and can be configured for a new deployment rather than re-developed. A custom integration starts from code that has not been deployed in that context — which means the development, testing, and certification cycle runs on the project's timeline. The practical difference in delivery time is usually 4–8 weeks for a configured connector versus 8–20 weeks for a custom build.

### **What is the single most effective way to reduce integration risk before project start?**

Start the MNO interface alignment and number portability certification enquiry before the platform contract is signed. Both of these are long-lead items with third-party schedule dependencies, and finding out the next available certification slot is 14 weeks away is useful information before project commitments are made, not after.

## "Best Moonshot" Award for its GenAI-Powered Telecom Modernization Engine

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/news/avante-honored-with-tm-forums-best-moonshot-award-for-its-genai-powered-telecom-modernization-engine

Avante wins TM Forum’s Best Moonshot Catalyst at DTW Ignite 2025 for ODA in a Box—GenAI-powered legacy modernization to ODA-compliant cloud microservices.

The "ODA in a Box" solution automates the complex transition from legacy systems to cloud-native architecture, tackling a core industry challenge.

Avante, a leading provider of comprehensive software solutions for the telecommunications industry, has won the Best Moonshot Catalyst – ODA in a Box award from TM Forum at DTW Ignite 2025, held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen. This prestigious honor, presented at the 2025 Catalyst Awards, recognizes Avante's groundbreaking project, "AI-powered legacy modernization to ODA," for its innovative approach to transforming legacy telecom systems into Open Digital Architecture (ODA)-compliant, cloud-native microservices.

The Moonshot Catalyst program is designed to solve significant, industry-wide challenges with commercially viable and innovative solutions. The winning project addresses one of the most persistent obstacles for Communications Service Providers (CSPs): modernizing monolithic, outdated, and poorly documented legacy environments. Avante’s solution introduces a GenAI-powered "smart factory" model to dismantle these complexities.

![Winner Team](/img/insights/_aba1083_dave_weston.jpg)

The winning "ODA in a Box" platform operates as a GenAI-powered smart factory to:

- Extract business logic from archaic codebases.
- Redesign applications into modular, ODA-compliant components.
- Generate forward-engineering artifacts, including Open API definitions, service designs, and test cases.
- Support cloud-native deployment using TM Forum’s Open Digital Framework (ODF).

This automated approach drastically reduces manual effort, accelerates delivery timelines, and bridges critical knowledge gaps by interpreting undocumented legacy logic. By creating a scalable and sustainable engine for transformation, the platform enables CSPs to decommission old systems, slash technical debt, and adopt new technologies with greater speed and governance.

The initiative also actively contributes to the evolution of ODA by mapping newly generated microservices to the latest TM Forum standards, feeding crucial insights back into the ODA catalog to benefit the entire industry.

"We are incredibly proud to receive this validation from TM Forum," **said Issa Chini, VP Strategy & Growth of Avante**. "This award is about more than just technology; it’s about unlocking the future for CSPs. For too long, the industry has been constrained by technical debt and siloed legacy systems. Our GenAI-powered solution provides a clear, automated pathway to a more agile, cloud-native future. It empowers operators to innovate freely, reduce operational costs, and build the flexible, open architectures necessary to compete and thrive."

This joint victory was made possible through a powerful industry collaboration. Avante is proud to share this success with its project partners: 6d Technologies, BH Telecom, BT Group plc, Deutsche Telekom AG, Etisalat UAE, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Joint Stock Company, Sarajevo, LPTIC, Ooredoo Group, and Tata Consultancy Services.

This award underscores the critical role of AI and collaboration in accelerating the telecom industry's evolution. Avante remains committed to pioneering innovations that drive digital transformation and enable service providers to succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape.

**About Avante**: Avante is a leading developer and provider of software solutions specializing in the telecommunications sector. It focuses on robust and scalable BSS/OSS solutions, including convergent charging, billing platforms, and partner ecosystems designed to automate business processes, reduce operational costs, and enhance customer experience. As a proud member of TM Forum, Avante is dedicated to driving digital transformation through innovation and adherence to global industry standards.

## Full MVNO, Light MVNO or MVNE: Choosing the Operating Model Before You Choose the Platform

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/full-mvno-light-mvno-mvne-operating-model

A practical framework for choosing between full MVNO, light MVNO and MVNE operating models — covering cost structure, control, integration complexity and long-term strategic optionality.

A European retail bank decided to launch a mobile proposition for its current account customers. They wanted control — over subscriber data, over pricing logic, over the ability to connect mobile usage to transaction history. So they chose a full MVNO model and contracted a BSS platform vendor accordingly. The project took 34 months from commercial decision to live service. By that point, two fintech competitors had launched mobile propositions, attracted a combined 600,000 subscribers, and were bundling banking and mobile in ways the bank had originally planned as its own differentiator.

The full MVNO model was not wrong for a bank. It may have been right for a different bank, with a larger technology organisation and a longer strategic runway. For this bank, at this point in time, it was the wrong choice — and the error was made before they ever opened a vendor shortlist.

The operating model decision is the highest-leverage decision in an MVNO or MVNE project. It determines cost structure, time to market, integration complexity, and long-term optionality simultaneously. Most organisations make it after they've started evaluating platforms — which means they're making it under the influence of what vendors are selling, rather than what the business actually needs.

## What the models actually mean

The terminology in this market is not standardised, which creates confusion early in project planning. For reference:

A **light MVNO** (also called a branded reseller or thin MVNO) relies on the host MNO or a third-party MVNE for virtually all network and BSS functions — SIM management, HLR/HSS, billing, interconnect. The MVNO manages the brand, distribution and customer relationship. Operational independence from the host is minimal.

An **enhanced MVNO** owns some core elements — typically its own HLR/HSS and SIM management — but relies on the host or an MVNE for billing and network layer management. Subscriber data is under the MVNO's control; billing logic is partially constrained by the enabler.

A **full MVNO** owns and operates all core network and BSS functions: its own HLR/HSS, its own billing and charging engine, its own number blocks, its own roaming agreements. The host MNO provides spectrum and capacity only.

An **MVNE** (Mobile Virtual Network Enabler) is not an MVNO — it is an infrastructure layer. An MVNE provides BSS/OSS, SIM management, interconnect and operational services to multiple MVNOs, sitting between the host MNO and its partners. Relevant not just to specialist infrastructure companies but to any MNO evaluating how to scale a wholesale MVNO portfolio.

![mvnx comparison](/img/insights/mvnx-comparison.webp)

## The three decisions that determine the right model

**Control appetite**

What operational parameters does the business model actually require control over?

This question sounds simple. It tends to be answered incorrectly in both directions. Light MVNO projects often underestimate the control they need — discovering post-launch that they can't implement the product configurations or subscriber data integrations their proposition requires. Full MVNO projects often overestimate it — building complex operational infrastructure for capabilities they won't use for years.

The useful approach is to work backward from the product. If the mobile proposition is a standard SIM with branded packaging, a loyalty reward mechanism and basic bundles — a light MVNO is almost certainly sufficient. If the proposition requires real-time balance integration with a financial account, personalised pricing at the individual subscriber level, or direct access to network signaling — an enhanced or full MVNO model is probably necessary.

**Operational capacity**

A full MVNO is not just a platform decision. It is an organisational decision. Running one requires telecom operations capability: engineers who understand HLR/HSS configuration, billing system administration, number management, roaming agreements, network interconnect. Some of this can be outsourced, but not indefinitely, and not without risk.

Organisations building this capability from scratch face a hiring and training problem that runs in parallel with the platform project. It compounds implementation timelines in ways that tend to be underestimated. A light MVNO through an established MVNE inherits the operational infrastructure and staff the enabler has already built.

**Strategic timeline**

How long can the organisation wait before going to market? This question needs an honest answer.

A full MVNO with custom BSS integration in a new market typically takes 12–24 months from commercial decision to commercial launch. A light MVNO through an MVNE with a platform already in production can be live in 3–6 months. An enhanced MVNO sits somewhere between.

The cost of delay is not just revenue foregone. When the MVNO proposition is linked to a broader digital product — a bank's mobile app, a retailer's loyalty platform — a 24-month delay means the digital product evolves without the mobile component, integrations get built around its absence, and reconnecting them later becomes harder.

## The upgrade path that isn't

A common project assumption: starting light reduces risk because "we can always upgrade to full MVNO later." True in principle. In practice, moving from a light MVNO to a full MVNO is not an upgrade — it is a migration.

The subscriber base, billing records, SIM inventory, number ranges and product catalogue all sit within the MVNE or host MNO's infrastructure. Moving them to a new platform requires a migration project of comparable complexity to the original launch. Subscribers need to move without service interruption. Billing history needs to be preserved. Number management needs to transfer. In some markets, regulatory notifications are required.

This is not an argument against starting light. For many organisations it remains the right choice. The point is that the path to a higher-control model is a discrete project, not a configuration change — and needs to be in the plan from the start.

## The MVNE case: when enabling is more valuable than operating

For MNO wholesale teams, the question takes a different form. The choice is not between MVNO models — it is between managing each MVNO partnership as a direct bilateral relationship versus operating an MVNE function that enables partners through shared infrastructure.

At two or three MVNO partners, a direct relationship model works. Each partner has its own interconnect agreement, its own operational interface, its own BSS configuration, its own escalation path. The wholesale team manages each one individually.

At eight or ten partners, this model becomes a constraint. Each new partner requires new configuration work, new testing, new operational procedures. The operational cost of adding a partner is high and doesn't decrease with scale.

An MVNE architecture changes this. Partners are onboarded to a shared platform with standardised processes. SIM management, billing, interconnect and operational support run centrally. The tenth partner is materially cheaper to onboard than the third. The MNO's wholesale revenue scales without proportional operational cost growth.

This shift — from bilateral relationship management to platform-based enablement — is what separates MNO wholesale operations with three MVNO partners from those with twenty.

## Decision comparison

Dimension

Light MVNO

Enhanced MVNO

Full MVNO

MVNE operation

Time to market

3–6 months

6–12 months

12–24 months

9–18 months

Upfront investment

Low

Medium

High

High

Operational complexity

Low

Medium

High

High (shared)

Control over billing logic

Low

Medium

Full

Full

Access to subscriber data

Limited

Partial

Full

Full

Independence from host MNO

Low

Medium

Full

Medium

Ongoing operational cost

Low

Medium

High

Scales with partners

Long-term strategic optionality

Lower

Medium

High

High

The right column depends on the specific intersection of control requirements, operational capacity, timeline and strategic intent. The table provides a comparison framework, not an answer.

## Three mismatches and why they happened

**The loyalty MVNO that chose full model.** A retailer with a large customer base wanted to integrate mobile usage with points accrual at the individual transaction level. They assumed this required full MVNO — specifically, direct access to billing events in real-time. It didn't. An enhanced MVNO with a well-defined API layer between the billing platform and the loyalty engine would have provided the same integration. The project went 14 months over its original timeline.

**The fintech that started light and got stuck.** A digital bank launched through an established MVNE. Time to market was four months. Eighteen months later, they wanted dynamic data pricing based on account balance thresholds. The MVNE's billing platform didn't support the required product configuration. A migration to enhanced MVNO was necessary — not impossible, but it absorbed a full quarter of platform and operations capacity.

**The MNO that managed each MVNO directly.** A mid-sized operator had five MVNO partners. Each had its own operational interface, test environment and escalation path into the MNO's OSS. When a sixth partner signed, the wholesale team flagged a resourcing issue. The model that had worked at two partners had become a bottleneck at five. Transitioning to an MVNE architecture took 18 months — longer than any single MVNO onboarding — but significantly reduced the marginal cost of each new partner thereafter.

## How Avante MVNx Suite addresses this

Avante MVNx Suite is designed to support multiple operating models within a single platform architecture — light MVNO, enhanced MVNO, full MVNO and MVNE. The platform's modular structure means organisations can start with the functional scope appropriate to their current model and extend it as requirements change, without migrating to a different platform. For MNO wholesale teams, the platform supports multi-tenant MVNE operation — enabling multiple MVNO partners through shared infrastructure while maintaining billing and operational separation between partners. Avante has deployed MVNx across more than 20 operator environments, covering multiple operating model configurations.

## FAQ

### Can a light MVNO convert to a full MVNO on the same platform?

It depends entirely on the platform's architecture. Modular platforms can extend their functional scope as requirements evolve — adding own HLR/HSS, migrating billing to a local instance, enabling additional network integrations. Platforms designed specifically for light MVNO reselling typically cannot support this extension. The question to ask during evaluation is not "can you support full MVNO?" but "if we start as a light MVNO, what is the specific migration path to enhanced or full MVNO, and has it been done in production on your platform?"

### What is the main risk of choosing the wrong operating model?

Timeline and cost, in that order. An organisation that underestimates the control it needs will find gaps after launch and face either a capability constraint or a migration project at an operationally inconvenient time. An organisation that overestimates the control it needs will spend 12–24 months building infrastructure for capabilities it won't use, while a competitor with a 4-month time-to-market captures the available market.

### How does the operating model choice affect platform vendor selection?

The operating model determines the functional scope the platform needs to support. A light MVNO project needs strong product configuration, customer management and API integration. A full MVNO project needs a billing and charging engine, HLR/HSS connectivity, and the operational tooling to manage network-layer functions. Starting vendor evaluation without model clarity typically means assessing vendors against requirements that haven't been properly defined — which produces an evaluation that doesn't distinguish between what matters and what doesn't.

## Why MVNO Unit Economics Break at Scale — and What Platform Architecture Has to Do With It

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-unit-economics-billing-architecture

Why real-time billing architecture determines MVNO margins at scale — a practical analysis for MVNO founders, finance directors and platform evaluators.

A mid-sized MVNO reached 400,000 prepaid subscribers and something unexpected happened: margin per subscriber started falling, despite a recently renegotiated wholesale rate with the host MNO. The finance director couldn't explain it. The wholesale rate had improved. ARPU was stable. But the unit economics were worse.

The problem, when they found it, was in the billing platform. The system was rating data usage against subscriber balances in near-real-time — but not quite real-time. There was a 90-second polling window. On average, each affected subscriber consumed around €1.80 in unrecoverable data during that window before the session was terminated. Not every subscriber triggered this condition, but enough did that at 400,000 subscribers, the monthly leakage was material. And because it showed up as slightly lower revenue per subscriber rather than as a specific error event, it had been invisible in standard reporting for months.

This is a predictable story. It plays out repeatedly across MVNOs at scale, for a simple reason: billing architecture is a cost-structure decision, not a feature decision. Most organisations evaluate it as the latter.

## The wholesale rate is not the whole story

Negotiating the host MNO rate — per gigabyte, per-minute termination, SMS interconnect — gets most of the attention at launch. Rightly so: it is the largest single component of cost of goods sold.

The problem is that wholesale rates are fixed between renewals. Operational costs driven by platform architecture accumulate continuously and compound with subscriber growth. By the time an MVNO is at several hundred thousand subscribers, operational cost efficiency matters at least as much as the wholesale deal.

The platform-related cost drivers that tend to be underestimated at launch: revenue leakage from billing latency, exception handling volume, roaming reconciliation gaps, and the cost of running separate billing systems as the product range expands.

## Real-time charging: the risk is in the window

Prepaid billing requires a fundamental architectural choice: does the platform rate usage in real-time — deducting from the subscriber's balance as sessions progress — or does it rate in batches at intervals?

Batch billing is simpler and cheaper to operate at low volumes. Real-time charging needs a rating engine that processes usage as it flows, queries and updates balance records continuously, and terminates sessions the moment a balance is exhausted. The infrastructure cost is higher. The operational result is that the window in which a subscriber can consume services beyond their available balance approaches zero.

That window matters. For a video streaming session, 90 seconds of uninterrupted consumption represents roughly 80–100 MB at standard SD quality. At €0.012 per MB — a common prepaid data rate in mid-market MVNOs — that is approximately €1.00–€1.20 per event. At scale, the arithmetic is not forgiving.

What makes this worse is that the subscribers most likely to trigger the condition are high-usage subscribers — the ones worth retaining. Revenue assurance tools can identify the pattern. They cannot recover the revenue. The only fix is architectural.

## Roaming reconciliation: the deferred cost problem

When a prepaid subscriber uses data while roaming, the MVNO incurs the cost immediately. Clearing records from the international roaming hub arrive 24–48 hours later.

Real-time roaming charging — where the MVNO maintains a live signaling connection back through the host MNO's network — closes that gap. Without it, the MVNO carries un-billed cost exposure for every active roaming session.

For postpaid subscribers, the delay is mostly a cash flow issue: the cost gets recovered at month-end billing. For prepaid subscribers, it is a potential write-off. If the subscriber's balance is gone by the time the clearing records arrive, the roaming cost cannot be recovered. The subscriber received value the MVNO paid for.

At low roaming volumes this is manageable. For MVNOs serving business travellers, diaspora communities, or dual-SIM users, it becomes a predictable margin drain at scale.

## Exception handling: the invisible headcount cost

Every billing platform generates exceptions — subscriber lifecycle events that don't resolve cleanly. A subscriber who ports out with an active data session. A plan change that triggers mid-cycle proration applied differently than the product catalogue specifies. A bundle re-enrolment that creates a duplicate active plan.

On a well-architected platform, most of these are resolved automatically through defined state transitions and event-driven logic. On a platform with gaps in lifecycle management, they become a queue of manual work items — reviewed and corrected by an operations team.

That team costs money. It doesn't appear in the platform licensing fee. At 10,000 subscribers, an exception rate of 0.5% generates 50 items per month. Manageable. At 500,000 subscribers, the same rate generates 2,500 items per month. That is a real operations function, and it scales directly with subscriber growth.

The platform architecture determines whether that cost is fixed (automated resolution) or variable (headcount).

## Convergent billing: the question to ask before you need it

Many MVNOs launch with one billing model — prepaid only, or postpaid only. This is rational at launch. The problem comes when the product range expands.

A prepaid-only MVNO that adds postpaid family plans, IoT SIMs for enterprise clients, or wholesale plans for resellers faces a choice: extend a platform that may not support it, run parallel billing systems for different product lines, or migrate to a new platform. None of these options is cheap or fast.

A convergent billing engine — one that handles prepaid, postpaid and hybrid models within a single rating architecture — removes that fork. Not a feature that matters on day one. A feature that determines whether the organisation can execute its product roadmap without rebuilding billing infrastructure in two years.

The right question during platform evaluation is not "does it support prepaid?" but "if a subscriber moves between prepaid and postpaid plans, does that happen in one system, and how does mid-cycle proration work?"

## The compounding effect

Each of the cost drivers above is modest at launch. That is exactly why they tend to get accepted.

They do not stay modest. Exception handling scales linearly with subscriber growth. Real-time charging gaps scale with usage intensity. Roaming exposure scales as the subscriber mix changes. An organisation that accepts a billing architecture with these gaps — because the platform was cheaper, faster to deploy, or simpler to operate at low volumes — is making a rational short-term decision. It is also making the problem hardest to fix at the worst possible time: when subscriber volumes are high, migration is disruptive, and the finance team wants to know why the unit economics don't match the original model.

## What to evaluate in a billing platform

These questions surface architectural differences rather than feature differences:

- Does the charging engine process usage events in real-time, or in batches? What is the maximum latency between usage and balance deduction?
- How does the platform handle roaming data charging? Is there a real-time signaling connection to the host network, or does it rely on clearing record reconciliation?
- Which lifecycle events are resolved automatically, and which require manual intervention?
- Does the platform support convergent billing — prepaid, postpaid and hybrid — within a single rating engine, or are these separate systems?
- How does the platform handle mid-cycle plan changes? Can the proration logic be configured by product?

A vendor that has deployed in production at scale will answer these questions specifically. One that hasn't will describe capabilities.

## How Avante MVNx Suite addresses this

Avante MVNx Suite includes a real-time charging engine that handles prepaid, postpaid and convergent billing within a single architecture. The platform supports real-time balance management for prepaid subscribers and is designed to handle roaming charging through live signaling integration where the host MNO supports it. Subscriber lifecycle events — plan changes, port-outs, bundle re-enrolments — are managed through event-driven logic that reduces manual exception handling at scale. Avante has deployed MVNx in more than 20 operator environments, including markets with high prepaid penetration and significant roaming usage.

## FAQ

### What is the main cause of revenue leakage in MVNO billing?

The most common cause is a gap between when usage occurs and when it is rated against the subscriber's balance. In prepaid billing, this creates a window in which services can be consumed beyond the available balance. The size of that window depends on whether the charging engine processes usage events in real-time or in batches — and how that choice was made when the platform was selected.

### What is convergent billing and why does it matter for MVNOs?

Convergent billing means handling prepaid and postpaid within a single rating and charging engine rather than separate systems. It matters when the product range expands — which most MVNOs find it does within two to three years of launch. Without a convergent architecture, adding a second billing model requires either extending a system that may not support it or running parallel billing platforms with all the data integrity risk that implies.

### How does billing architecture affect MVNO operational costs?

Platforms that resolve lifecycle events automatically reduce the volume of manual exception work. Platforms that don't require operations staff to handle exceptions by hand — a cost that scales directly with subscriber growth. The billing platform licence fee and the operations headcount cost are not independent figures. The first significantly determines the second.

## AI and Automation: Transforming Telecom BSS/OSS Operations

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/ai-and-automation-transforming-telecom-bss-oss-operations

Explore how AI empowers telecom BSS/OSS—from predictive maintenance to CRM automation—reshaping operations and customer journeys.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn't just the future of telecom—it's already reshaping the industry. Today, over 60% of telcos use AI in various capacities, and industry forecasts indicate this will rise to 90% by 2027. AI, particularly generative AI, is transforming telecom’s Business Support Systems (BSS) and Operations Support Systems (OSS), fundamentally enhancing both customer experiences and operational efficiency.

#### AI Elevating Customer Experiences

Telecom customers today demand immediate, personalized interactions. AI-powered tools like chatbots and virtual assistants offer round-the-clock support, providing instant, accurate responses to user queries. These solutions don't just automate customer service; they actively enhance the user's journey.

Consider these examples:

- **Predictive Customer Care:** AI algorithms anticipate user issues based on past behavior, resolving potential problems proactively.
- **Personalized Recommendations:** By analyzing real-time customer data, AI can suggest tailored service plans, upgrades, and products, significantly boosting user satisfaction and loyalty.

#### Streamlining BSS Operations with AI

AI doesn't stop at customer interactions—it significantly boosts operational efficiencies within telecom business processes:

- **Automated Billing and Revenue Management:** AI streamlines invoicing, handles complex billing scenarios, and quickly resolves discrepancies, greatly reducing operational costs.
- **Customer Relationship Management (CRM):** AI identifies churn risks early and recommends optimal service packages to retain customers, maintaining revenue streams.
- **Integration with OSS:** Predictive network maintenance driven by AI ensures minimal downtime and better network performance. Linking OSS and BSS with AI insights allows proactive management of service quality and reduces customer complaints.

#### Harnessing the Power of Data Analytics

The true strength of BSS systems is the extensive, valuable data they collect. AI transforms this data into actionable insights, creating a powerful competitive advantage:

- **Customer Segmentation:** AI-driven analytics help telecom companies understand customer behavior in detail, enabling precise market targeting and personalized marketing campaigns.
- **Optimized Pricing Strategies:** AI dynamically adjusts pricing and promotional offers based on usage trends, competitor actions, and customer preferences.

#### Future Trends in AI-Driven Telecom

Looking ahead, generative AI and sophisticated machine learning models promise even greater transformation:

- **Generative AI for Innovative Services:** From automatic customer onboarding to personalized digital content, generative AI will continue creating innovative services.
- **AI for Network Slicing:** AI-driven automation in network slicing and resource allocation will become vital, especially with the expansion of 5G and IoT services.

#### Staying Ahead with Avante

At Avante, we're committed to leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies within BSS and OSS to help telecom operators drive efficiency, unlock new revenue streams, and deliver unmatched customer experiences. By continuously integrating AI innovations, Avante ensures that telecoms not only adapt but thrive in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.

## Billing for the Internet of Things: Challenges & Solutions

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/billing-for-the-internet-of-things-challenges-solutions

Learn how convergent BSS solves IoT billing challenges—micropayments, massive device volumes, real-time charging—turning usage data into telecom revenue.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has moved from proof-of-concept to profit center. IoT Analytics counted **16.6 billion active connections at the end of 2023 and projects 18.8 billion by December 2024, on a path to 40 billion by 2030**. Cellular IoT alone contributed **US $15 billion in operator revenue on 3.6 billion lines in 2023**, growing 23 % year-on-year. While that is still a single-digit slice of total service revenue, analysts predict IoT connectivity will account for **about 3.2 % of operator revenue by 2030**.

For product managers, that surge is a paradox: the more devices you connect, the harder it becomes to bill for them accurately and profitably. Every smart-meter ping, every tyre-pressure update, every over-the-air firmware byte is a transaction that must be recorded, rated, and settled—sometimes in milliseconds. Legacy Business Support Systems (BSS) were built for megabyte-sized CDRs and monthly invoices, not for sub-cent, sub-second events. Below, we map the pain points and show how a convergent, cloud-native BSS converts the IoT data deluge into clean, bankable revenue.

#### Why IoT Breaks Legacy Billing

Challenge

How It Shows Up in Production

Hidden Cost / Risk

Explosive Event Volume

Millions of MQTT messages or eSIM heart-beats per minute

Database blow-ups, rating backlogs, SLA penalties

Micropayments

$0.0001 sensor readings or $0.01 button-presses

Revenue leakage when rounding or minimum-charge rules are off

Heterogeneous Pricing Models

Smart-home bundles, industrial pay-per-message, automotive “software-as-feature” unlocks

Product launches stall because the catalog can’t express them

Partner & Marketplace Settlement

Split revenue with hyperscalers, device OEMs, or city councils

Manual spreadsheets, month-end disputes

Regulatory & Privacy Overhead

GDPR data minimisation, EU Data Act usage logs

Fines, blocked roll-outs

Near-Real-Time Expectations

Connected cars need balance checks in < 200 ms

Customer churn when critical services are throttled

**Micropayment math:** A fleet of 500 k vending machines sending a 30-byte status every 30 seconds generates 1.4 TB of raw usage records per month and only ~US $12 000 in billable revenue. Profit lives and dies on mediation efficiency

#### Convergent BSS to the Rescue

A modern, convergent BSS attacks each fault line directly:

1.  **Streaming Mediation Pipeline**
    - Ingest Kafka, Pulsar, or AMQP streams, auto-scale collectors, de-duplicate on the wire, and cache hot data in memory.
    - Policy-driven aggregation rolls thousands of micro-events into a single rated charge without losing audit trails.
2.  **Real-Time, In-Memory Charging**
    - Millisecond balance checks handle “unlock-on-pay” scenarios for EV-charging or in-car navigation.
    - Supports cumulative, tiered, or burst pricing in one rule set—no separate prepaid/post-paid stacks.
3.  **Flexible Product Catalog & Pricing Engine**
    - Drag-and-drop templates for per-device, per-SIM-group, enterprise-pool, or event-based tariffs.
    - Built-in discount ladders, rollover buckets, and sponsored-data logic.
4.  **Partner Settlement & Revenue Sharing**
    - Multi-tenant ledger assigns percentage or fixed-fee splits automatically, closing the books in hours, not days.
    - API exposes settlement data to external ERP for transparency.
5.  **Edge & Cloud Symbiosis**
    - Footprint-light charging nodes can run on MEC servers beside the radio to hit sub-20 ms latency.
    - Burst workloads—think firmware swarm—spill into public-cloud clusters and shrink back when done.
6.  **Analytics & AI Loop**
    - Usage feeds a data lake for anomaly detection (stuck sensors, rogue SIMs) and predictive-maintenance offers.
    - Real-time dashboards surface upsell triggers when a customer nears a usage slab.

#### Field Example – Lighting a Smart City

A European municipality replaced sodium lamps with 200 000 NB-IoT LED poles. Each pole reports power draw, ambient light, and fault status every 60 seconds—**8.6 billion events per month**. Legacy batch billing failed by Day 3. With Avante’s convergent BSS:

- Edge mediation aggregated events at the gateway, cutting record volume by 92 %.
- Real-time charging applied a €0.00005 tariff per kWh and a flat €0.10 per lamp per day for asset leasing.
- Partner module split 70 / 30 revenue between the telco and the lamp-vendor automatically.
- Time-to-invoice dropped from 21 days to 2 hours; cash-collection improved by 14 %.

#### A Checklist for Product Managers Launching IoT Offers

1.  **Baseline the Event Rate** – know your worst-case messages per second.
2.  **Define the Atomic Charge** – decide how small a billable unit you will support.
3.  **Model Partner Splits Up-Front** – force the catalog to carry settlement rules, not Excel.
4.  **Plan for Rating at the Edge** – especially for sub-100 ms applications.
5.  **Cache Usage for Customer Care** – live dashboards beat paper bills.
6.  **Automate Dispute Management** – expose CDRs via API to enterprise customers.
7.  **Keep a Digital Twin of the Catalog** – replay production traffic before go-live.
8.  **Instrument Everything** – mediation logs are gold for fraud detection and cost optimisation.

#### Conclusion – Turn the Deluge into Dollars

IoT promises billions more connections, but therein lies the billing trap: small events at massive scale demand a billing fabric that is elastic, real-time, and partner-aware. The telcos that upgrade now will convert a torrent of 10-byte messages into margin-rich revenue streams while their competitors drown in rating backlogs.

**Avante’s cloud-native BSS was built for this IoT-scale reality—streaming ingestion, in-memory charging, and automated partner settlement in one platform.** Connect the next billion devices with confidence, and let your network monetize itself. Ready to see a live demo? **Let’s talk.**

## Unlocking the Benefits of BSS: Essential Features for MVNOs in Today's Market

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/unlocking-the-benefits-of-bss-essential-features-for-mvnos-in-todays-market

Discover the essential Business Support System (BSS) features that can help Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) thrive in today's competitive market.

Are you planning to start your MVNO business? If so, then you must be aware of the complexities involved in the process. From picking the correct network operator to selecting the fitting billing and customer management system, every aspect plays an essential part in your business's success. In this piece, we will delve into the key characteristics of a modern BSS (Business Support System) for the advancement of a leading MVNO.

## What is BSS?

A Business Support System (BSS) refers to a set of software applications that enable service providers to competently handle their business operations. In the context of a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), a BSS is responsible for overseeing end-to-end business operations, including billing, customer management, and network connectivity. A modern BSS for MVNOs is furnished with various characteristics that ensure seamless operations and an enhanced customer experience.

## Key Characteristics of a Contemporary BSS for the Advancement of a Leading MVNO

- **Scalability:** A modern BSS for MVNOs ought to be scalable to accommodate an expanding customer base. It should be proficient in managing an ever-increasing number of subscribers without any compromise on the quality of service.
- **Customizability:** A BSS should be customizable to suit an MVNO's specific requirements. It should have the capability of adding or eliminating features, as per the business's need.
- **Flexibility:** BSS should be flexible enough to merge with third-party systems, such as payment gateways, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and network operator systems.
- **Real-time billing:** A modern BSS should provide real-time billing, allowing MVNOs to bill their customers based on actual usage. This ensures accurate billing and helps in avoiding disputes with customers.
- **Customer self-service portal:** BSS should provide a customer self-service portal that enables customers to view their usage, pay bills, and manage their accounts. This not only enhances the customer experience but also reduces the workload of the customer support team.
- **Analytics and reporting:** A modern BSS should have an analytics and reporting module that provides insights into the business operations of an MVNO. It should be able to generate reports on revenue, customer usage, and other key performance indicators (KPIs).
- **APIs:** BSS should provide APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and webhooks that enable easy integration with third-party systems. This helps in automating business processes and enhancing the overall efficiency of the business.
- **Real-time network monitoring:** A modern BSS should provide real-time network monitoring, allowing MVNOs to track network performance and identify issues in real-time. This ensures optimal network performance and enhances the customer experience.
- **Fraud detection and prevention:** BSS should have a fraud detection and prevention module that helps in identifying and preventing fraudulent activities. This protects the business from financial losses and ensures customer satisfaction.
- **Multi-currency support:** A modern BSS should support multiple currencies, enabling MVNOs to operate in different regions of the world. This ensures seamless operations and enhances the global reach of the business.

The following extra features can improve the functionalities of a cutting-edge BSS for MVNOs:

- **Real-time alerts:** It's nearly a need for BSS to give clients real-time use notifications so they may control their consumption and prevent bill surprises. The client experience is improved, and customer assistance requests are decreased.
- **Multi-lingual support:** A contemporary BSS should be able to handle several languages, allowing MVNOs to operate in various parts of the world. This makes sure that language limitations won't have an impact on the consumer experience.
- **Integrated marketing:** By integrating BSS with marketing automation platforms (such as Campaign Management), MVNOs might run customized marketing campaigns based on the behavior and preferences of their customers.
- **Predictive analytics:** BSS can leverage predictive analytics to forecast customer usage patterns and proactively offer personalized plans and offers to customers. This enhances the customer experience and increases customer loyalty.

## Conclusion

In conclusion, a cutting-edge BSS is essential to an MVNO's success. It offers a set of features that improve customer service and simplify corporate processes. Scalability, customization, flexibility, real-time billing, customer self-service portal, analytics and reporting, APIs and webhooks, real-time network monitoring, fraud detection and prevention, and support for several currencies are some of the essential characteristics of a contemporary BSS for MVNOs. A modern BSS for MVNOs may also be made more effective by adding features like real-time alarms, multilingual assistance, automatic provisioning, integrated marketing, and predictive analytics.

## The Role of a Centralized Product Catalog in Revolutionizing Telecommunications

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/the-role-of-a-centralized-product-catalog-in-revolutionizing-telecommunications

The article about the importance of product catalog and use cases in the telecommunications industry. 

Centralized product catalogs are essential for any modern telecommunications business. As the telecoms industry revolutionizes and customer requirements change, it’s important to have a comprehensive system in place for managing all product-related data. A centralized product catalog can ensure that your products are always up-to-date and quickly available to your customers. Not only that, it can reduce operational costs, streamline processes, and increase revenue.

A centralized Product Catalog is a comprehensive repository of information about all the products and services offered by a telecom company. It provides a centralized location for storing and managing product information with consistent, accurate, and up-to-date details about product features, prices, availability, and other attributes.

In this article, we’ll explore the role of a centralized product catalog in transforming the telecommunications industry. We’ll discuss how it affects customer experience, how it can reduce financial losses, and how it helps businesses keep up with changing trends in technology. By the end of this article, you should have an understanding of why a centralized catalogue is so important for any business dealing in telecommunications products.

## Benefits of a Centralized Product Catalog

A centralized product catalog is a crucial tool for any telecommunications company looking to stay competitive and streamline its operations. Here are three key benefits of implementing a centralized product catalog:

**Increased Efficiency**

Having a centralized product catalog allows telecommunications companies to manage their entire product portfolio from a single source of truth. By consolidating product information and data into one platform, businesses no longer need to waste resources and time manually updating details regarding price, features, and availability across multiple systems.

**Enhanced Customer Experience**

A centralized product catalog ensures that customers have access to accurate and up-to-date product information. This not only helps them make the right purchase decisions but also provides a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints. With social networks being a key factor in building brand reputation, providing a seamless and positive customer experience can lead to greater customer loyalty, better online reviews, and increased sales.

**Improved Product Development**

A centralized product catalog gives telecommunications companies deeper insights into their products and how they are being used. This data can be used to optimize the product development process by identifying opportunities for product enhanceme­nts, retirements, and replacements. Further, by utilizing customer feedback on the products in real-time, companies can respond to market needs more efficiently, enabling them to develop and launch products faster and stay ahead of the competition.

**Better Data Governance**

A centralized product catalog also allows for better data governance, a critical component of any data management strategy. Telecom providers deal with a vast amount of data every day, including customer information, network data, and product information. When all this data is stored in one place, providers can easily classify, manage, and secure sensitive information.

**Greater Flexibility** 

Using a centralized product catalog gives telecommunications providers the flexibility to offer customized and personalized products and services. Catalog-driven order management software can dynamically assemble product bundles and services based on a customer's unique needs and requirements.

## Case Studies: Innovative Use Cases for Centralized Product Catalog

A centralized Product Сatalog (PC) plays a pivotal role in modern telecommunications businesses. It provides a unified view of all products and services, enabling agile and efficient product management and service delivery. In this section, we will dive into some real-world use cases that demonstrate the transformative potential of PC in the telecom industry.

**Vodafone:** Vodafone, one of the world's largest mobile network operators, implemented a centralized product catalog to simplify its product offerings and improve the customer experience. By consolidating all of its products and services into a single catalog, Vodafone was able to streamline its product management processes, reduce time-to-market for new products, and enhance the accuracy and consistency of product information across all channels.

**AT&T:** AT&T, a leading telecommunications company in the US, implemented a centralized product catalog to support its digital transformation efforts. The catalog helped AT&T to standardize its product data and processes across all channels, enabling it to provide a seamless customer experience across web, mobile, and in-store interactions. Additionally, the catalog provided AT&T with a single source of truth for product information, which improved operational efficiency and reduced errors.

**Telstra:** Telstra, a leading telecommunications provider in Australia, implemented a centralized product catalog to enable greater agility and innovation in its product offerings. The catalog helped Telstra to rapidly launch new products and services in response to changing market demands, while also ensuring that product information was consistent and accurate across all channels. Additionally, the catalog enabled Telstra to optimize its product mix and pricing strategies, resulting in improved profitability and customer satisfaction.

## Conclusion

In conclusion, a centralized product catalog can significantly transform the way telecommunications companies operate, providing them with a unified platform for managing their products and services. By streamlining the catalog management process, organizations can enhance their time-to-market, reduce costs, and increase revenue through cross-selling and upselling. With the increased competition in the telecommunications industry, a centralized product catalog is no longer a luxury but a necessity to stay ahead of the curve. So, if you're looking for ways to innovate your business, consider implementing a centralized product catalog as your next step.

## Discovering the Benefits of Convergent Billing Systems for Modern Businesses

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/discovering-the-benefits-of-convergent-billing-systems-for-modern-businesses

What is a convergent billing system, where do they apply and what benefits do they bring to business? Let's take a brief look at them in this article

Modern businesses can access a variety of tools and services to help them remain competitive in today's digitally driven world. Convergent billing, a system that allows companies to effectively handle their billing and payments, is one such tool. In this article, we'll examine the concept of convergent billing and talk about the various advantages it provides for modern businesses.

## What is Convergent Billing?

Convergent billing is a type of billing system that integrates multiple product and service lines into a single platform. This makes it possible for companies to handle billing and payments more effectively and affordably. Additionally, it allows them to monitor and analyze billing and payment information, giving them insights into the spending patterns of their clients.

Any number and combination of products and services, regardless of the kind of product or market sector, such as prepaid and postpaid services, should be able to be combined into a single bill by a real convergence billing system.

## Benefits of a Convergent Billing System

Because of their ability to streamline the process of charging for service, billing, and reducing administrative costs, converged billing systems are becoming increasingly necessary for companies in a variety of industries. For international companies, the use of such solutions brings even more benefits, as they allow to organize work with different currencies, balances and methods of payment within one system.

The ability to quickly and easily handle multiple product lines and services makes converged billing solutions especially beneficial for telecommunications companies. By implementing single convergent billing solutions, it is possible to create combined offers consisting of different services within a single product. More importantly, companies get the ability to charge for all products and issue invoices in one system. This eliminates the need for manual processes and reduces the number of systems maintained and supported, saving time and money. The system's extensive reporting capabilities can also be used by telecom companies to gain additional insight into their customers' spending patterns. To create more specialized products and services, they can use this information to better understand their customers.

## Types of Convergent Billing Systems

Depending on the consumption pattern and functionality, convergent billing systems can be divided into the following types:

- Cloud-based billing systems: Hosted in the cloud, cloud-based billing systems are incredibly versatile and affordable. Additionally, they make it simple for businesses to rapidly and simply manage a variety of payment methods.
- Enterprise billing systems: These are made for bigger companies that need to manage numerous product and service lines. Although they are typically more complicated than cloud-based solutions, they offer more advanced functionality and comprehensive reporting capabilities.

## Components of a Convergent Billing System

A convergent billing system typically consists of several base components, including:

- A billing platform: The billing platform is the core of the system and is responsible for managing the billing process. This entails producing reports, tracking payments, and preparing invoices.
- A payment processor: The payment processor is in charge of handling consumer payments. Customers can pay using a variety of methods, including credit cards, PayPal, and invoicing, and it is typically incorporated with the billing software.
- An analytics platform: The analytics platform is in charge of processing client information and disseminating insightful data. This could help companies in better understanding their clients and producing goods and services that are more suited to them.

## Choosing the Right Convergent Billing System

Businesses must take into account a number of considerations when selecting a convergent billing system, including cost, scalability, flexibility, and customer service. Businesses should also confirm that the system is compatible with their current systems because this will simplify integration and usage. Additionally, companies want to search for a system that provides complete reporting capabilities and cutting-edge features like fraud detection.

We at [AvanteBSS](/en) are engaged in development and implementation of advanced enterprise BSS systems, including [convergent billing system](/en/products/billing) and offer the most favorable and flexible conditions both in terms of capabilities and TCO.

## Conclusion

Convergent billing systems are gaining popularity among today's businesses, particularly in the telecommunications, digital services, and platforms sectors. These systems allow products and services to be bundled into a single offering and billed on a subscription basis, simplifying billing and reducing administrative costs. They are also capable of handling multiple payment types, making them ideal for businesses with a global customer base. Additionally, they offer extensive reporting capabilities, allowing companies to gain insights into their customers' spending habits. Considering all of these advantages, converged billing systems have become a must-have for modern businesses.

## How to Build a Digital Transformation Roadmap for Your Business

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/how-to-build-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-for-your-business

Discover how to create a digital transformation roadmap for your business with our comprehensive guide. Learn what's important to consider and ensure success

If you want to build a digital transformation roadmap for your business, you need to identify the benefits that it can provide and set goals for each stage of the process. Digital transformation is a complex, ongoing process that requires collaboration between many different departments in order to achieve results. It's important that everyone involved in creating or implementing a digital transformation roadmap understands what they're doing and why they're doing it so that their efforts work together effectively.

## Why is digital transformation important for your business?

Digital transformation is a strategic change that requires leadership and collaboration. It's not something you can do alone--it requires the entire organization to be on board with the vision, goals, and objectives of digital transformation.

Digital transformation is also a journey, not a destination. It's an ongoing process that never ends because new technologies are always emerging and changing how businesses operate today (and tomorrow).

Finally, digital transformation isn't about technology; it's about delivering business growth and innovation through customer centricity by creating compelling experiences for customers everywhere they interact with your brand or company (online/offline).

## What are the goals of a digital transformation roadmap?

A digital transformation roadmap is a strategic plan that outlines the steps to take your business from where it is now to where you want it to be. The goals of such a roadmap are to:

- Define your goals and objectives
- Prioritize those goals
- Define scope, deadline and resources needed for each step of the process

## What's the difference between a digital transformation roadmap and a customer experience strategy?

A customer experience strategy is more tactical, focused on the customer and their needs. It's often part of an overall digital transformation roadmap, but it's not as strategic in terms of business outcomes. A digital transformation roadmap is more focused on technology and business processes, which means it takes into account how your company will use technology to achieve its goals in the short-to-medium term (usually 3-5 years).

## How does a digital transformation roadmap differ from an IT development plan?

A digital transformation roadmap is a strategic plan, while an IT development plan is more of a tactical one. The former focuses on the customer and their needs, while the latter focuses on what's happening right now in your business. A digital transformation roadmap includes long-term goals, while an IT development plan should be short term (within three years).

Digital transformation roadmaps are also more forward-thinking than IT development plans because they outline how you want your customers to interact with your brand in five years' time or more--and then focus on ways for them to get there today.

## How do you create a digital transformation roadmap?

Creating a digital transformation roadmap requires a systematic approach, starting with the identification of the problem. It is crucial to focus on solving real-world problems rather than getting caught up in the excitement of new technology. For instance, if the goal is to create a mobile app that helps people find the best dining options in their neighborhood, the solution should prioritize accessibility on mobile devices.

To begin the process, it is recommended to set goals and objectives for the project. While it can be tempting to try to satisfy everyone's goals and expectations, it is important to remain focused on the objectives of the project. The key is to maintain relevance within the industry and work towards achieving the outcomes in the most efficient way possible.

## What's the most important step in creating a digital transformation roadmap?

Before you can build a roadmap, you need to determine what problems you are trying to solve. Your business may have different goals and objectives for each phase of its digital transformation journey. To create an effective roadmap, define a timeline for each phase of your business' digital transformation journey that includes specific milestones and deliverables.

Also identify the resources needed to achieve these goals and objectives--including people, budget and timeframe--and define success criteria for each milestone along the way so everyone knows when they've reached their destination!

## Conclusion

If you're looking to make the most of your digital transformation, we can help. Our suite of products is designed to help businesses of all sizes make the most of their digital transformation journey. Whether you need help with strategy and planning, execution and implementation, or anything in between, our team of experts is here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you take your business to the next level.

## 2023 Predictions: What New Experiences and Opportunities Can We Expect in the Tech Industry?

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/2023-predictions-what-new-experiences-and-opportunities-can-we-expect-in-the-tech-industry

The technological sector is continually changing and influencing the future in ways we never imagined. What new  opportunities can we expect in 2023?

The technological sector is continually changing and influencing the future in ways we never imagined. New inventions and improvements are made available to us every year, changing the way we work and live. It is critical to stay ahead of the curve as 2023 approaches and to foresee the upcoming chances and novel experiences.

## The Emergence of 5G Technology

The broad use of 5G technology is one of the biggest things we can anticipate in 2023. Lightning-fast speeds, low latency, and enhanced connectivity provided by 5G networks will revolutionize how we interact and access information. We may anticipate a surge in linked gadgets, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things with 5G. (IoT).

Healthcare, industry, and transportation are just a few of the sectors that 5G will have a significant impact on, enabling new breakthroughs and boosting productivity. Businesses will be able to provide new and improved services, improve consumer experiences, and spur growth thanks to the arrival of 5G technology.

## The Rise of AI and Automation

Automation and artificial intelligence are two technologies that will keep playing a significant part in determining the direction of the tech sector. Businesses will be able to use AI to make data-driven choices, automate repetitive jobs, and improve their overall operations as data becomes more widely available.

We can expect AI having a significant role in 2023 in fields including customer support, marketing, and supply chain management. Virtual assistants and chatbots driven by AI will advance further, giving users a more smooth and tailored experience. Automation and AI will improve efficiency, boost output, and ultimately spur economic growth in a variety of industries.

## The Growth of Cloud Computing

The way businesses operate and keep data has already altered as a result of cloud computing. As more businesses adopt cloud solutions to satisfy their demands in 2023, we may anticipate even more growth in this area. Among the many advantages of cloud computing are increased scalability, lower costs, and improved security.

We may anticipate a rise in the number of cloud-based services and apps as organizations continue to use cloud computing. Companies will have more freedom and chances to work together, create, and develop as a result.

## The Emergence of Metaverse Technology

The development of metaverse technology, which offers a new way for users to interact, play, and create in virtual worlds, is predicted to be the next big thing in the tech sector. A shared virtual environment called a metaverse allows people to enter a fully formed digital world with avatars, environments, and virtual objects.

The metaverse will likely continue to develop and flourish in 2023, providing users with fresh and interesting experiences. The metaverse will provide businesses with new opportunities to engage with customers, showcase products and services, and provide immersive brand experiences. The metaverse is an important area to watch in the future years because of the enormous possibilities for business and new kinds of entertainment.

Businesses must keep ahead of the curve as the metaverse develops and begin investigating the opportunities it presents. The metaverse is poised to transform how we engage with the digital world and offer limitless potential for growth and innovation, from virtual events and concerts to new types of games and education.

## Conclusion

In conclusion, 2023 seems to provide a wealth of fresh experiences and opportunities to the tech sector, from the development of metaverse technology to the rise of AI and automation. Businesses must closely monitor these changes and investigate the opportunities they present if they want to stay ahead of the curve. Increased productivity, cost reductions, and new business models will be brought about by the advent of AI and automation, while the metaverse will offer new opportunities for interaction, play, and creation in virtual worlds.

Businesses need to be ready to adapt to these new opportunities and technology in the upcoming years in order to be competitive in a rapidly shifting digital environment. Whether it's through AI-powered customer service, virtual events and concerts, or innovative brand experiences in the metaverse, 2023 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the tech industry.

## What is Billing Mediation and Why It Is Important Part of BSS

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/what-is-billing-mediation-and-why-it-is-important-part-of-bss

Learn about the importance of billing mediation and how it can streamline your billing process, improve accuracy, and optimize revenue assurance.

Businesses require efficient billing solutions as they expand. Billing mediation can assist businesses in more quickly and precisely managing their billing processes. This article will explain the idea of billing mediation, how it functions, and why it's important for your company.

## Understanding Billing Mediation

Billing mediation is the process of consolidating data from multiple sources, translating and converting it into a format that can be easily integrated with a billing system. When a business has a complex billing system that draws on numerous data sources, including call detail records, usage data, and customer records, this process is essential.

By lowering manual interaction, avoiding errors, and increasing the accuracy of billing data, billing mediation streamlines the billing process. Businesses can avoid billing disputes, improve revenue assurance, and cut operating expenses by automating the mediation process.

## How Billing Mediation Works

Billing [mediation](/en/products/mediation) gathers data from diverse sources, such as customer management systems or telecommunications networks, and transforms it into a format that can be quickly linked with the billing system. Data extraction, filtering, transformation, and normalization are a few of the processes that make up the mediation process.

Following extraction from the original source, the data is screened to make sure that only pertinent information is used for billing. The information is then transformed into a format that the billing system can readily incorporate. The normalization stage ensures that the data is consistent and accurate, regardless of the source.

## Benefits of Billing Mediation for Your Business

Beyond simplifying billing procedures, billing mediation has many advantages. Implementing an effective billing mediation system can have a positive impact on various aspects of your business, such as:

1.  **Revenue Optimization**

    You can ensure that every transaction is accurately recorded by automating the billing process, which will lower revenue leakage and boost revenue assurance.

2.  **Cost cutting**

    By reducing the need for manual intervention and freeing up resources that could be used for more relevant company activities, billing mediation can help cut down on operational costs.

3.  **Improved Customer Satisfaction**

    Billing discrepancies and errors can significantly impact customer satisfaction. By ensuring that clients receive accurate bills, billing mediation lowers the possibility of conflicts and complaints.

4.  **Increased Efficiency**

    Billing mediation helps companies process massive amounts of data more quickly and accurately, cutting down on processing time and increasing efficiency.

## Challenges in Billing Mediation

While billing mediation provides many advantages, there are a few challenges that companies must pay attention to. Some of the challenges include:

- Data Integration

  Data from several sources can be difficult to combine, especially when they use various formats and data structures. Businesses must ensure that the data is translated and converted into a format that is compatible with the billing system.

- Scalability

  The amount of data that needs to be handled and maintained grows as enterprises expand. Systems for billing mediation must be built to manage high data volumes while preserving precision and effectiveness.

- Data Security

  Businesses must make sure that sensitive customer data is protected from unwanted access and breaches when performing billing mediation.

## Implementing Billing Mediation in Your Business

A billing mediation system's implementation can be a challenging procedure that needs careful preparation and execution. Following are some crucial actions to take into account when establishing billing mediation in your company:

1.  Define Your Business Requirements

    Before implementing a billing mediation system, it's essential to understand your business requirements and the specific billing challenges that you need to address. This will assist you in determining the data sources that must be combined and the format in which the data must be presented.

2.  Select the Right Billing Mediation Solution

    The success of the deployment depends on choosing the best billing mediation solution. The solution must support the required data formats, be able to handle the volume of data, and interface with various systems.

3.  Plan Your Data Integration Strategy

    Billing mediation requires effective data integration. To guarantee that the data is retrieved, filtered, processed, and normalized appropriately and effectively, it is crucial to carefully prepare your data integration strategy.

4.  Test and Validate Your System

    It's crucial to properly test and confirm your billing mediation system before putting it into use. This will make it easier to verify that the system is operating properly and fulfilling your company's needs.

5.  Monitor and Optimize Your System

    Once your billing mediation system is deployed, it's essential to monitor its performance and optimize it as necessary. Regular monitoring can assist find any problems and improve the performance of the system, ensuring that it continues to satisfy your business requirements.

## Conclusion

Any organization that needs precise and effective billing solutions must use the billing mediation procedure. Businesses may enhance revenue assurance, save expenses, boost customer happiness, and increase productivity by combining data from many sources, translating it, and transforming it into a format that can be quickly linked with a billing system.

We at AvanteBSS recognize the value of efficient billing solutions for your company. We provide a [variety of products](/en/products/bss), including the [Mediation System](/en/products/mediation), that can improve your revenue, cut costs, and streamline your billing process. [Contact us](/en/company/contacts) today to learn more about how we can help your business achieve its goals.

## How Subscription Billing Can Unlock New Revenue Streams: An In-Depth Guide

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/how-subscription-billing-can-unlock-new-revenue-streams-an-in-depth-guide

In this article, we discuss the benefits of subscription billing and how it can help businesses unlock new revenue streams. Read on to learn more!

It's more crucial than ever for businesses to be creative and original when it comes to revenue generating in today's fast-paced and constantly changing business environment. Subscriptions is one approach to accomplishing this. Businesses can boost income and develop a devoted customer base by giving customers the choice to subscribe to a good or service. In this article, we will explore the benefits of [subscription billing](/en/products/billing) and how it can unlock new revenue streams for businesses.

## What is Subscription Billing?

In a subscription billing model, a consumer agrees to pay a predetermined amount on a recurrent basis (such as monthly or annually) in exchange for access to a good or service. Many businesses, including software and technology as well as media and entertainment, are starting to adopt this approach more frequently.

## How Subscription Billing can unlock new revenue streams:

1.  Provides a steady stream of recurring revenue

    One of the main advantages of subscription billing is that it gives companies a consistent flow of recurring income. Businesses can count on a consistent income from their subscribers rather than relying on one-time sales or purchases. This contributes to the company's long-term stability and profitability by offering a stable revenue source.

2.  Increases customer loyalty

    Customers commit to a long-term connection with a company when they subscribe to a good or service. By doing this, you can create a foundation of devoted customers who are more likely to make repeat purchases and have higher lifetime value. Businesses may also keep their consumers happy and engaged by giving subscribers continual value, which lowers the risk of churn and increases the possibility of renewals.

3.  Offers opportunities for upselling and cross-selling

    Businesses have the chance to upsell and cross-sell through subscription billing. Businesses can provide extra goods or services that members might be interested in by regularly communicating with them and learning more about their wants and preferences. This helps to forge closer connections with clients while also boosting revenue.

4.  Enables businesses to test new products or services

    [Avante BSS products](/en/products/bss) have a relatively straightforward drag-and-drop interface to build new items, plans, and offers, it may also be used to test out new goods or services before committing to a full-scale launch. Businesses can evaluate client interest and feedback by providing a constrained version of a product or service to subscribers. As a result, changes and improvements can be made as necessary. This generates revenue from subscribers while also assisting in ensuring the success of the good or service prior to making a big investment.

## FAQ

### Can any business benefit from subscription billing?

Many companies, especially those in the software, technology, media, and entertainment sectors, may find subscription billing to be an effective method of generating money. Before selecting whether subscription billing is the best option, it's crucial to take the kind of goods or service being provided, as well as the target market, into account.

### How can businesses ensure the success of their subscription billing model?

Businesses must concentrate on giving members continual value if they want a subscription payment model to be successful. This could entail delivering unique advantages and discounts, upgrading and refining the product or service frequently, or supplying top-notch customer service. Businesses should additionally carefully track and examine subscriber data to spot trends and chances for improvement

### Can subscription billing coexist with other revenue generation strategies?

Yes, subscription billing can effectively coexist with other methods of generating income, such as adverts and one-time purchases.

## 5 Benefits of Implementing a Convergent Billing System

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/5-benefits-of-implementing-a-convergent-billing-system

Discover the benefits of convergent billing: increased efficiency, better customer satisfaction, unified system, higher revenue, and lower costs. 

[Convergent billing](/en/products/billing) is a new and improved way of calculating and combining all of your telecom services into a single, easy-to-read bill. Convergent billing makes your life simpler as opposed to earlier billing systems, which were frequently difficult to understand and keep track of.

Network providers won't have to operate in different IT solutions for mobile and fixed-line services thanks to convergent billing combined with an [online charging system](/en/products/ocs). Instead, a single comprehensive bill that includes all of your telecom services will give their customers an easy-to-understand overview of services and costs. 

In this article, we'll look at the five most important advantages of implementing a convergent billing system.

## Key benefits:

### 1\. Increased Efficiency

Increased efficiency is one of the most significant benefits of a convergent billing system. This system simplifies billing by combining all services into a single bill, reducing the need for manual intervention and the number of errors. This can also result in shorter billing cycles, allowing businesses to receive payments more quickly.

### 2\. Enhanced Client Satisfaction

A convergent billing system also has the advantage of increasing client satisfaction. With this technique, customers receive a single bill for all services rather than multiple bills for each service, making it easier for them to comprehend their costs. Customers will comprehend what they are paying for better, which could decrease the amount of billing disputes.

### 3\. Single System for All Services

Another benefit of convergent billing is the ability to operate all services provided in a single system. This not only simplifies the billing process, but it also provides a unified view of all services, making it easier to manage and track usage. With a convergent billing system, businesses can ensure that all services are being billed accurately and consistently, and that customers are being charged for only the services they are using. This can lead to improved customer satisfaction and reduced billing disputes.

### 4\. Higher Revenue

Businesses can also boost their revenue by putting in place a convergent billing system. Because businesses have a thorough understanding of their customers' service usage, this approach makes it simpler to upsell and cross-sell services to clients. Since firms can bill for all services in one location, this can also lower the chance of missed billing opportunities.

### 5\. Lower Costs

Finally, a convergent billing system might assist companies in cutting expenses. Lower administrative costs are the result of this system's ability to reduce the need for manual intervention and the amount of errors. Additionally, it lessens the need for numerous billing systems, which lowers the cost of hardware and software.

## Conclusion

A convergent billing system has a number of important advantages, such as enhanced productivity, better customer satisfaction, better data management, higher income, and lower expenses. Businesses can enhance their bottom line and streamline their billing process by utilizing this solution.

In conclusion, using a convergent billing system can help firms in a variety of ways. Businesses can increase efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, operate all services in a single system, increase revenue, and lower costs by combining all telecom services into a single, easy-to-read bill. The convergent billing system makes the billing process simpler, lowers the need for manual intervention and the amount of errors, and enables businesses to gain a full insight of the service consumption of their clients, making it simpler to upsell and cross-sell services. A convergent billing system can streamline the billing process and boost a company's bottom line thanks to the many benefits it provides.

## MVNO vs MVNE vs MVNA: who does what in the value chain

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-vs-mvne-vs-mvna

Definitions, a who-owns-what table across MNO, MVNA, MVNE and Light, Medium and Full MVNOs, and the point at which an enabler turns into an aggregator.

An MVNO sells mobile service under its own brand on another operator's radio network. An MVNE supplies the platform and the operational services it runs on; an MVNA buys wholesale capacity in bulk and resells it to several MVNOs. The difference between the two is which capacity contract they hold, not which software they run. Of the 2,138 MVNOs GSMA Intelligence counted worldwide in August 2025, only 96 are Full MVNOs and 265 are operator sub-brands; everyone else sits on somebody else's platform.

GSMA Intelligence counted 2,138 MVNOs worldwide in August 2025, with another 283 announced and waiting to launch (analysis published November 2025). Only 96 of those are Full MVNOs and 265 are operator sub-brands. Everything in between, well over 1,700 operators, runs on somebody else's platform under somebody else's wholesale contract. That somebody is usually an MVNE, an MVNA, or an MNO wholesale team that has quietly become one of the two. The acronyms get used loosely, including in hosts' own sales decks, so it is worth being precise about who holds which asset and which contract.

## Three definitions, from the sources people actually cite

Juniper Research (January 2026) defines an MVNO as "a mobile service provider that leases wholesale capacity from mobile network operators, without owning its own network infrastructure". That covers a supermarket brand on a reseller deal and a Full MVNO with its own core; the definition says nothing about how much of the stack the operator runs. Model names (Reseller or Light, Medium, Full) fill that gap, and we cover them in detail on the [operating-models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models) and in the earlier post on [Full MVNO, Light MVNO and MVNE models](/en/insights/blog/full-mvno-light-mvno-mvne-operating-model).

An MVNE, per Wikipedia's entry on mobile virtual network enablers, "provides network infrastructure and related services, such as BSS and OSS, to an MVNO". The enabler is not a mobile brand. It sells platform and operations: SIM management, product catalogue, charging, billing, CRM, provisioning into the host, interconnect, often customer-care tooling and regulatory reporting. Its customers are MVNOs, and its revenue is a platform fee, a per-subscriber charge, or a share of margin.

An MVNA, from the same source, is "a wholesale intermediary between MNO and smaller MVNOs" that "holds a large wholesale agreement with the MNO, then re-wholesales airtime to smaller MVNOs". The aggregator's asset is a contract, not a platform. It buys capacity at volume prices a brand with 20,000 subscribers would never be offered and sells it on with a margin. Most MVNAs also run an enablement platform, because you cannot re-wholesale usage you cannot rate, but aggregation itself is a commercial role. That distinction matters later.

## The chain from spectrum to subscriber

Read from the top, the value chain has four layers. The MNO holds the licence, the spectrum, the radio network and the core, and sells capacity wholesale. The MVNA, where one exists, buys that capacity in bulk and slices it. The MVNE provides the systems an operator needs to turn capacity into a product: catalogue, charging, billing, SIM logistics, provisioning, interconnect. The MVNO owns the brand, the proposition and the subscriber.

In practice the layers collapse into fewer companies. A Full MVNO occupies the bottom two itself, running its own BSS and some of the core. An MVNE that signs the wholesale contract occupies the middle two, and is then also an MVNA. An MNO that launches an enablement platform for its partners occupies the top three, leaving them only the brand. Nigeria's regulator recognised this when it split MVNO licensing into five tiers, with a Tier 4 "Virtual Aggregator/Enabler" licence at NGN 150 million and a Tier 5 "Unified Virtual Operator" at NGN 250 million (NCC framework as summarised by the International Bar Association, June 2022). One regulator, at least, treats the enabler or aggregator as a role distinct from the operator.

## Who owns what: MNO, MVNA, MVNE and the three MVNO models

The table below sets out the assets and contracts that define each role. It reflects the model names used on this site; other markets use thin, thick or enhanced, and the labels matter less than the rows.

| Asset or contract                              | MNO (host)                       | MVNA                                                | MVNE                                                                  | Light MVNO                     | Medium MVNO (own BSS)                            | Full MVNO                                             |
| ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| Brand and marketing                            | own retail brand, sub-brands     | none to end users, or a small one                   | none to end users                                                     | yours                          | yours                                            | yours                                                 |
| Subscriber relationship (contract, care, data) | its own base                     | none; tenants hold it                               | none; tenants hold it                                                 | yours (care often via enabler) | yours                                            | yours                                                 |
| BSS: catalogue, charging, billing, CRM         | own                              | multi-tenant BSS, own or rented from an MVNE        | owns and operates a multi-tenant BSS                                  | enabler's or host's            | yours                                            | yours                                                 |
| HLR/HSS and core elements                      | own                              | host's, occasionally own                            | host's, occasionally own                                              | host's                         | host's, via provisioning and charging interfaces | yours (or via partners)                               |
| Numbering and SIM                              | own ranges and SIM               | per tenant, or one pooled range                     | per tenant, or issued from its own pool                               | host's                         | own SIM in most markets, own numbering in some   | own ranges, own SIM and eSIM                          |
| Wholesale agreement with the MNO               | sells wholesale                  | holds one bulk agreement                            | none; each MVNO contracts the host directly                           | via enabler or aggregator      | yours                                            | yours                                                 |
| Settlement                                     | with each wholesale counterparty | with the host on one side, each tenant on the other | platform fees to tenants; usage settlement sits between MVNO and host | pays the enabler or aggregator | with the host                                    | with the host, plus interconnect and roaming partners |

Two rows carry most of the weight. The wholesale-agreement row separates MVNA from MVNE: an aggregator is the host's counterparty, an enabler is not. The BSS row separates Light from Medium: the moment the MVNO runs its own catalogue and charging, it stops needing an enabler for anything except, possibly, network-side services. These two rows also explain why the same company can appear in three columns depending on which contract you are looking at.

## MVNA vs MVNE: the difference is the contract, not the software

Ask an enabler and an aggregator to show you their platforms and you will struggle to tell them apart. Both run tenant onboarding, per-tenant catalogues, shared charging, settlement engines. The difference shows up in the finance and legal departments.

The enabler earns a service fee and carries little volume risk. If a tenant's subscribers stop using data, the enabler's invoice to that tenant barely moves. The aggregator has signed minimum commitments with the host, often with take-or-pay clauses, and has extended credit to tenants smaller than itself. Its margin is the gap between the host's bulk price and its re-wholesale price lists, and it needs two rating passes on every usage record: once at host rates to reconcile the wholesale bill, once at each tenant's tariff to invoice them. An enabler that only rates at the tenant's retail tariff has a simpler settlement problem and a smaller balance-sheet exposure.

This is why "does an MVNA need its own BSS" is the wrong question. It needs the enabler's BSS plus wholesale rating against the host contract, tiered re-wholesale pricing per tenant, sub-tenant settlement with revenue share and minimum commitments, and margin reporting per tenant, product and period. Those are billing functions. The rest is a contract.

## When an MVNE becomes an MVNA

Enablers slide into aggregation more often than they plan it. It starts with a prospective tenant too small to get host terms on its own: a regional brand, a community operator, a fintech with a pilot. The enabler already knows the host, so it offers to hold the wholesale agreement and pass capacity through. One tenant becomes four. Then the host's wholesale team decides it would rather have one counterparty than ten and starts steering new MVNOs towards the enabler, which now carries volume commitments, credit risk and, in markets like Nigeria, a licence category it never applied for.

Three things change. Settlement has to handle the two-sided rating described above and expose margin per tenant, so the aggregator can see which price lists are underwater. The regulatory position changes: the aggregator reports on the wholesale relationship while each tenant still reports as the licensed operator it is, so the BSS must produce both views. And the tenant lifecycle becomes commercially sensitive. A tenant that outgrows aggregation wants to move its base and numbering to its own BSS and contract the host directly, and an aggregator that cannot offer that path cleanly loses its best tenants at the worst moment.

Our view: an enabler should decide deliberately whether it wants the aggregation business, and price it as a wholesale business with a cost of capital rather than as an add-on to platform fees. If the answer is yes, wholesale rating and per-tenant settlement belong in the BSS scope from the start. Retrofitting them onto a platform built for retail charging is a project on the scale of the original deployment.

## When an MNO wholesale team needs an MVNE platform

The other direction is at least as common. An MNO signs its first two or three MVNO partners bilaterally: each gets its own interconnect, its own operational interface into the host's OSS, its own escalation path. That works. Around the eighth or tenth partner it stops working, because onboarding cost does not fall with volume. Every new partner means new configuration, testing and procedures for an engineering team that also has a network to run.

South Africa shows the pattern. TechCentral (June 2025) counted 23 MVNOs in the country, with Cell C hosting 13 and MTN 9. Cell C had built an MVNE platform; Vodacom launched one in 2024, Huge NXTGN in 2025, and Telkom announced one. TechCabal (August 2026) put Cell C at 5.7 million MVNO subscribers, up 27% year on year and roughly 80 to 85% of the South African MVNO market. Wholesale had become a business line with its own growth rate, and a business line needs a platform, not a queue.

The signals are fairly consistent. Onboarding a new partner takes longer than six months even when commercial terms were agreed in week two. Partners ask for Light or Medium arrangements the host cannot configure without engineering work. The consumer business wants a digital sub-brand and the only way to launch it is as another bilateral partner. Finance cannot produce a per-partner margin view without a spreadsheet. Any two of those, and an enablement platform pays for itself in avoided engineering time before it earns a rand of new wholesale revenue.

Bilateral and platform are not exclusive. An MNO can run an MVNE platform for its Light and Medium partners and still sign a Full MVNO bilaterally, because the Full MVNO brings its own BSS and needs only network interfaces.

## Where Avante fits

Avante is a BSS vendor, not an enabler or an aggregator. It does not hold wholesale agreements or run a network. Avante MVNx Suite is the multi-tenant BSS that an MVNE, an MVNA or an MNO wholesale team runs to onboard tenants, rate usage against the host contract and against each tenant's tariff, and settle on both sides. Three MVNE platforms have been delivered on it, alongside 15 live MVNOs, and the same stack serves a Medium or Full MVNO that wants its own BSS, so a tenant that outgrows enablement moves without re-platforming. LANCK Telecom runs it across several European and African markets, and Brilliantel in South Africa uses it for B2B and B2G billing models that standard enablement setups do not offer. Details are on the [MVNE and MVNA platform page](/en/solutions/mvne).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is an MVNE and what does it do for an MVNO?

An MVNE (mobile virtual network enabler) supplies the systems and operations an MVNO needs but does not want to build: SIM management, product catalogue, online charging, billing, CRM, provisioning into the host network, interconnect and often customer-care tooling. The MVNO keeps the brand and the subscriber relationship. Enablers are paid through platform fees, per-subscriber charges or a margin share, and one enabler typically serves several MVNOs on a shared, multi-tenant platform.

### What is the difference between an MVNA and an MVNE?

The contract with the host. An MVNE provides platform and operations but does not sign the wholesale agreement; each MVNO contracts the MNO directly. An MVNA (mobile virtual network aggregator) holds one bulk wholesale agreement and re-wholesales capacity to smaller MVNOs under its own price lists. Most aggregators also run an enablement platform, so one company can be both. What separates the roles is who carries the volume commitment and the credit risk.

### Does an MVNA need its own BSS?

It needs the enabler's multi-tenant BSS plus wholesale functions: rating usage at host rates to reconcile the bulk bill, tiered re-wholesale pricing per tenant, settlement with each tenant including revenue share and minimum commitments, and margin reporting per tenant and product. Some aggregators rent the platform from an MVNE and add the contract on top; larger ones run their own. Either way, the second rating pass is what makes it an aggregator's BSS.

### Can an MVNO contract the MNO directly and skip the enabler?

Yes, and Medium and Full MVNOs usually do. A Medium MVNO runs its own BSS and connects to the host through provisioning, charging and mediation interfaces; a Full MVNO adds its own HLR/HSS, numbering and interconnect. Scale and product decide it: hosts set minimum volumes for direct wholesale, so a small brand with a standard offer is better served on an enabler or through an aggregator. An MVNO whose pricing logic is the product tends to need its own BSS regardless; the [launch process page](/en/solutions/mvno/launch) sets out what that path involves.

### How does an MNO become an MVNE?

By replacing bilateral integrations with a shared enablement platform: tenant onboarding from templates, per-tenant catalogues and branding, shared or dedicated charging and billing, wholesale rating between platform and host network, settlement per tenant, and tenant APIs. Network interfaces are connected once and shared. Operators tend to make the move somewhere between five and ten partners, when onboarding cost stops falling and the engineering queue becomes the constraint on wholesale growth.

## How to launch an MVNO in 2026: stage-by-stage guide and checklist

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/how-to-launch-an-mvno

The five launch stages, who owns each integration, five risks that move dates, a pre-signature checklist and regulatory notes for SA, Nigeria, Kenya and the EU.

An MVNO launch runs in five stages and takes 16 to 26 weeks from a signed host agreement to commercial launch. The calendar is set by the host operator, the regulator and the porting clearinghouse rather than by the software, which is why launches that bought perfectly good platforms still miss their dates. Settle the operating model first, Light, Medium or Full, because it decides every integration downstream.

GSMA Intelligence counted 2,138 MVNOs in operation worldwide in August 2025 and a further 283 expected (November 2025). A good share of those 283 have a board paper that says "launch in six months". Some will make it. Most of the ones that do not will have bought perfectly good software and still missed the date, because the calendar of an MVNO launch is set by a host operator, a regulator and a porting clearinghouse, none of which report to the project manager. What follows is the sequence of stages as they actually run, who owns each piece, where the slips come from, and what to settle before you sign the host agreement.

## Decide the operating model before anything else

The first decision is not which platform to buy but how much of the operator you intend to be. A Reseller or Light MVNO owns the brand and the customer relationship while the host or an enabler runs SIM management, HLR/HSS, rating and billing. A Medium MVNO runs its own BSS (product catalogue, online charging, billing, CRM, self-care) and connects to the host's network through provisioning, charging and mediation interfaces. A Full MVNO adds the network layer: its own HLR/HSS or subscriber data management, its own packet core or gateways, its own numbering, interconnect and roaming agreements.

Each step up adds control and adds months. It also changes the launch plan in kind, not only in degree. A Light launch on an enabler is mostly a commercial and marketing project. A Medium launch is an integration project. A Full launch is a network build with an integration project attached. Everything below describes the Medium case, with notes on where Full differs, because Medium is where most banks, retailers and ISPs with a real product idea end up. The comparison of who owns what in each model is on the [operating models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models).

A view, since the evidence supports one: if your proposition is a standard SIM with branded packaging and a few bundles, go Light on an enabler and read no further than the checklist. If the pricing logic is the product (loyalty-linked data, balance-based rewards, sponsored usage, B2B limits), you need your own catalogue and charging engine, and the rest of this guide applies to you.

## The five stages, in order

The stages below are the ones Avante uses to plan a launch. Durations are planning assumptions for a Medium MVNO taken from delivered projects. Stages overlap, which is how sixteen to twenty-six weeks of work becomes four to six months of elapsed time.

1. Discovery (2 to 3 weeks). Fix the target model, the launch segments and the opening offers, the service model (digital-only, retail, agent network) and the target IT estate. Scope every integration by name. The output is an MVP scope, a responsibility matrix, a critical path and a preliminary business case. Discovery is short because its job is to decide, not to design.

2. Host agreement and legal framework (the critical path). Wholesale terms, coverage commitments, interface specifications and SLAs with the host; numbering; SIM supply; licence or registration; regulatory approvals. This track belongs to you, the host and the regulator. The BSS vendor's job here is the technical annex, the interface requirements and getting the host's engineering team talking as early as the host allows. Nobody can tell you how long this stage takes, because it depends on the host's commercial appetite and the regulator's calendar. Everything else in the plan is dated from the day it closes.

3. BSS platform (4 to 8 weeks). Deployment in the environment you chose (your own perimeter, a private cloud or a managed service), configuration of the catalogue and charging rules for the opening offers, and a working test environment. This is the most predictable stage in the plan. It is also the one vendors advertise, which is why buyers sometimes mistake it for the whole project.

4. Integrations (6 to 12 weeks). Host interfaces for provisioning, charging, mediation and SIM or eSIM; number portability certification; KYC or SIM registration; payment and mobile-money gateways; your own app, CRM and data platform; roaming, if you insist on it at launch. This stage runs partly in parallel with stage 3 and is where the elapsed time is decided.

5. Launch (2 to 4 weeks). A pilot with a limited group, then friends and family, then commercial start. Hypercare for the first weeks, and managed operations from day one if you have contracted them. Do not compress this stage to recover time lost in stage 2. The pilot exists to find the provisioning edge cases that the test environment did not.

A Full MVNO runs the same five stages with a longer stage 4 and additional workstreams for the core elements, and plans at eight to ten months. The reasoning behind the sequence, and why integrations rather than software set the pace, is in [the integration and launch timeline article](/en/insights/blog/mvno-integration-launch-timeline).

## Who owns which integration

An MVNO launch has four parties doing technical work: the MVNO itself, the host operator, the BSS vendor (or enabler) and a set of third parties, each with a calendar of their own. Confusion over who owns a piece is the most common cause of a quiet month in the plan. The table shows the split used for a Medium MVNO.

| Integration                                                    | Owner                               | Contributors                                                | What "done" means                                                                              |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Host provisioning interface (HLR/HSS, SIM and eSIM activation) | BSS vendor                          | Host provides the specification and test access             | Activate, suspend, change service and terminate work end to end in the host's test environment |
| Host charging and mediation feeds (CDRs, real-time triggers)   | BSS vendor                          | Host                                                        | Every usage type rates correctly against the wholesale agreement and the retail catalogue      |
| Wholesale agreement, coverage, SLA                             | MVNO                                | Host as counterparty; BSS vendor drafts the technical annex | Signed agreement with interface specifications attached                                        |
| Number portability (MNP)                                       | BSS vendor integrates and certifies | Clearinghouse or regulator; MVNO holds the contract         | Certification passed; port-in and port-out tested in both directions                           |
| KYC and SIM registration                                       | Third-party provider                | BSS vendor integrates; MVNO holds the contract              | A registration completes within the regulator's rules before activation                        |
| Payments and mobile money                                      | Third-party gateway                 | BSS vendor integrates; MVNO holds the merchant account      | Live transaction in production with settlement reconciled                                      |
| Your app, CRM, loyalty and data platform                       | MVNO                                | BSS vendor exposes APIs and events                          | Customer journeys work from your front end; event-level data lands in your platform            |
| Roaming (bilateral, sponsored or multi-IMSI)                   | Host or a roaming sponsor           | BSS vendor for rating and settlement                        | Live test on at least one visited network; usually deferred until after launch                 |
| Lawful interception hand-off and statutory reporting           | MVNO                                | Host for interception; BSS vendor for reports               | Regulator's requirements confirmed in writing                                                  |
| Network elements (Full only)                                   | MVNO, via partners                  | BSS vendor scopes and integrates                            | Own HLR/HSS or core in production and interconnected                                           |

In RACI terms the picture fits in one paragraph. The MVNO is accountable for everything and responsible for the commercial, legal and regulatory tracks: the proposition, the host agreement, the licence, the third-party contracts and, after launch, the operation or the decision to delegate it. The BSS vendor is responsible for the platform and for every technical integration that touches it, certification included, and is consulted on the technical annex and the business case. The host is responsible for its own interfaces and test environments and is consulted on wholesale inputs; it is not accountable for your date and will not behave as if it were. The regulator decides and is informed; it is never on the project's calendar. Third parties (KYC, payments, clearinghouse, roaming sponsor) are responsible for their piece and informed of the plan. Write this down in Discovery. Half the disputes in month four are about a line in this paragraph.

## Five integration risks

Platform milestones are visible and can be checked weekly. Integrations depend on third parties. The ranges below come from delivered projects rather than from a brochure, and actual durations vary by market and provider.

The first risk is the host's provisioning interface. From specification sign-off to confirmed testing the plan allows eight to fourteen weeks, and the range is set by the host's engineering schedule and change control, not by yours. A host that has never had an MVNO tenant has no interface document to hand you, and a host planning a core upgrade will freeze changes for months. Ask both questions before the agreement is signed.

The second is number portability certification, at ten to twenty weeks. The clearinghouse or the regulator runs a certification calendar, and a failed first attempt puts you back in the queue. It helps to know that the next slot is fourteen weeks away before the board commits to a date. This is one of two items Avante starts before the platform contract is signed.

The third is the primary payment gateway, at four to eight weeks from sandbox to production. The delays here are merchant approval, fraud rules and certification, which are procedural rather than technical. Mobile-money integrations in African markets add operator-side approvals with timelines of their own.

The fourth is KYC and SIM registration, at four to ten weeks. The range depends on the method the market requires: document upload, biometric capture or a check against a national identity database. A digital-only MVNO lives or dies on this flow, so test it with real customers in the pilot, not only with test identities.

The fifth is roaming. Basic bilateral roaming takes sixteen to twenty-four weeks from commercial agreement to live testing, through bilateral agreements and GSMA clearing registration. Most launches defer it. If your proposition needs roaming on day one (a bank serving frequent travellers, say), plan the launch around it or use a sponsored roaming or multi-IMSI arrangement through the host or a sponsor.

## Checklist before you sign the host agreement

The host agreement is the document the whole plan hangs from. These are the points to have settled, or at least written down as open, before signature.

- Wholesale pricing structure: per-unit, bundle or capacity-based, with volume tiers and the review mechanism named.
- Coverage and technology commitments: which network generations, whether VoLTE and eSIM are included from day one.
- Interface specifications attached as a technical annex: provisioning, charging or CDR feeds, SIM and eSIM lifecycle, with test environment access and a named engineering contact.
- The host's change-control process and any planned core upgrades in the next twelve months.
- Whether the host has hosted an MVNO before, and whether an existing interface can be reused.
- Numbering: who holds the range, and how numbers are allocated and returned.
- SIM supply: who orders, who profiles, who pays, and how eSIM profiles are provisioned.
- Number portability: who is the porting party of record, and how port-in and port-out costs are shared.
- Data access: which subscriber and usage data you receive, in what format, how often, and who owns it.
- Priority, SLA and service credits, with the escalation path for outages that affect your customers.
- Lawful interception and regulatory reporting: what the host does, what you must do, and what the regulator expects from each.
- Roaming: whether the host's agreements extend to you, on what terms, and when.
- Exit: minimum term, notice period, and what happens to numbers, SIMs and data when you leave or add a second host.
- Regulatory prerequisites: licence or registration category, timelines, and whether the host requires them before signing.
- Your BSS vendor's review of the technical annex, so the interfaces you are promised are the ones the platform will integrate with.

None of this is exotic. It is simply that the commercial team signing the agreement and the technical team living with it are rarely in the same room. Put them there.

## Regulatory notes for four markets

Regulation does not change the five stages, but it changes the length of stage 2 and the content of stage 4. Four examples that come up most often with readers in Africa and Europe. Each deserves a guide of its own; the notes here are what a launch plan needs to know.

### South Africa: RICA and portability

The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act (RICA) requires a subscriber's full name, identity number, address and MSISDN to be captured before activation, and an eSIM is treated as a SIM for these purposes (De Rebus, September 2025). Self-registration in an app is now standard practice: Pick n Pay Mobile relaunched in July 2025 with instant eSIM and self-RICA (TechCentral). Number portability regulations came into effect on 7 March 2022 (Bowmans), so MNP certification sits on your critical path. The hosting market is unusually developed. TechCentral counted 23 MVNOs in June 2025, with Cell C hosting 13 and MTN 9, and MVNE platforms at Cell C, Vodacom (2024) and Huge NXTGN (2025), with Telkom announced. A detailed guide is in [Launching an MVNO in South Africa](/en/insights/blog/mvno-south-africa-launch-guide).

### Nigeria: NIN-SIM linkage and the NCC tiers

Nigeria's rule linking every SIM to a verified National Identification Number means the KYC integration is a national-database check, not a document upload. BusinessDay reported 153 million linked SIMs and 96 per cent compliance in August 2024. The Nigerian Communications Commission licenses MVNOs in five tiers; Tier 4 (Virtual Aggregator/Enabler) and Tier 5 (Unified Virtual Operator) carry fees of NGN 150 million and NGN 250 million on a ten-year tenure (International Bar Association, June 2022). A caution from the market: Nairametrics counted 43 to 46 licensees in November 2025 and only one or two active, which says something about the distance between a licence and a launch. The tiers are covered in [MVNO licensing in Nigeria](/en/insights/blog/mvno-licensing-nigeria-ncc-tiers).

### Kenya: SIM Registration Regulations 2025

Kenya's SIM Registration Regulations 2025 (Legal Notice 90) took effect on 30 May 2025 and require verification of subscriber details against government databases (CM Advocates, July 2025). As in Nigeria, plan the KYC integration as a database check with the access agreement that goes with it, and budget stage 4 time for it. Equitel, Equity Bank's MVNO on Airtel, has been licensed since 2014 and held 1.51 million subscriptions in Communications Authority data reported in June 2026 (Citizen Digital), which is the local proof that a bank-led MVNO can operate at scale under these rules.

### European Union: porting within one working day

Article 106 of the European Electronic Communications Code (Directive 2018/1972) requires that a ported number be activated within one working day. National regulators implement this differently, and the porting clearinghouse and its certification process differ by country, so stage 4 planning for an EU launch starts with the national porting scheme rather than with the directive. Identification rules for new subscribers also vary by member state. Own numbering ranges for a Medium MVNO are available in some markets and not in others, and that decides whether you are the porting party of record.

## Honest timelines

Published market ranges and a vendor's own planning assumptions measure different things, and both are worth having. MVNO Index publishes market estimates of two to four months for a reseller, four to nine months for a thin or light MVNO, nine to fourteen for a thick MVNO and twelve to eighteen months or more for a full MVNO. These come from a single aggregator source and are quoted here as market estimates, nothing more.

Avante's planning assumptions for its own delivery are three months to platform readiness for a standard mono-MVNO, four to six months to commercial launch for a Medium MVNO from the point the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed, and eight to ten months for a Full MVNO. Note the qualifier. The clock starts when stage 2 closes, and nobody outside your organisation, the host and the regulator can say when that will be. One published case helps calibrate: a leading banking MVNO in the CIS was delivered on Avante in six months, to the bank's security and integration requirements.

The two sets of numbers are consistent once you separate them. The market range for a light MVNO includes stage 2. Avante's range excludes it and assumes the integrations were scoped in Discovery and the long-lead items (host interface alignment, the porting certification enquiry) started before the platform contract. What it costs to get there, and how the cost splits between one-off and running items, is in [What it costs to launch an MVNO](/en/insights/blog/mvno-launch-cost-structure).

## Where Avante fits

Avante is a BSS vendor, not an enabler: it supplies the platform an MVNO, MVNE or MVNA runs, and does not resell airtime or operate a network. For a Medium launch, Avante MVNx Suite covers the product catalogue, online charging (Avante OCS), convergent billing, CRM, self-care, partner management, mediation and provisioning, plus the MNP, KYC and payment integrations, delivered on-premises, in a private cloud or as a managed service with 24x7 support. Beyond the software, the team builds the financial model with you, drafts the technical annex for the host agreement and supports the negotiation, and prepares the regulatory documentation per market. Full adds network elements through partners on the same platform, with no second subscriber migration. The stage plan, the responsibility matrix and an interactive timeline builder are on the [launch page](/en/solutions/mvno/launch).

## Frequently asked questions

### How long does it take to launch an MVNO?

It depends on the model and on when you start the clock. Market estimates from MVNO Index run from two to four months for a reseller to twelve to eighteen months or more for a full MVNO. Avante plans a Medium MVNO at four to six months from a confirmed host agreement and legal framework, and a Full MVNO at eight to ten. The host and legal track before that point is the part nobody can schedule for you.

### Do I need a licence to become an MVNO?

In most markets, yes, though the form varies from a registration to a tiered licence with fees. Nigeria licenses five tiers with fees set by the NCC, for example, and the host will usually ask for proof of authorisation before signing the wholesale agreement. Treat the licence as part of stage 2, confirm the regulator's timelines with local counsel, and do not fix a launch date until you have them.

### What is on the critical path of an MVNO launch?

Almost always the host agreement and legal framework, followed by two integrations that run on other people's calendars: the host's provisioning interface and number portability certification. Both should start before the platform contract is signed. Payment, KYC and roaming integrations matter, but they rarely set the date unless the market requires an identity check against a national database.

### Can we launch without number portability or roaming?

Roaming, usually yes, and most launches defer it to the first quarter after launch. Number portability is a different matter. In markets with mandatory porting, such as South Africa since March 2022 or the EU under Article 106 of the EECC, a launch without port-in turns away every customer who wants to keep a number. Plan MNP for day one and roaming for later.

### Can an MVNO switch host operator later?

Yes, if the subscriber data, catalogue, SIM inventory and numbering sit on your own BSS rather than in the host's or enabler's systems. On a Light model those assets belong to someone else, and a host change is a migration on the scale of the original launch. On a Medium model with your own BSS, a second host is another set of interfaces on the platform you already run.

### Do I need eSIM from day one?

Not necessarily, but a digital-only proposition favours it and the South African market shows it is now routine: Pick n Pay Mobile relaunched with instant eSIM in July 2025, and FNB Connect reports eSIM at ten per cent of monthly SIM sales (TechAfrica News, November 2025). Confirm in the host agreement that eSIM profile provisioning is included, and check that your regulator treats an eSIM as a SIM for registration.

## How much does it cost to start an MVNO? A cost-structure guide

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-launch-cost-structure

Where MVNO launch money goes by operating model, sourced market cost ranges, CAPEX versus OPEX delivery, and the four cost drivers that break budgets.

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](/en/insights/blog/how-to-launch-an-mvno); the ownership split by model is on [the operating models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models).

## 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](/en/insights/blog/mvno-unit-economics-billing-architecture), and the revenue side in [the MVNO business model](/en/insights/blog/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](/en/solutions/mvno), 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.

## MVNE and MVNO BSS platforms in 2026: an honest comparison

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/best-mvne-mvno-bss-platforms-2026

Twelve MVNE providers, MVNO-in-a-box platforms and BSS vendors compared by category, delivery form, models and named references, with a selection framework.

One search phrase covers three different products: a managed mobile service the vendor runs on your behalf, a place on an enabler's network, and BSS software you own and operate yourself. They cannot be compared feature by feature. Choose the category first, then the supplier. Twelve suppliers are grouped by category below, each described from what it states on its own pages as of September 2026.

Search for "best MVNE providers" or "best MVNO platform" and the first page returns a dozen company names, most of them promising a launch in weeks. What the list does not show is that those companies sell three different things: a mobile service the vendor runs on your behalf, a place on an enabler's network, or software you own and operate yourself. Comparing them feature by feature is like comparing a taxi, a leased car and a car purchase on the size of the boot. Below, each vendor is described from what it states on its own pages (observed September 2026), grouped by type, with a set of criteria for choosing the type before choosing the name.

## Three kinds of supplier behind one search phrase

The first group is the SaaS "MVNO in a box". The vendor runs the BSS as a multi-tenant service, often holds or arranges the wholesale relationship with the host, and in some cases acts as carrier of record. The brand gets an API, a portal and a catalogue it configures within the vendor's tools. Gigs, Telness Tech, Alepo and Amdocs (connectX and BRAND/ON) sit here.

The second group is enablers with their own network elements or a live MVNE operation. They hold host agreements in specific countries, run core or HLR/HSS elements and a multi-tenant BSS, and take brands on as tenants. The brand is a Light or Medium MVNO on the enabler's stack, and the enabler is a party to the commercial chain. Plintron, Transatel and Effortel are covered below.

The third group is BSS vendors. They sell or operate software; the buyer holds the host agreement and owns the catalogue, the charging logic and the subscriber data, and can be an MVNO, an MVNE or an MVNA. Comarch, Tecnotree, MDS Global, Qvantel (which acquired Optiva) and Avante belong here.

A note on scope. Netcracker's MVNO Cloud Solution, Huawei's Shared BSS and Whale Cloud's Xpress BSS are sold to the MNO as host, so they belong in an operator's evaluation rather than a brand's. Comviva and Ericsson address Tier-1 operators, and Cisco's WG2 offer is a mobile core as a service without BSS. They are left out because the reader of this article is usually not their buyer.

## Six criteria that matter more than the launch claim

Who owns the subscriber data and the pricing logic. On a SaaS box or an enabler platform the catalogue, the charging engine and the subscriber records run in the vendor's tenant, and you reach them through an API and exports. With your own BSS they sit inside your perimeter. For a bank feeding a risk engine, a retailer running loyalty rules on purchase events or a public body with data-residency rules, this one question often settles the category. The [operating-models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models) sets out who owns what in each model.

The model path from Light through Medium to Full. Ask every vendor the same thing: if we move from Light to Medium in year two, do the subscriber base, billing history, SIM inventory and number range move with us, or is that a migration project? Starting Light on an enabler is a sound year-one decision for many brands. The point is to know in advance what leaving costs.

Host interfaces. For a BSS you will own, ask which interfaces to the host's HLR/HSS, Diameter charging, mediation feeds, SMSC and USSD, eSIM platform, MNP clearinghouse and wholesale settlement are in production today, at how many customers, and who maintains them. For a SaaS box or an enabler the question is which host networks in which countries are already connected, because that list is your addressable market. The [platform page](/en/solutions/mvno/platform) lists the interfaces by model.

Multi-tenancy, if you intend to host others. An MNO wholesale team or a would-be MVNE needs tenant isolation, per-tenant catalogues and branding, wholesale rating against the host, settlement per tenant and a tenant API. A single-brand MVNO can ignore this; an enabler cannot. The [MVNE platform page](/en/solutions/mvne) describes the function.

Delivery form. Managed SaaS on the vendor's cloud, SaaS in your own cloud account, private cloud, on-premises, licence or OPEX. In regulated sectors the security team and the regulator often fix this before anyone looks at features, which shortens the list at once.

Exit and migration. Read the terms on data export, number ranges, SIM and eSIM profiles and porting before signing. A fair question to any vendor in any category is to describe the last customer that left and how long the exit took.

## SaaS platforms: MVNO in a box

Gigs describes itself as telecom-as-a-service and acts as carrier of record, under the line "Any tech brand can be a mobile provider". It serves consumer-tech brands with use cases for fintech, travel, devices and HR-embedded connectivity, delivered as managed SaaS, and its FAQ explains MVNO, MVNE, MVNA and MVNO-in-a-box in plain terms. Named references are Revolut, Cash App, Klarna, Nubank, Santander, Starling and Motorola. Stated time to launch is "weeks", with number transfers in "days".

Telness Tech offers a SaaS operating platform for mobile operators and addresses MNOs, MVNOs and MVNEs, with use-case pages for launching, migrating, brands and IoT. Its claims are "go live in just weeks, not months", "no dev team required" and a "3 weeks" launch. It is the one vendor here that states its commercial model in words: a low set-up fee plus pay-per-user or revenue share. Named references are Lebara, Telia (which acquired Telness), Truecaller and New York Mobile.

Alepo sells BSS Now as a "Rapid-Launch SaaS BSS for MVNOs and ISPs", delivered as managed SaaS on pay-as-you-grow terms. The stated time to launch is "Go live in 30 days", with the conditions set out in its own blog. Named references are SaskTel's Lüm Mobile, Eswatini Mobile and ACS Myanmar.

Amdocs packages connectX as "Telco in a Box" and markets the MVNO edition as BRAND/ON (previously MVNO&GO), delivered as SaaS on AWS with a set-up fee plus a per-subscriber price. Instead of model tiers it offers use-case bundles: Digital MVNO, Travel, Wholesale MVNE, Influencer sub-brand, Fiber and IoT. It states "go live in under 3 months" and that "10 people or fewer" can run a full MVNO or MVNE on the platform. Named references are Melon Digital (a global MVNE with African operations), Consumer Cellular, MVNE.pl, PLDT's Smart KiQ and Mobifone's Saymee.

## Enablers with their own network or MVNE operation

Plintron positions itself as the "world's largest MVNA/MVNE" and sells Telco SaaS and TaaS. It lists Light, Full, Reseller and Aggregator models, delivers on public cloud, private cloud or on-premises, and offers OPEX or licence terms. It states 170 million or more connections and 175 launches; its MVNA page gives a launch time of "days" and its solutions page "6–8 weeks". Named references are Lycamobile, BSNL, Eseye and Konic with HMD, and it serves enterprises, brands, communities (retail, utilities, football clubs, churches) and IoT. It received the MVNOs World MVNE of the year award in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Transatel, part of the NTT group, is an MVNE with its own core and describes itself as the "First MVNE in Europe". Its B2B page covers Reseller, Light, Full and MVNE models, and it addresses B2B, B2C, ISP and community segments as a hosted MVNE. Stated time to launch for its MVNO-in-a-Box is "a few weeks" or "1–3 months" depending on the page. It shows 17 MVNO logos including Ecotalk and Your Co-op, and presents its MVNO offer for the UK, France and Belgium.

Effortel is a Belgian MVNE with a page for MNOs ("Advanced MVNE Solutions") and one for brands. Its guide describes Reseller, Service Provider, Full, MVNE and MVNA models, and delivery is EU cloud, on-premises or hybrid. Stated onboarding time on its MNO page is "one month"; its Tele2 case describes agent onboarding in 15 to 20 minutes. It states more than 30 launches and names Melita, Tele2, Equitel, Carrefour Mobile, Voo, Telenet and Orange. It received the MVNOs World award in 2024.

## Full BSS vendors

Comarch sells Smart BSS as an "all-in-one business platform pre-configured for rapid market entry" for Tier-2, -3 and -4 operators, ISPs and MVNOs, on SaaS or on-premises, with 21 TM Forum Open APIs. It states an "MVP in a few weeks". Named references are Mobile Vikings, 450connect and Turkcell Europe.

Tecnotree frames its offer around "Delayering Telco: NetCo–ServCo" and covers the MNO, MVNA, MVNE and MVNO roles, with Tecnotree Switch for MVNOs, a multi-tenant MVNE platform and 59 TM Forum Open APIs. Named references are NUH Digital in Brazil (350,000 subscribers), Telus, BTEL in Nigeria, PanAfrica Broadband (2 million), a Tier-1 MVNE in EMEA on a multi-tenant platform with its Moments marketplace, and a Tier-1 MVNO across the UK and Europe. Delivery form and time to launch are not stated on the MVNO page.

MDS Global offers BSS-as-a-Service under the VNOnDemand name, positioned as "We enable disruptive VNOs" independently of the MVNE, on pay-as-you-grow terms. Its blog carries the fullest model taxonomy in this list (reseller, light, thick, full, MVNE), and it addresses VNOs, enterprise service providers and IoT. Named references are iD Mobile (335,000 subscribers in year one), redONE, VADSA as an MVNE, and KPN. No time to launch is stated.

Qvantel completed its acquisition of Optiva in January 2026 and sells the Flex Suite as an "AI-Driven Full BSS and Monetization Suite" for digital brands, MVNOs, MVNEs and what it calls MVNX, delivered as SaaS and managed MVNE. Its "launch new products in hours" refers to product configuration; no operator launch time is stated. Named references are Very Mobile (Wind Tre), PBS Cellular in the US as a managed MVNE, and an unnamed Canadian Tier-1 MVNE.

Avante is a BSS/OSS vendor whose MVNx Suite packages its product catalogue, online charging, convergent billing, CRM, provisioning, mediation, interconnect and partner management for Medium and Full MVNOs, MVNEs and MVNAs. It does not run a network or resell airtime. Delivery is on-premises, private cloud or managed service, with an OPEX model available, and the platform is multi-tenant for MVNE and MVNA use. Stated timelines are platform readiness in about three months, Medium in four to six months after host agreement and legal readiness, and Full in eight to ten. It states 15 live MVNOs and 3 MVNE deployments, and names Brilliantel in South Africa, VENTAmobile in Latvia, LANCK Telecom across European and African markets, and a banking MVNO in the CIS delivered in six months.

## Comparison table

| Vendor                     | Category                         | Delivery form                                     | Models named                                 | Named references (as stated)                                     | Stated time to launch                                       |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Gigs                       | SaaS box, carrier of record      | Managed SaaS                                      | MVNO, MVNE, MVNA, MVNO-in-a-box              | Revolut, Cash App, Klarna, Nubank, Santander, Starling, Motorola | "weeks"                                                     |
| Telness Tech               | SaaS box                         | SaaS; set-up fee plus per-user or revenue share   | MNO, MVNO, MVNE audiences                    | Lebara, Telia, Truecaller, New York Mobile                       | "3 weeks"                                                   |
| Alepo                      | SaaS box                         | Managed SaaS, pay-as-you-grow                     | MVNO, ISP                                    | Lüm Mobile (SaskTel), Eswatini Mobile, ACS Myanmar               | "30 days"                                                   |
| Amdocs connectX / BRAND/ON | SaaS box                         | SaaS on AWS; set-up fee plus per subscriber       | Use-case bundles incl. Wholesale MVNE        | Melon Digital, Consumer Cellular, MVNE.pl, Smart KiQ, Saymee     | "under 3 months"                                            |
| Plintron                   | Enabler, MVNA/MVNE               | Public or private cloud, on-prem; OPEX or licence | Light, Full, Reseller, Aggregator            | Lycamobile, BSNL, Eseye, Konic/HMD                               | "days" or "6–8 weeks"                                       |
| Transatel (NTT)            | Enabler, own core                | Hosted MVNE                                       | Reseller, Light, Full, MVNE                  | Ecotalk, Your Co-op and 15 further logos                         | "few weeks" or "1–3 months"                                 |
| Effortel                   | Enabler, MVNE                    | EU cloud, on-prem, hybrid                         | Reseller, Service Provider, Full, MVNE, MVNA | Melita, Tele2, Equitel, Carrefour Mobile, Voo, Telenet, Orange   | "one month"                                                 |
| Comarch                    | Full BSS                         | SaaS or on-prem                                   | Tier-2/3/4, ISP, MVNO                        | Mobile Vikings, 450connect, Turkcell Europe                      | "MVP in a few weeks"                                        |
| Tecnotree                  | Full BSS, multi-tenant MVNE      | Not stated                                        | MNO, MVNA, MVNE, MVNO                        | NUH Digital, Telus, BTEL, PanAfrica Broadband, Tier-1 EMEA MVNE  | Not stated                                                  |
| MDS Global                 | Full BSS as a service            | BSSaaS, pay-as-you-grow                           | Reseller, light, thick, full, MVNE           | iD Mobile, redONE, VADSA, KPN                                    | Not stated                                                  |
| Qvantel (Optiva)           | Full BSS                         | SaaS, managed MVNE                                | Digital brands, MVNO, MVNE                   | Very Mobile, PBS Cellular, Canadian Tier-1 MVNE                  | Not stated                                                  |
| Avante                     | Full BSS, multi-tenant MVNE/MVNA | On-prem, private cloud, managed; OPEX available   | Medium, Full, MVNE, MVNA                     | Brilliantel, VENTAmobile, LANCK Telecom, CIS banking MVNO        | Medium 4–6 months after host and legal readiness; Full 8–10 |

Every time-to-launch figure is the vendor's own claim, and the clocks start at different points. A SaaS platform with an existing host agreement in your country counts from signature. A BSS vendor counts from the moment your host agreement and legal framework are in place, because before that there is nothing to integrate with. The two are not comparable without that adjustment.

## Which type fits which buyer

A SaaS box is the better choice for a consumer-tech brand that wants mobile as a feature inside an existing app, sells standard plans, has no telecom team and does not intend to build one, and operates where the platform already has a host connected. Fintech and travel brands in the US and Western Europe are the pattern on these vendors' reference lists. The trade is speed and low fixed cost against the vendor holding the catalogue, the charging logic and the subscriber records. If that trade is acceptable for the life of the product, this category is hard to beat on time to first customer.

An enabler is the better choice when you want a Light or Medium MVNO without negotiating your own host agreement, in a country where the enabler already operates, and you accept the enabler running the BSS and sitting in the commercial chain. Retailers and communities in Europe have launched this way for years, and an enabler that also acts as MVNA can offer wholesale terms a single brand could not get alone. Settle before signing what a later move to your own BSS would involve.

Your own BSS is the better choice when pricing logic is the product (balance-linked rewards, sponsored billing, loyalty rules on purchase events), when subscriber data has to stay inside your perimeter, when you will host or aggregate other operators, when you run across several markets and hosts, or when you are an existing MVNO migrating off an enabler. It costs more up front and takes longer, and it is the only category in which Medium to Full is an extension of one platform rather than a second launch. The article on [MVNO in a box versus your own BSS](/en/insights/blog/mvno-in-a-box-vs-own-bss) goes through what each option includes line by line.

## Where Avante fits

Avante is in the third category. It supplies and, if wanted, operates the BSS an MVNO, MVNE or MVNA runs on; it does not provide a network, so a host or an enabler is always a partner in the deployment. The suite covers Medium and Full MVNOs on one platform and data model, and it is multi-tenant for MVNE and MVNA operation, with per-tenant catalogues, wholesale rating and settlement. Delivery is on-premises, private cloud or managed service, with an OPEX model available. The planning assumption for a Medium launch is four to six months after host agreement and legal readiness. Avante states 15 live MVNOs and 3 MVNE deployments, with Brilliantel, VENTAmobile and LANCK Telecom among its [published cases](/en/customers). The [platform page](/en/solutions/mvno/platform) lists modules, host interfaces and deployment options.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between an MVNE and an MVNO platform?

An MVNE is a company that hosts MVNOs on its infrastructure: BSS, SIM management, interconnect and operations, usually with its own host agreements and sometimes its own core elements. An MVNO platform is software, delivered as SaaS or installed, that an operator uses to run its own service. An MVNE runs such a platform for many tenants; a Medium or Full MVNO runs one for itself.

### Is MVNO in a box the same as using an MVNE?

They overlap but are not identical. An MVNO-in-a-box vendor provides BSS, API, portal and often the wholesale relationship as one managed service, and may itself be the carrier of record. An MVNE provides a network layer and a platform in specific countries, with the brand as its tenant. In both cases the brand configures within the vendor's tools; the difference is mostly who holds the host agreement and the network elements.

### How long does it take to launch an MVNO on each type of platform?

Vendor claims range from "3 weeks" for SaaS platforms to "1–3 months" for enablers and four to six months for a Medium MVNO on its own BSS. The clocks start in different places: SaaS and enabler figures assume a host already connected in your country, while own-BSS figures count from host agreement and legal readiness. The host agreement is usually the longest single item in any category.

### Can we start on a SaaS platform and move to our own BSS later?

Yes, and operators have done so. Treat it as a migration project from the outset: subscriber base, billing history, SIM and eSIM inventory, number ranges and active plans all have to move, with porting windows and service continuity managed. Ask the SaaS vendor about export formats and exit terms before signing, and ask the BSS vendor how many migrations off enablers it has completed.

### Which MVNO BSS vendors support MVNE multi-tenancy?

Among the vendors above, Tecnotree, Qvantel, MDS Global and Avante describe multi-tenant MVNE platforms, Amdocs offers a Wholesale MVNE bundle, and Plintron, Transatel and Effortel run multi-tenant platforms as part of their own operations. For an MNO wholesale team the test is tenant isolation, per-tenant catalogues, wholesale rating against the host and settlement per tenant, not the phrase "multi-tenant" on a page.

## MVNO in South Africa: hosts, MVNE platforms, RICA and MNP

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-south-africa-launch-guide

Who hosts South Africa's 23 MVNOs, the three enablement routes, what RICA, POPIA and MNP add to the plan, and a realistic launch timeline.

South Africa is the continent's most developed MVNO market: Cell C reported 5.7 million MVNO subscribers in May 2026, up 27 per cent year on year, which TechCabal put at 80 to 85 per cent of the national total. Twenty-three MVNOs operate there on wholesale agreements with hosts. The two decisions that set your timeline are the host and the enablement route; the authorisation you need is a question for the host's wholesale team and local counsel, not for a vendor's blog.

Cell C reported 5.7 million MVNO subscribers on its network in May 2026, up 27 per cent on the previous year, which TechCabal (August 2026) put at roughly 80 to 85 per cent of all MVNO subscribers in South Africa. One host carries most of the market, a second carries most of the rest, and two more have built enablement platforms to compete for the next wave. For a bank, retailer or ICT provider planning a launch, that concentration is the first fact to plan around: the host decision shapes everything from wholesale pricing to how long registration and porting take to certify.

## The market in two tables

TechCentral's census of June 2025 counted 23 MVNOs in South Africa. Cell C hosted 13 of them and MTN 9, and both had turned hosting into a business line rather than a series of bilateral deals. Vodacom launched an MVNE platform in 2024, Huge NXTGN followed in 2025, and Telkom had announced one. A prospective MVNO has more enablement options here than in almost any other African market.

| Host or enabler | MVNE platform                           | MVNOs hosted (TechCentral, June 2025) | Position                                                                                                                                                  |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Cell C          | Own MVNE platform                       | 13                                    | Largest host by MVNO count and by subscribers: 5.7 million MVNO subscribers in May 2026, roughly 80 to 85 per cent of the market (TechCabal, August 2026) |
| MTN             | Own MVNE platform                       | 9                                     | Second host by MVNO count                                                                                                                                 |
| Vodacom         | MVNE platform launched 2024             | Not stated in the census              | New entrant to hosting at the time of the count                                                                                                           |
| Telkom          | Announced                               | Not stated in the census              | Platform announced, not yet counted as a host                                                                                                             |
| Huge NXTGN      | Independent MVNE platform launched 2025 | Not stated in the census              | Enabler rather than network owner; Pick n Pay Mobile relaunched on it in July 2025                                                                        |

The second table sorts the notable brands by segment. The segment tells you a lot about the billing logic each one needed.

| Segment                 | Brands                                                                        | Public data points                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Banking and insurance   | Capitec Connect, FNB Connect, Standard Bank Connect, Old Mutual Connect       | Capitec Connect: net income of R442 million for the year to February 2026, up 129 per cent, with 1.5 million three-month-active subscribers, up 67 per cent (Capitec results; MyBroadband, April 2026). FNB Connect: over one million active subscribers, eSIM at 10 per cent of monthly SIM sales (TechAfrica News, November 2025) |
| Retail                  | Shoprite K'nect, Mr Price Mobile, TFG Connect, Spar Mobile, Pick n Pay Mobile | Pick n Pay Mobile relaunched in July 2025 with an app, instant eSIM, self-RICA and 1MB of data per rand spent through Smart Shopper (TechCentral, July 2025)                                                                                                                                                                        |
| Enterprise, B2B and B2G | Brilliantel                                                                   | Enterprise-focused MVNO with sponsored billing, launched on Avante under an OPEX model                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |

Two observations. Four South African banks and insurers run MVNOs, and the two that publish numbers are profitable and growing, which is unusual for bank-led MVNOs anywhere. And the retail segment's most recent relaunch went to an independent enabler rather than a host. The question in South Africa is no longer whether a non-telecom brand can run mobile, but on which platform.

## Why the model works in South Africa

Omdia (February 2025) expects MVNO subscriptions in the Middle East and Africa to grow at 17.6 per cent a year between 2023 and 2029, the fastest rate of any region, and names South Africa and Nigeria as the drivers. Matthew Reed, Omdia's chief analyst, put it plainly: "Banks, supermarkets, and broadband and TV service providers continue to be key players." South Africa is the market where that sentence describes the actual list of operators.

The bank case is the clearest. Capitec Connect launched in 2022 and reached 1.5 million three-month-active subscribers by early 2026, on a net income line that more than doubled in a year. The bank already holds the customer's identity, payment instrument and app, so registration, top-up and rewards live in a place the customer opens daily. FNB Connect's eSIM share, 10 per cent of monthly SIM sales, says the same customer base is comfortable activating a line without visiting a shop. What a bank's BSS has to do differently is set out on the [banking MVNO page](/en/solutions/mvno/for-banks).

Retailers came for loyalty. Pick n Pay's relaunch tied data to Smart Shopper spend at a fixed rate, which is only possible when the catalogue and the charging engine know about the loyalty balance, and the chains' stores double as distribution and registration points. What a retail MVNO needs from its platform is on the [retail MVNO page](/en/solutions/mvno/for-retail). Enterprise is the newest segment and the one least served by standard enablement: an ICT provider adding mobile to hold the account needs sponsored usage, limits by employee and group, allocated cost centres and postpaid adjustments, the scenarios covered on the [enterprise MVNO page](/en/solutions/mvno/for-enterprise).

## Choosing a host and an enablement route

There are three ways to put a South African MVNO on air, and they differ in who owns the customer data, the catalogue and the charging logic. The host decision and the enablement decision are linked but not identical, and it pays to separate them.

The first route is the host's own MVNE platform. Cell C and MTN each run one, Vodacom launched one in 2024 and Telkom has announced one. You sign a wholesale agreement and take the host's stack for SIM management, rating, billing and often the customer app. It is the shortest path to market and the right answer for a brand whose proposition is a competitively priced SIM with a few bundles. The cost is that the catalogue, subscriber records and pricing logic sit in the host's systems, and a host change later is a migration on the scale of the original launch.

The second route is an independent MVNE. Huge NXTGN launched its platform in 2025 and Pick n Pay Mobile relaunched on it the same year. An independent enabler holds the wholesale relationship with a host and runs the BSS for several brands. You get a faster launch than building your own and usually more product flexibility than a host's shelf, since the enabler competes on that flexibility. You still do not own the platform, and the enabler's roadmap sets the limit on what your pricing can do.

The third route is your own BSS on a host, which the site calls a Medium MVNO. You sign the wholesale agreement directly with a host, run your own product catalogue, online charging, billing and CRM, and connect through provisioning, charging and mediation interfaces. It takes longer (four to six months after the host agreement and legal framework are in place, on Avante's planning assumptions) and it puts the platform on your balance sheet or your OPEX line. In exchange the customer data, the loyalty logic and the pricing engine are yours, and a second host is another set of interfaces rather than a migration.

A view, since the South African evidence supports one. If your proposition is a branded SIM, take a host MVNE platform and spend the saved months on distribution. If pricing logic is the product, as it is for a bank paying data for card spend or an ICT provider running sponsored billing, own the BSS. The independent enabler sits between the two and suits a retailer that wants loyalty-linked data without a telecom IT team. Brilliantel chose its own BSS because the B2B and B2G scenarios it sells are not on any enabler's shelf. The rule generalises: if you can describe your tariff in one sentence, rent the platform; if you cannot, own it.

Whichever route you choose, the host questions are the same. Ask what interface documents exist, whether eSIM provisioning is included from day one, who is the porting party of record and how the RICA registration hand-off works between your front end and the host's activation. The full pre-signature list is in [the launch guide](/en/insights/blog/how-to-launch-an-mvno).

## Do you need an MVNO licence in South Africa?

The honest answer from a BSS vendor is that the licensing category and its conditions are questions for local counsel and the regulator, not for a vendor's blog. The sources this article draws on do not set out a South African MVNO licence regime, and inventing one would do you no favours. What they do show is that 23 MVNOs operate on wholesale agreements with hosts, and that the hosts, having built enablement platforms, know exactly what authorisation they require from a tenant before they sign. Make that the first question to the host's wholesale team and the first item on counsel's list, inside the host and legal stage rather than as a formality afterwards.

## Regulatory checklist

Regulation in South Africa does not change the stages of a launch, but it lengthens two of them and adds integrations that are not optional. Four items belong on every plan.

- RICA registration before activation. The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act requires the subscriber's full name, identity number, address and MSISDN to be captured before a SIM is activated, and an eSIM is treated as a SIM for these purposes (De Rebus, September 2025). For a digital-only proposition this means a self-RICA flow in your app, as Pick n Pay Mobile ships, with the captured record passed to whoever activates the line. Decide in the host agreement who stores the record, who answers a regulator's request for it, and how a failed registration is handled.
- POPIA as a design principle. The Protection of Personal Information Act governs how you handle the identity and usage data an MVNO necessarily collects. This article does not set out its provisions; that is counsel's work. What a launch plan should fix is where subscriber data resides, who is responsible for it under the host agreement, what the enabler or host may do with it, and how your consent and retention rules are implemented in the BSS. On a host MVNE platform most of that data sits with the host. On your own BSS it sits with you, which is both the point and the obligation.
- Number portability from day one. South Africa's number portability regulations came into effect on 7 March 2022 (Bowmans). A launch without port-in turns away every customer who wants to keep a number, and in a market with 23 MVNOs many prospects already have one. MNP certification runs on the porting scheme's calendar, not yours, and a failed first attempt puts you back in the queue. Start the certification enquiry before the platform contract is signed.
- Lawful interception hand-off. Under RICA the network has interception obligations, and an MVNO on a host network has to establish in writing what the host does, what the MVNO must provide and how requests are routed. On a host MVNE platform this is largely the host's problem. On your own BSS it becomes a responsibility question between you, the host and your BSS vendor: which system holds the subscriber identity, which produces the records, and who answers the request. Settle it in the technical annex.

None of this is unusual by African standards; Nigeria's NIN-SIM linkage and Kenya's 2025 SIM registration regulations impose comparable identity checks. What distinguishes South Africa is that self-registration in an app and instant eSIM are already normal customer expectations, so the registration flow is a product feature as much as a compliance step.

## A realistic timeline

Avante plans a Medium MVNO at four to six months from the point the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed, and a Full MVNO at eight to ten. Platform readiness for a standard mono-MVNO is about three months. In South Africa the stages run as follows.

1. Discovery, two to three weeks. Fix the model, the launch segments and the opening offers, and name every integration. In South Africa the list always includes RICA registration, MNP and eSIM provisioning, and for a bank or retailer the loyalty or core-banking interface that makes the proposition work.

2. Host agreement and legal framework, the critical path. Wholesale terms with the host; interface specifications attached as a technical annex; numbering; SIM and eSIM supply; the licensing question resolved with counsel; the RICA and interception responsibilities written down. No vendor can date this stage for you. Four hosts with enablement platforms help, because each has done the paperwork before, but the host's commercial appetite still sets the pace.

3. BSS platform, four to eight weeks. Deployment in your perimeter, a private cloud or as a managed service; catalogue and charging configuration for the opening offers; a working test environment. Brilliantel secured its hardware platform up front, which kept infrastructure readiness off the critical path.

4. Integrations, six to twelve weeks, partly in parallel with stage 3. Host provisioning, charging and mediation interfaces; the RICA flow and record hand-off; MNP certification; payment gateway; eSIM profile provisioning; your app, CRM and loyalty or banking platform. MNP certification and the host interface are the two long-lead items, and both should start before the platform contract.

5. Launch, two to four weeks. Pilot with a limited group, then friends and family, then commercial start, with hypercare through the first weeks. Test self-RICA and eSIM activation with real customers in the pilot, not only with test identities.

A host MVNE route compresses stages 3 and 4 because the platform already exists and can be materially faster. A Full MVNO adds workstreams for its own core elements and plans at eight to ten months. One calibration point from a comparable project: a leading banking MVNO in the CIS was delivered on Avante in six months to the bank's security and integration requirements. The stage plan and an interactive timeline builder are on the [launch page](/en/solutions/mvno/launch).

## Where Avante fits

Avante is a BSS vendor, not an enabler. It supplies the platform an MVNO runs on the third route above, own BSS on a host: product catalogue, online charging (Avante OCS), convergent billing, CRM, self-care, mediation and provisioning, plus the RICA, MNP, payment and eSIM integrations, delivered on-premises, in a private cloud or as a managed service. In South Africa, Brilliantel, an ICT provider serving enterprise customers, selected Avante for an MVNO centred on B2B and B2G, with sponsored billing (the employer covers an agreed part of an employee's usage and the rest is billed to the individual), hardware secured up front and an OPEX-based delivery model to reduce upfront capital. Those are commercial models beyond standard MVNE setups, which is why Brilliantel chose its own BSS. The scenario library and the delivery model are on the [enterprise MVNO page](/en/solutions/mvno/for-enterprise).

## Frequently asked questions

### How many MVNOs are there in South Africa and who hosts them?

TechCentral counted 23 MVNOs in June 2025, with Cell C hosting 13 and MTN 9. Vodacom launched an MVNE platform in 2024, Huge NXTGN an independent one in 2025, and Telkom had announced a platform. By subscribers the market is more concentrated still: Cell C reported 5.7 million MVNO subscribers in May 2026, which TechCabal estimated at 80 to 85 per cent of the total.

### How do you start an MVNO in South Africa?

Choose the model first: a host's MVNE platform, an independent enabler such as Huge NXTGN, or your own BSS on a host. Then run the host and legal track, which covers the wholesale agreement, the licensing question with counsel, numbering, SIM supply and the RICA and interception responsibilities. Only then does the platform work start. On your own BSS, plan four to six months from a signed host agreement to commercial launch.

### What does RICA require before a SIM is activated?

The subscriber's full name, identity number, address and MSISDN must be captured before activation, and an eSIM counts as a SIM (De Rebus, September 2025). A digital-only MVNO therefore needs a self-RICA flow in its app, as Pick n Pay Mobile launched in July 2025, and an agreed hand-off of the record to the party that activates the line and answers regulator requests.

### Is number portability mandatory for a new MVNO?

The regulations have been in effect since 7 March 2022 (Bowmans), and in a market with 23 MVNOs a launch without port-in loses every customer who wants to keep a number. Treat MNP certification as a day-one integration, start the certification enquiry before the platform contract, and confirm in the host agreement who is the porting party of record and how porting costs are shared.

### Can a South African MVNO switch host later?

Yes, if the subscriber records, catalogue, SIM inventory and numbering sit on your own BSS. On a host MVNE platform those assets belong to the host, and moving means a migration comparable to the original launch. On your own BSS, a second host, whether Cell C, MTN, Vodacom or Telkom, is another set of provisioning and charging interfaces on the platform you already operate.

## Nigeria MVNO licence: the five NCC tiers and what Tier 3–5 needs

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-licensing-nigeria-ncc-tiers

The NCC's five MVNO tiers, sourced fees for Tiers 4 and 5, why few of Nigeria's 40-plus licensees have launched, and what a Tier 3–5 operator needs in place.

The NCC licenses MVNOs in Nigeria across five tiers, from Tier 1 resale under the host's brand to Tier 5 with the operator's own core network elements. Between 43 and 46 companies hold a licence, yet by November 2025 only one or two were carrying live traffic, Vitel Wireless being the name that recurs. The gap is not regulatory: a licence produces neither a host agreement, nor a platform, nor a porting connection.

Between 43 and 46 companies hold an MVNO licence in Nigeria, depending on whose count you use, and by November 2025 only one or two of them were carrying live traffic, with Vitel Wireless the name that comes up most often (Nairametrics and BusinessDay, November 2025). That is an unusual ratio. Ghana issued two full MVNO licences in 2015 and neither launched, so a gap between licence and launch is not new in West Africa, but forty-odd dormant licences in the region's largest mobile market deserve a closer look. Part of the answer sits in the licence framework itself, which sorts operators into five tiers with very different obligations. Most of the rest sits in what has to happen after the licence is granted.

## Why Nigeria built a five-tier ladder

Most regulators treat an MVNO as a single category and leave the depth of the operation to the commercial agreement with the host. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) took a different route. Its framework, as summarised by the International Bar Association in June 2022, defines five tiers, each with its own fee and scope, all with a ten-year licence tenure. The tiers run from a pure reseller that owns no infrastructure up to an operator that owns most of the service layer, with a separate category for enablers and aggregators.

The logic will be familiar if you have read our [operating-models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models): the further up the ladder you go, the more of the catalogue, charging, billing, subscriber data, numbering and interconnect you own, and the less you depend on the host. The NCC wrote that ladder into the licence regime and attached a price to each rung. A Tier 4 "Virtual Aggregator/Enabler" licence costs NGN 150 million and a Tier 5 "Unified Virtual Operator" licence NGN 250 million, per the IBA summary. We have not been able to source the fees for Tiers 1 to 3 from a primary document, so the table leaves them open. Check the current schedule with the NCC before you build a budget, and re-check the Tier 4 and 5 figures too, since the summary we rely on dates from 2022.

## The five tiers side by side

| Tier   | What the operator owns or does                                                                                                                             | Fee (where sourced)              | Who it suits                                                                                            |
| ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Tier 1 | Resells the host's service under its own brand. No infrastructure, no own BSS; catalogue, charging and billing belong to the host or an enabler            | Check with the NCC               | Brands testing demand: retailers, media, communities                                                    |
| Tier 2 | Reseller with some customer-facing systems of its own, while charging and network functions stay with the host or enabler                                  | Check with the NCC               | Brands that want their own care and channels without a billing platform                                 |
| Tier 3 | Runs its own service layer: catalogue, online charging, billing, CRM, self-care, integrated with the host's network. Comparable to a Medium (own BSS) MVNO | Check with the NCC               | Banks, fintechs and retailers whose pricing logic or customer data is the proposition                   |
| Tier 4 | Virtual Aggregator/Enabler: a multi-tenant platform and, for aggregators, a bulk wholesale agreement serving other MVNOs                                   | NGN 150 million (IBA, June 2022) | Enablers, aggregators, ISPs or MNO affiliates hosting several brands                                    |
| Tier 5 | Unified Virtual Operator: the widest scope, closest to a Full MVNO, with own core elements, numbering and interconnect on top of own BSS                   | NGN 250 million (IBA, June 2022) | Operators wanting independence from a single host, multi-host operation or their own wholesale business |

Two caveats. The descriptions of Tiers 1 to 3 follow the framework's logic rather than quoting licence text, and the mapping to Light, Medium and Full is ours, not the NCC's. Read the licence conditions for your tier before you sign anything with a host. The fee is also the smallest part of the cost of moving up a tier; the obligations are what change, and they change in kind rather than in degree.

## Why so few licensees have launched

Nobody has published a definitive account of the forty-odd dormant licences, so what follows is analysis rather than reported fact. Four explanations recur.

The first is the host wholesale agreement. A licence gives you the right to operate; it does not give you capacity. Every MVNO still needs a commercial agreement with a mobile network operator, and the host decides whether, when and at what price. An MNO with a large prepaid base has limited incentive to wholesale to a brand that will compete for the same customers, and a licensee with no subscribers and no platform is a weak counterparty. Our reading is that many licensees applied first and looked for a host second, then found the second step harder. South Africa is the useful contrast: 23 MVNOs, 13 of them on Cell C, which runs an open enablement platform (TechCentral, June 2025). We are not aware of a Nigerian host offering anything comparable; if one appears, expect the launch count to move. The [South Africa guide](/en/insights/blog/mvno-south-africa-launch-guide) covers that market.

The second is capital. The licence fee is a one-off; the operating model is not. A Tier 3 or Tier 5 operator needs a BSS, integration engineering, SIM or eSIM inventory, distribution and a working-capital buffer for the wholesale bill, which falls due whether or not subscribers pay theirs. Market estimates from MVNO Index and Spenza put a light MVNO at roughly USD 100,000 to 400,000 and a full one at USD 2 million to 10 million or more; those are figures for other markets, and the Nigerian number depends on the host deal. An applicant who budgeted for the licence and underestimated the rest stalls once the licence arrives.

The third is the identity obligation. Nigeria's NIN-SIM linkage exercise had reached 153 million linked SIMs and 96 percent compliance by August 2024 (BusinessDay). A new operator inherits that regime from day one: every activation needs a verified National Identification Number, and the process has to run at retail speed through agents, apps and dealers. For a bank or a fintech this is familiar. For a brand with no KYC infrastructure it is a project in its own right, and it sits on the critical path.

The fourth is platform readiness, which is the part we see most directly. A licence is not a product. Turning it into one takes a catalogue, a charging engine, billing, provisioning into the host, mediation, care tooling and regulatory reporting, and the host will not open its interfaces until the platform on the other side is ready to test. Hosts want to see a credible platform partner; platform vendors want a host interface specification to integrate against. Licensees who deferred the platform decision until after the host agreement found the two are interdependent. Running them in parallel is the way through, and it is how our [stage-by-stage launch guide](/en/insights/blog/how-to-launch-an-mvno) sequences them.

None of this has dampened interest. Omdia (February 2025) expects MVNO subscriptions in the Middle East and Africa to grow at a 17.6 percent compound annual rate between 2023 and 2029, driven by South Africa and Nigeria. The demand case is not in doubt. The execution case is.

## What a Tier 3–5 operator needs

From Tier 3 upwards the operator owns the service layer, and four requirements dominate.

Own BSS. At Tier 3 the product catalogue, online charging, convergent billing, CRM and self-care are yours to run, and the host connects to them through provisioning, charging and mediation interfaces. This is where the commercial logic lives: real-time pricing, bundles tied to a bank balance or a loyalty account, family and B2B limits, sponsored billing. It is also where the subscriber data lives, which is why most banks and retailers choose this tier rather than resell. Our [platform page](/en/solutions/mvno/platform) lists the modules and host interfaces involved.

KYC integrated with NIN verification. The NIN check cannot be a manual step or a nightly batch. It has to sit inside the activation flow, with the result stored against the subscriber record, the SIM inventory updated and activation blocked until the check passes. Agents, the app and any dealer portal must use the same flow, and the audit trail has to survive a regulator's inspection. If the BSS cannot hold the KYC record per subscriber and expose it for reporting, you will end up building that around it.

Interconnect and numbering, for Tier 5. A Unified Virtual Operator carries its own numbering ranges and its own interconnect relationships. That means interconnect billing, settlement with each partner, number management including porting, and in most cases roaming clearing. These are separate functions from retail billing and separate again from host wholesale settlement. A Tier 3 operator can defer them. A Tier 5 operator cannot.

Multi-host readiness. The scarcity of willing hosts is exactly why an operator should not be structurally tied to one. If the platform is built around a single host's interfaces, a second host means a second integration project and, at worst, a second subscriber base. A BSS that models the host as one wholesale counterparty among several, with provisioning and charging adapters per host under a single catalogue, lets a Tier 5 operator add or change hosts without re-platforming. It also improves your negotiating position with the first host, which is not a small thing in this market.

## Sequencing licence, host and platform

The three workstreams have different owners and different clocks, and treating them as a sequence is what stretches launches to two years. The licence is an application to the NCC. The host agreement is a negotiation whose length you do not control. The platform is an engineering project whose length you do. Our planning assumptions from delivered projects: platform readiness in about three months for a standard single-MVNO deployment, a Medium launch (Tier 3 in this mapping) four to six months after host and legal readiness, and a Full launch (Tier 5) in eight to ten months, with host and legal work on the critical path throughout. The practical implication is to open host conversations with a platform partner named and a technical annex in hand, and to run NIN integration as its own track inside the integrations stage. Licensees who have done this have something to show a host. Those who have not have a certificate.

## Regulatory checklist

Work through the following with counsel and with the NCC directly before committing capital. The numbering and interconnect items apply to Tier 5.

- Confirm which tier matches the operation you intend to run in year three, not year one, and ask the NCC how a move between tiers is handled.
- Obtain the current fee schedule and licence conditions for your tier from the NCC; the fees quoted here come from a 2022 summary.
- Plan the business case and the host agreement term against the ten-year licence tenure.
- Design NIN verification into the activation flow for every channel, with a KYC record held per subscriber and available for reporting and inspection.
- Confirm with counsel where subscriber and KYC records may be stored, and whether an in-country deployment is required or merely prudent.
- Agree lawful-interception hand-off points and statutory reporting responsibilities with the host, in writing, and map them to the BSS.
- For Tier 5, apply for numbering resources and confirm porting obligations; for Tier 3, confirm whether numbers are yours or the host's under the wholesale agreement.
- For Tier 5, plan interconnect agreements and settlement with each partner as a workstream separate from the host contract.
- Check that the scope of the host agreement matches the scope of the licence: what the host provides should not overlap with what you are licensed to own.
- Ask the NCC which periodic reports your tier files, and confirm the BSS can produce them without manual assembly.

## Where Avante fits

Avante supplies the BSS a Tier 3 or Tier 5 operator runs: product catalogue, Avante OCS, convergent billing, CRM, self-care, provisioning and mediation to the host, MNP, KYC integration and regulatory reporting, with interconnect billing added for a Tier 5 scope. For a Tier 4 enabler or aggregator the same stack runs multi-tenant, with per-tenant catalogues, wholesale rating and settlement; see the [MVNE and MVNA platform page](/en/solutions/mvne). Deployment is on-premises or in a private cloud when subscriber and KYC records must stay in-country, or as a managed service where no in-house BSS team exists. Avante does not run a network or hold a licence; the host agreement and the NCC relationship are yours. The multi-market reference is LANCK Telecom, where one Avante BSS supports MVNO launches, charging and billing, and interconnect management across several European and African markets.

## Frequently asked questions

### What are the NCC MVNO tiers?

The Nigerian Communications Commission licenses MVNOs in five tiers, per the International Bar Association's June 2022 summary. They run from a pure reseller with no infrastructure (Tier 1) through operators that own progressively more of the service layer, to Tier 4 "Virtual Aggregator/Enabler" for platforms hosting other MVNOs and Tier 5 "Unified Virtual Operator" for the fullest scope. All carry a ten-year tenure.

### How much does an MVNO licence cost in Nigeria?

The only fees we can source are Tier 4 at NGN 150 million and Tier 5 at NGN 250 million, from the IBA's 2022 summary of the NCC framework. Fees for Tiers 1 to 3 should be confirmed directly with the NCC, and the Tier 4 and 5 figures re-checked, since schedules are revised. The licence is in any case a small share of total launch cost.

### Why have so few Nigerian MVNO licensees launched?

Of 43 to 46 licensees, one or two were active by November 2025 (Nairametrics, BusinessDay). No definitive study exists. Our analysis points to four causes: hosts reluctant to wholesale to unproven brands, capital budgeted for the licence but not the operation, the NIN-SIM verification obligation, and platforms not ready when host talks began. The demand case is intact; Omdia expects Nigeria to drive MEA MVNO growth to 2029.

### Do I need my own BSS for a Tier 3 licence?

In the framework's logic, yes. Tier 3 is the point at which the operator runs its own service layer: catalogue, online charging, billing, CRM and self-care, integrated with the host's network. That is what separates it from the reseller tiers below, and it is why banks and retailers whose proposition depends on pricing logic or customer data tend to land there. Read the licence conditions to confirm the exact scope.

### Can a Nigerian MVNO work with more than one host?

Nothing in the framework as summarised prevents it, and for a Tier 5 operator it is one of the main reasons to take on the wider scope. The constraint is technical and commercial: each host is a separate wholesale agreement and a separate set of provisioning and charging interfaces. A BSS that treats hosts as interchangeable counterparties under one catalogue makes a second host an integration project rather than a re-platforming.

### How long does launch take once the licence is granted?

The licence is not the long pole. On Avante's planning assumptions, a Tier 3 operator with its own BSS is live four to six months after the host agreement and legal readiness are confirmed, and a Tier 5 operator in eight to ten months. The host negotiation is the part you do not control, so start it with a platform partner and technical annex already in hand.

## The MVNO business model: how MVNOs make money

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-business-model

Where MVNO revenue comes from, what eats the margin, seven business-model archetypes with examples, and why the operating model changes the P&L.

An MVNO earns on the spread between wholesale capacity and retail bundles, then widens it with add-ons, device and content bundles, and the value the parent business gets back. Airtime margin on its own rarely covers acquisition and care. Capitec Connect reported net income of R442 million for its 2026 financial year on about 1.5 million active subscribers, and Tesco Mobile ended 2024 with 5.7 million customers and £1.11 billion in revenue. Neither owns a tower or spectrum.

Capitec Connect, the mobile arm of a South African bank, reported net income of R442 million for its 2026 financial year, up 129 per cent, on about 1.5 million three-month active subscribers. Tesco Mobile in the UK ended 2024 with 5.7 million customers and revenue of £1.11 billion. Neither owns a tower or a spectrum licence. Both buy capacity from a host operator, sell it under their own brand and keep the difference, plus whatever the mobile line does for the rest of the business. That is the MVNO business model in one sentence. The two companies make their money in different places, though, and that difference is what a business plan has to get right.

## The market an MVNO business plan sits in

The category is large and still growing. Juniper Research estimates 333 million MVNO subscribers globally in 2026, rising to 438 million by 2030, with subscriber revenue climbing from $47 billion to more than $54 billion over the same period. GSMA Intelligence counted 2,138 MVNOs worldwide in August 2025, of which 265 were sub-brands of network operators and 96 were Full MVNOs with their own core elements. The great majority run on a host's or an enabler's infrastructure with their own brand and commercial logic on top.

Who is entering tells you where the money is. Omdia's Matthew Reed put it plainly in February 2025: "Banks, supermarkets, and broadband and TV service providers continue to be key players." In Mexico, regulator data reported by TeleSemana in August 2025 gave MVNOs 15.9 per cent of the mobile market, ahead of Movistar, with Walmart's Bait alone at around 20 million lines. Mature markets show the same pattern at a slower pace: CCS Insight, cited by TM Forum in September 2025, put MVNOs at 19.7 per cent of UK connections at the end of 2024, up from 14.9 per cent in 2021, with MVNO customer numbers growing 9.8 per cent in a year when the whole market grew 0.7 per cent. The lesson is not that MVNOs win on price. Organisations with an existing customer base and a reason to talk to it every month are taking share from operators that have neither.

## MVNO revenue streams

The airtime margin is the base layer. An MVNO buys minutes, messages and gigabytes wholesale, or a per-subscriber allowance, and sells bundles at retail. The spread is gross margin, and it is thin for a plain bundle because the customer can compare it with the host's own price in thirty seconds. Every other revenue stream exists because airtime margin alone rarely pays for acquisition and care.

Bundles and add-ons widen the spread. Data boosters, international calling packs, content inclusions, device instalments and insurance carry higher margin than the base plan, and a well-designed catalogue moves customers up a tier without a price war. Roaming and travel connectivity have become a category of their own: Juniper Research put travel eSIM revenue at $1.8 billion in 2025, up 85 per cent in a year, and Airalo reported passing 30 million users in June 2026. For a conventional MVNO, sponsored roaming and multi-IMSI make it possible to sell travel bundles at a margin instead of passing through the host's rates.

B2B and M2M lines pay differently. A corporate account brings many lines under one contract, lower churn, and billing features the consumer market does not need: cost centres, limits by employee, pooled allowances for devices. Sponsored billing, where a company covers an agreed share of an employee's usage and the individual pays the rest, is a revenue model in itself, because the employer becomes a payer with a budget rather than a channel. Brilliantel in South Africa runs this model for B2B and B2G customers. On the machine side, Kaleido Intelligence counted 290 million IoT connections managed by MVNOs in 2025 and expects 600 million by 2031: low ARPU per SIM, long lifetimes, almost no care cost.

Partner and loyalty economics are where banks and retailers earn most of their return, often not on the telecom P&L at all. A data reward for card spend, a plan included in a premium account tier, or a gigabyte for a receipt scanned in the app costs the sponsor the wholesale price of the data and buys retention, transaction volume and a daily reason to open the app. Nubank's NuCel reached one million customers in Brazil by June 2026. Rakuten's mobile arm passed ten million subscribers in five years and eight months from its April 2020 launch, inside a group that sells everything from books to insurance. In these models the mobile line can run at a modest margin and still be one of the group's best-performing products.

Wholesale itself is the revenue stream for MVNEs and MVNAs. An enabler charges tenants a set-up fee plus a per-subscriber or per-transaction platform fee. An aggregator buys capacity in bulk under one host agreement and re-wholesales it to smaller brands at tiered rates, keeping the spread. Both need multi-tenant billing and per-tenant settlement; the roles are set out in [MVNO vs MVNE vs MVNA](/en/insights/blog/mvno-vs-mvne-vs-mvna).

## The cost side: what eats the margin

Wholesale rates are the largest line once the base passes a few tens of thousands of subscribers, and they are set by negotiation, volume commitments and how much the host wants your segment. A per-gigabyte rate with a minimum commitment exposes you to under-use; a per-subscriber allowance exposes you to heavy users. The wholesale model you sign decides which retail plans you can sell profitably, so the person who will design the catalogue belongs in the room before the term sheet is agreed.

The BSS is the second line, and its shape depends on the operating model: a per-subscriber fee inside the enabler's price, or a licence or subscription plus implementation and a small operations team on your own platform. The breakdown by model is in [What it costs to launch an MVNO](/en/insights/blog/mvno-launch-cost-structure).

Acquisition cost is what kills most consumer MVNOs that fail. A greenfield brand pays for every customer through advertising and channel commissions, then waits months to recover it from a thin airtime margin. A bank or retailer with an app that customers already open, and a loyalty programme that already has a budget, acquires for a fraction of that. This is the structural reason the entrants named by Omdia are the ones that last.

Care and collections are the fourth line and the easiest to underestimate. Every failed port, unexplained charge or disputed roaming bill becomes a contact, and contacts cost money. Prepaid and app-first models reduce collections risk and contact volume; postpaid B2B increases both but is paid for by higher ARPU and lower churn.

## Seven MVNO business-model archetypes

Most MVNOs fit one of the archetypes below, and each has a different primary money-maker. Deciding which one you are is the first line of the business plan.

| Archetype                      | Example                                                                                  | Primary money-maker                                                                                 | What the billing has to do                                                           |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Flanker / sub-brand of an MNO  | giffgaff (Virgin Media O2, online-only since 2009); 265 sub-brands per GSMA Intelligence | Segment defence: keep price-sensitive customers on the parent's network at lower cost to serve      | Low-touch self-service, simple plan ladder, cheap care                               |
| Retail loyalty MVNO            | Tesco Mobile (5.7M customers, £1.11bn revenue); Walmart's Bait in Mexico (~20M lines)    | Airtime margin at scale plus basket uplift and loyalty retention                                    | Receipt or loyalty events converted into data or credit under capped rules           |
| Bank / fintech MVNO            | Capitec Connect (R442m net income FY2026); Nubank's NuCel (1M customers)                 | Retention and engagement in the core business, lower SMS cost, a profitable telecom line as a bonus | Balance-based and account-linked rewards, real-time integration with the banking app |
| Enterprise / ICT provider MVNO | Brilliantel (South Africa, B2B and B2G)                                                  | Converged contracts, sponsored billing, lower churn than consumer                                   | Cost centres, employee limits, sponsored splits, postpaid with adjustments           |
| IoT / M2M MVNO                 | A segment of 290M connections in 2025 (Kaleido Intelligence)                             | Volume of low-ARPU SIMs with very long lifetimes                                                    | Pooled allowances, lifecycle states, multi-IMSI, threshold-based spend controls      |
| Travel eSIM brand              | Airalo (30M users)                                                                       | Margin on short-term data plans sold to travellers, no legacy base to protect                       | Instant eSIM issuance, multi-country rating, app-only payments                       |
| MVNE / MVNA                    | Enablers and aggregators hosting the brands above                                        | Platform fees per tenant, or the wholesale spread on re-sold capacity                               | Multi-tenant catalogues and charging, per-tenant settlement, tiered wholesale rating |

Two observations. Only the flanker and the travel eSIM brand make most of their money on the telecom P&L alone; the others earn a large share of the return somewhere else, and the plan has to measure it there. And the right-hand column is what separates archetypes in practice. A retailer and a bank can buy the same wholesale capacity from the same host; what makes them different businesses is the rules that turn a purchase or a balance into a mobile benefit, and where those rules live.

## Why the operating model changes the P&L

The same archetype can run as a Light MVNO on an enabler or as a Medium MVNO with its own BSS, and the two produce different profit and loss statements. The ownership split is on [the operating models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models); this is what it does to the numbers.

Light on an enabler converts fixed cost into a per-subscriber fee. Nothing is cheaper at 20,000 subscribers, and for a standard bundle under a known brand it can stay the cheaper option indefinitely. The limit is the enabler's shelf: the plans, rewards and integrations it offers are the ones you can sell, and a change to pricing logic waits for its roadmap. If the money-maker is airtime margin plus brand, that is an acceptable trade.

Own BSS turns the fee into a platform you pay for once and a team you pay for continuously, and gives you the catalogue, the charging engine and the subscriber data. That matters when the money-maker is a rule rather than a bundle: a gigabyte for on-time repayment, a plan inside a paid loyalty tier, a sponsored split by employee. Those rules are configuration in your own product catalogue and a real-time decision in your own charging engine. On an enabler they are a feature request. Direct wholesale terms with the host also lower unit cost as volumes grow, and that margin lands with you.

Light on an enabler is right for most consumer brands in year one. Own BSS pays off when pricing logic is the product, or when subscriber data has to sit inside your own systems for regulatory or strategic reasons. The break-even between the two depends on ARPU, wholesale rates and churn, and there is no universal number; the mechanics are worked through in [MVNO unit economics and billing architecture](/en/insights/blog/mvno-unit-economics-billing-architecture).

## What a credible MVNO business plan contains

A plan that survives contact with a host operator and a board has six parts: the archetype in one sentence and the money-maker it implies; the wholesale model you will ask for and the retail plans it supports at margin; acquisition cost by channel, with existing-base channels separated from paid ones; care and collections cost per subscriber by payment model; the operating model with its fixed and variable cost, and the trigger that would move you from Light to own BSS; and the non-telecom return, measured where it occurs. What you cannot know before launch is churn and heavy-user behaviour on your own base. The plan should say so and carry a range rather than a point.

## Where Avante fits

Avante supplies the BSS an MVNO, MVNE or MVNA runs in the Medium and Full models: product catalogue, online charging, convergent billing, CRM, mediation, provisioning and partner management. It does not run a network or resell airtime. The lever it gives a business model is billing and charging logic: balance-based and account-linked rewards for banks, sponsored billing with cost centres and employee limits for enterprise providers, loyalty-linked data and receipt-to-reward rules for retailers, and multi-tenant settlement for enablers. Delivery is on-premises, in private cloud or as a managed service, with an OPEX-based option and year one as a managed service where no BSS team exists. Sector detail is on the pages [for banks](/en/solutions/mvno/for-banks) and [for retail](/en/solutions/mvno/for-retail).

## Frequently asked questions

### How does an MVNO make money?

By buying capacity wholesale from a host operator and selling it at retail under its own brand, then adding higher-margin add-ons, roaming, B2B contracts and partner or loyalty economics on top. For banks and retailers, a large share of the return is retention and engagement in the core business rather than telecom margin. MVNEs and MVNAs earn platform fees and the wholesale spread instead.

### Is an MVNO profitable?

It can be. Capitec Connect reported R442 million in net income for its 2026 financial year, up 129 per cent, and Tesco Mobile reported £1.11 billion in revenue for 2024. Profitability depends on acquisition cost more than on wholesale rates: organisations with an existing base and an app acquire cheaply, greenfield consumer brands do not. Juniper Research expects global MVNO subscriber revenue to exceed $54 billion by 2030.

### How much do MVNOs pay the host operator?

Wholesale rates are negotiated and confidential, so no reliable public figure exists. The structure matters as much as the rate: a per-gigabyte price with a minimum commitment, a per-subscriber allowance and a revenue share behave differently as the base grows. Once past a few tens of thousands of subscribers, wholesale is usually the largest cost line.

### Does owning the BSS change how much an MVNO earns?

It changes where the margin can come from. On an enabler, revenue is limited to the plans and rewards on the enabler's shelf, and the platform cost is a per-subscriber fee. With an own BSS, pricing rules such as balance-based rewards, sponsored billing or loyalty-linked data become configuration, and direct wholesale terms lower unit cost as volumes rise. Neither is cheaper in every case; it depends on whether pricing logic is the product.

## Multi-IMSI explained: what it is and when an MVNO needs it

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/multi-imsi-explained

How a multi-IMSI SIM works, how it differs from sponsored roaming and eSIM profiles, which MVNOs need it, and what it does to rating and settlement.

Multi-IMSI puts more than one subscriber identity on a single SIM, so the same device attaches as a local subscriber on several networks instead of roaming on one. The IMSI is the number of up to 15 digits that identifies a subscription inside the network; the phone number (MSISDN) is a separate thing mapped to it in the home operator's HLR or HSS. It earns its keep when a large share of traffic sits permanently outside the home network, cross-border IoT above all.

A logistics company puts tracking units on 4,000 trailers that cross from Spain into Morocco and back every week. On a normal SIM from a Spanish host, each unit is a roamer for half its life, paying whatever the host's agreement with the Moroccan operator says, and the MVNO that sold the contract has no say in that rate. Put a second IMSI on the same SIM, one belonging to an operator with a good wholesale deal in Morocco, and the unit stops being a roamer the moment it crosses the border. That is the whole idea behind multi-IMSI. What follows is what it involves technically, how it differs from three things it is often confused with, and what it does to the billing system that has to make sense of the result.

## What an IMSI is, and why one is sometimes not enough

The International Mobile Subscriber Identity is the number that identifies a subscription inside the mobile network. It is up to 15 digits: a three-digit mobile country code, a two- or three-digit mobile network code, and a subscriber number assigned by the operator. It lives on the SIM with the authentication key (Ki), and it is what the SIM presents when the device attaches to a network. The phone number (MSISDN) is a separate thing, mapped to the IMSI in the home operator's HLR or HSS.

The country and network codes are what make roaming work, and what make it expensive. A visited network reads them, works out which home operator the subscriber belongs to, and sends the authentication request there. Whether the device is allowed on, and at what wholesale rate, is decided by the roaming agreement between the visited network and that home operator. One IMSI means one home operator and one set of roaming agreements, whatever the brand on the SIM says.

For an MVNO that means the host's roaming footprint and inter-operator tariffs are inherited wholesale. A Light MVNO usually gets a subset of them, at a mark-up, often with destinations blocked. Fine for a domestic consumer brand. A problem for anyone whose subscribers or devices spend a large share of their time outside the host's country.

## How a multi-IMSI SIM works

A multi-IMSI SIM carries several IMSI and key pairs from several home operators, plus a small applet that decides which one to present. The applet reads the country code of the network the device can see and picks the IMSI whose home operator has the best deal there, according to a rule table on the card. If registration with the preferred IMSI fails, it falls back to the next one. The rules can be updated over the air, so a new sponsor agreement, or a change in which IMSI is cheapest in a country, reaches the whole fleet without touching a device.

From the visited network's point of view nothing unusual is happening. It sees a roamer from operator B, authenticates against operator B's HSS, and bills operator B at their agreed rate. Operator B, the sponsor, passes the usage to the MVNO under a wholesale contract. The subscriber sees one brand and one balance. The MSISDN may differ per IMSI, which the platform has to handle for calls and SMS, but data, which is most of the traffic in the cases that justify multi-IMSI, does not care.

The same mechanism works on an eSIM. A multi-IMSI profile is downloaded to the eUICC like any other profile, and the applet inside it does the switching. This is different from a device holding several complete operator profiles, which we come to below.

The economics follow from who negotiates the rate. A specialist with millions of connections concentrated in a few corridors gets better wholesale terms in those corridors than a generalist host does, and multi-IMSI lets an MVNO borrow that position country by country. Coverage improves for the same reason: a sponsor with agreements where the host has none turns a dead zone into a served one.

## Multi-IMSI, sponsored roaming, eSIM multi-profile and classic roaming compared

These four terms get used interchangeably in sales conversations and they should not be. Two describe a technical mechanism, one a commercial arrangement, and the fourth is the default the others are trying to improve on.

Sponsored roaming is the commercial side: an MVNO uses a partner's IMSI range and, with it, the partner's roaming agreements. It does not require several IMSIs on the card; a SIM with a single sponsor IMSI is a sponsored roaming SIM. Most multi-IMSI deployments are built from several sponsored roaming relationships, which is why the terms travel together.

eSIM multi-profile means the eUICC holds several complete operator profiles, each with its own IMSI, key and applets, downloaded through an SM-DP+ or the M2M and IoT remote provisioning variants. Switching is a profile enable and disable operation, slower and more visible than an applet swapping IMSIs, and each profile is normally a separate subscription in a separate operator's BSS.

National roaming is a different animal: an agreement between operators within one country so that subscribers of one can use the other's radio network where the first has no coverage. Single IMSI, no SIM logic, decided in the core network.

|                                  | Classic roaming                            | Sponsored roaming                     | Multi-IMSI                                                  | eSIM multi-profile                                           |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Who holds the roaming agreements | the host MNO                               | the sponsor whose IMSI is on the SIM  | each sponsor, one per IMSI                                  | each operator whose profile is loaded                        |
| What is on the SIM               | one IMSI (host's range)                    | one IMSI (sponsor's range)            | several IMSIs plus a switching applet                       | several complete profiles                                    |
| How switching happens            | none; visited network selection only       | none                                  | applet rules by country and failure, plus OTA updates       | profile enable and disable via remote provisioning           |
| Who sets the wholesale rate      | host, from its inter-operator tariffs      | sponsor, under one contract           | each sponsor for its countries; the MVNO picks the cheapest | each operator, per profile                                   |
| Cost profile                     | highest; little negotiating room           | lower in the sponsor's strong markets | lowest across a footprint; more contracts to manage         | depends on each profile's plan                               |
| Subscriber experience            | one number, one balance                    | one number, one balance               | one balance; number may differ per IMSI                     | separate numbers and plans unless the MVNO owns all profiles |
| Typical use                      | domestic brands with occasional travellers | one strong corridor or region         | fleets and travellers across many countries                 | devices that change owner or operator over their life        |

The table tells you where each one belongs. Classic roaming is what you get for free. Sponsored roaming fixes one region. Multi-IMSI fixes a footprint. eSIM multi-profile solves a lifecycle problem, not a rate problem.

## When an MVNO needs it

Travel is the obvious case, and now a large one. Juniper Research put travel eSIM revenue at 1.8 billion dollars in 2025, up 85 percent year on year (October 2025), and Airalo alone reports 30 million users. Every travel eSIM brand is, in substance, a sponsored-roaming or multi-IMSI operator: it has no network and sells other operators' roaming footprints, repackaged by destination. An MVNO whose proposition is travel cannot compete on the host's inherited tariffs.

IoT and M2M fleets are the second case and the more durable one. Kaleido Intelligence estimated 290 million connections managed by IoT MVNOs in 2025, rising to 600 million by 2031 (May 2026). Trackers, meters, payment terminals and vehicles ship from a factory in one country to customers in many, and the customer does not want a different SKU per destination. One multi-IMSI SIM that finds the cheapest network wherever the device lands removes that problem, and the failover rule doubles as a coverage guarantee for devices that cannot be sent back for a SIM swap.

Cross-border communities are the third. The corridors described in our piece on [cross-border MVNOs, remittances and Africa](/en/insights/blog/cross-border-mvno-africa-remittances) involve people who live in one country and have family, income or business in another. A subscription that is at home on both sides of the border, at domestic rates on both sides, is a product a single-IMSI MVNO cannot make.

Enterprise devices round it off. A bank's payment terminals, a utility's field tablets, a security firm's cameras travel less, but they need coverage where the host is weak, and the enterprise wants one contract and one invoice. A domestic second sponsor gives the device a fallback network without a national roaming agreement the MVNO could never sign itself.

Where it does not pay off: a consumer brand in one country whose subscribers take two holidays a year. The extra contracts, SIM cost and settlement work outweigh the roaming margin, and a roaming add-on from the host does the job. Multi-IMSI is for operators whose subscribers or devices are structurally, not occasionally, away from the host.

## What it does to billing

This is the part SIM applet vendors talk about least, and where most of the effort lands. Multi-IMSI multiplies the counterparties on the wholesale side while the subscriber still expects one plan and one balance on the retail side. The BSS has to reconcile those two views, and four things follow.

Rating has to work per IMSI and per sponsor. The same gigabyte costs the MVNO a different amount depending on which IMSI carried it and where, so wholesale rating needs a rate card per sponsor per destination, not one per host. Retail rating should be blind to the IMSI: the subscriber bought "5 GB in Europe and North Africa" and the plan should decrement the same way whichever sponsor served the session. The online charging system therefore has to map each usage event from IMSI to ICCID to account before rating it, in real time, against one balance. [Avante OCS](/en/products/ocs) does this by design, but it is worth confirming with any vendor: ask how a single allowance is decremented from records that arrive under three different IMSIs.

Usage arrives from several networks in several formats at several speeds. One sponsor may offer real-time charging control through a Diameter or CAMEL relay; another delivers TAP files through a clearing house a day or two later, with fraud records a few hours after the event. Mediation has to normalise all of it into one stream. Where a sponsor gives only delayed records, the OCS cannot stop a session when the balance runs out, and the MVNO carries the exposure. Spend caps and hard limits per IMSI are the mitigation, configured per sponsor because the delay differs.

Settlement happens with each sponsor separately. Each sends an invoice built from its own records under its own rate card, to be reconciled against what mediation collected, disputed where they diverge, and paid. An MVNO with four sponsors runs four wholesale relationships that look very much like interconnect settlement, which is why the interconnect and partner-management modules of a BSS are their natural home, and why a platform without those modules ends up doing it in spreadsheets.

Finally, the steering rules become a commercial configuration. Which IMSI to prefer in which country is a cost decision that changes when a sponsor renegotiates, and somebody has to own the loop from the rate cards in the billing system back to the rule table on the card. Operators who treat the applet as a one-off technical set-up leave margin behind every time a sponsor's price list changes.

## Where Avante fits

Avante supplies the BSS an MVNO runs, and multi-IMSI is one of the operating models it was built for. Mediation collects records from the host and from each sponsor, in their own formats and at their own cadence, and attributes them to one subscriber. Avante OCS rates them against a single retail balance in real time where the sponsor allows it, with per-IMSI spend controls where it does not. Interconnect and partner management hold a rate card per sponsor and reconcile each wholesale invoice. VENTAmobile in Latvia runs its sponsored roaming, multi-IMSI, M2M and eSIM business, along with wholesale voice and SMS transit, on the Avante platform. The modules and the interfaces to host and partners are described on the [platform page](/en/solutions/mvno/platform); the vocabulary, including IMSI, ICCID and DSA, is in the [MVNO glossary](/en/insights/blog/mvno-glossary).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a multi-IMSI SIM?

A SIM, or an eSIM profile, that stores several subscriber identities from several home operators, together with an applet that chooses which one to present to the network. The choice follows rules loaded on the card, typically by country and by registration failure, and the rules can be updated over the air. To each visited network the device looks like a normal roamer of whichever operator's IMSI is active.

### Is multi-IMSI the same as sponsored roaming?

No, though they usually appear together. Sponsored roaming is a commercial arrangement in which an MVNO uses a partner's IMSI range and, with it, the partner's roaming agreements and rates. It works with a single IMSI. Multi-IMSI is the technical mechanism that lets one SIM carry several such sponsor identities and switch between them, so an MVNO can combine several sponsors' footprints.

### Does multi-IMSI need eSIM?

No. It works on a conventional plastic SIM and on an eSIM profile alike; the switching logic lives in an applet inside the profile. eSIM multi-profile is a different technique, in which the eUICC holds several complete operator profiles and switches between them through remote provisioning. That solves lifecycle problems, such as changing operator without a physical swap, rather than roaming cost.

### Why is multi-IMSI roaming cheaper?

Because the wholesale rate a device pays abroad is set by the roaming agreement of its home operator, and a specialist sponsor with volume in a given region negotiates a better rate there than a general-purpose host. Multi-IMSI lets the MVNO use the best sponsor in each country rather than one host everywhere. The saving is offset by more wholesale contracts to manage and a more demanding billing set-up.

### What does the billing system need to support multi-IMSI?

Mediation that takes records from several sponsors in different formats and delays and maps each one to the subscriber; a rating engine with a wholesale rate card per sponsor and destination but a single retail balance per subscriber; real-time charging where the sponsor offers it and spend controls where it does not; and partner settlement that reconciles each sponsor's invoice against collected usage.

### Which MVNOs should not bother with multi-IMSI?

Domestic consumer brands whose subscribers travel occasionally. For them the host's roaming add-on covers the need, and the extra sponsor contracts, SIM cost and reconciliation work cost more than the margin they recover. Multi-IMSI pays off when subscribers or devices are away from the host network for a large share of their usage: travel products, IoT fleets, cross-border communities and distributed enterprise devices.

## Why banks launch MVNOs, and what it takes

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/why-banks-launch-mvnos

The retention, data and revenue cases behind bank MVNOs, sourced examples from Capitec to Nubank, and what a bank needs in place before it launches one.

Banks launch MVNOs because a mobile line adds a second revenue stream and a daily reason to open the app. Capitec Connect, the mobile arm of a South African retail bank, reported net income of R442 million for the year to February 2026, up 129 per cent, on 1.5 million three-month-active subscribers, having launched in 2022; Nubank's NuCel passed one million customers in June 2026. What it takes is a host agreement and a BSS the bank controls rather than rents.

Capitec Connect, the mobile arm of a South African retail bank, reported net income of R442 million for the year to February 2026, up 129 per cent, on 1.5 million three-month-active subscribers. It launched in 2022. In Brazil, Nubank's NuCel passed one million customers in June 2026, having become the country's largest credentialed MVNO by Anatel accesses in April. In 2025 Revolut, Klarna and N26 all announced or launched mobile plans. A mobile line inside a bank has stopped being an experiment. The question for a bank strategy team is no longer whether the model works, but which version of it fits and what has to be in place before launch.

## Why now

South Africa has the most complete evidence because two banks publish numbers. Capitec's figures come from its annual results, reported by MyBroadband in April 2026, and its active base grew 67 per cent in the year. FNB Connect, according to TechAfrica News and ITWeb in November 2025, has passed one million active subscribers, with eSIM now 10 per cent of monthly SIM sales. TechCentral's June 2025 list of the country's MVNOs shows four South African banks and insurers running mobile brands.

Latin America produced the fastest recent example. Nubank's NuCel reached one million customers by June 2026, per the Nubank newsroom and TELETIME, and was the largest credentialed MVNO in Brazil by Anatel accesses in April 2026. The distribution was the bank's app: no shops, no dealer network, none of the acquisition spend a greenfield MVNO would recognise.

The European and North American fintechs followed in a cluster. Revolut announced mobile plans for the UK and Germany in April 2025. TM Forum Inform reported in September 2025 that Klarna had launched in the US on AT&T in June 2025, that N26 had launched an eSIM plan in Germany on Vodafone in May 2025, and that Monzo was reported to be preparing a similar move. None of these has published subscriber figures in the sources we use, so they are evidence of intent rather than of results.

The idea itself is not new. Equity Bank's Equitel in Kenya was licensed in 2014 on Airtel's network and, according to Communications Authority data reported by Citizen Digital in June 2026, holds 1.51 million subscriptions. What has changed since 2014 is that eSIM removes the shop, the bank app has become the channel customers open most often, and analysts treat banks as a permanent category of operator. Omdia's Matthew Reed said in February 2025 that "banks, supermarkets, and broadband and TV service providers continue to be key players" in the MVNO market, and Omdia expects Middle East and Africa MVNO subscriptions to grow 17.6 per cent a year to 2029, driven by South Africa and Nigeria.

## Bank and fintech MVNOs: what is public

| Bank or fintech                           | Country       | Launch or status                     | What is public                                                                                                                      |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Capitec Connect                           | South Africa  | Launched 2022                        | Net income R442m for FY2026, up 129%; 1.5M three-month-active subscribers, up 67% (Capitec annual results; MyBroadband, April 2026) |
| FNB Connect                               | South Africa  | Live                                 | More than 1M active subscribers; eSIM is 10% of monthly SIM sales (TechAfrica News, ITWeb, November 2025)                           |
| Standard Bank Connect, Old Mutual Connect | South Africa  | Live                                 | Listed among the country's MVNOs by TechCentral (June 2025); no performance figures in our sources                                  |
| NuCel (Nubank)                            | Brazil        | Live                                 | 1M customers in June 2026; largest credentialed MVNO by Anatel accesses in April 2026 (Nubank newsroom; TELETIME, June 2026)        |
| Equitel (Equity Bank)                     | Kenya         | Licensed 2014 on Airtel              | 1.51M subscriptions (Communications Authority data via Citizen Digital, June 2026)                                                  |
| Revolut                                   | UK, Germany   | Mobile plans announced April 2025    | Revolut press release; no subscriber figures for the plans in our sources                                                           |
| Klarna                                    | United States | Launched June 2025 on AT&T           | TM Forum Inform, September 2025                                                                                                     |
| N26                                       | Germany       | Launched May 2025, eSIM, on Vodafone | TM Forum Inform, September 2025                                                                                                     |
| Monzo                                     | UK            | Reported                             | TM Forum Inform, September 2025                                                                                                     |

Two patterns stand out. The banks with published results serve a mass, mobile-first customer base in markets where prepaid is the norm. The fintechs entered with eSIM and app-only distribution, the cheapest way to test the proposition. Neither group launched to compete with its host on price.

## Three business cases

The first is retention and engagement. A customer who pays for mobile from a bank account, and earns data for a card purchase or a salary deposit, has one more reason to keep that account as the primary one. Balance-based rewards turn deposit stickiness into something the bank can price: a gigabyte for holding a minimum balance costs the wholesale price of a gigabyte and is visible in the app every day. This case is measured in the banking P&L, in primary-account share, deposit retention and app activity, and it is the reason most banks give internally for starting.

The second is cross-sell and data. The mobile line generates events the bank did not have: SIM activations and swaps, roaming country, top-up behaviour, plan changes, usage patterns. Combined with transaction data these become segmentation attributes for offers and, within a lawful basis and with consent, fraud and risk signals. A SIM swap before a large transfer is a stop signal; a card transaction during an active call on the same number is a fraud flag. These are added features, never a sole decision, and the bank's risk and compliance functions decide how they are used.

The third is a new revenue line. Capitec's R442 million shows a bank MVNO can become a material telecom business, and SMS, USSD and push on the bank's own routes reduce a cost the bank already carries. Our view is that this should be the proof the board sees in year three, not the reason for starting. A plain airtime margin is thin, and a bank that launches to sell cheap data is competing with its host. The banks with strong published telecom results built the first two cases first. The general economics are in [the MVNO business model](/en/insights/blog/mvno-business-model).

## What it takes

Five decisions determine whether a bank MVNO delivers those cases or ends up as a plan on a shelf with the bank's logo on it.

### Choosing the operating model

A reseller or Light arrangement puts the bank's brand on the host's or an enabler's plans. Billing, pricing logic and subscriber data stay in the host's systems, so the bank cannot build a reward rule the host does not offer, cannot see event-level usage and cannot reuse its own onboarding. A Medium MVNO runs its own BSS (catalogue, charging, billing, CRM, self-care) on the host's network; the data and the commercial logic are the bank's. Full adds the network layer later, for autonomy and roaming control. For a bank, Medium is the usual answer, with Full as a planned step rather than a rebuild. The ownership split by model is on [the operating models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models); the trade-offs are discussed in [Full MVNO, Light MVNO or MVNE](/en/insights/blog/full-mvno-light-mvno-mvne-operating-model).

### KYC reuse and the regulatory perimeter

Every market requires SIM registration, and the rules differ. South Africa's RICA requires full name, ID number, address and MSISDN before activation, and treats an eSIM as a SIM. Nigeria links every SIM to a National Identification Number. Kenya's SIM Registration Regulations 2025, in force since 30 May 2025, require verification against government databases. A bank already holds this data, verified to a higher standard than a telecom dealer applies. Whether it may reuse that verification for SIM registration, and whether the mobile business sits inside the bank or in a subsidiary, are questions for the telecom regulator and the banking supervisor together. Settle them in discovery, because the answer shapes the onboarding flow and the legal entity that signs the wholesale contract.

### Core-banking and card integration

Reward rules only work if the BSS sees banking events as they happen. Card authorisations, salary credits, loan repayments, balance thresholds and account-tier changes have to reach the telecom catalogue in near real time, and telecom events have to flow back into the bank's CRM, data platform and risk engine. That means an event integration with the core banking or card platform, a payment integration so the account can pay the bill and fund top-ups, and the bank app as the single front end for eSIM activation, plan changes and balances. None of this is exotic; the effort is in the number of integrations and the bank's own change calendar.

### Billing logic the host cannot provide

Balance-based rewards, card-spend-to-data conversion, plans reserved for salary customers, mobile included in a premium account tier, rollover of unused allowances, family lines under one account, and sponsored billing where the bank or an employer covers part of a customer's usage all need a catalogue and online charging that accept banking events as inputs. Caps, eligibility rules and expiry matter as much as the reward itself, because an uncapped reward is a liability. Business-banking clients add cost centres, per-employee limits and pooled allowances. A bank that owns the catalogue configures and tests these in weeks; a bank on a reseller plan waits for the host's roadmap.

### Team and managed operations

A bank has no telecom operations team and does not need one to launch. Year one can run as a managed service, with the vendor or a partner operating the BSS, the host interfaces, number porting and regulatory reporting, while the bank's teams work on offers, channels and the customer. What cannot be outsourced is ownership of the proposition, pricing, compliance and the customer relationship. On Avante's planning assumptions a Medium launch takes four to six months once the host agreement and legal framework are in place, and Full eight to ten: Discovery two to three weeks, host and legal on the critical path, BSS platform four to eight weeks, integrations six to twelve, launch two to four. The stage-by-stage checklist is in [How to launch an MVNO](/en/insights/blog/how-to-launch-an-mvno).

## Mistakes to avoid

The most common is launching as a reseller because it is quick, then finding that the data, the pricing logic and the onboarding all live with the host. Moving to an own BSS later means a subscriber migration that could have been avoided. If the business case depends on rewards or data, start with the model that gives you both.

The second is treating the MVNO as an IT project. A mobile brand needs a product owner with a P&L, a pricing calendar and a care plan, and it needs the bank's marketing to sell it in the app. Banks that bury it in the technology division get a working service nobody promotes.

Third, uncapped rewards. A gigabyte per card transaction with no monthly ceiling is generous until a customer splits a purchase into fifty payments. Every rule needs a cap, an eligibility test and an expiry, agreed with finance before launch.

Fourth, underestimating the critical path. The host agreement, the regulator's view on KYC reuse and the legal structure of the mobile business take longer than the platform, and they cannot run in parallel with a launch date already announced.

Fifth, using telecom data in credit decisions without a lawful basis, consent and an agreed data-processing model. As added features the signals are valuable. As sole decision inputs they are a regulatory problem waiting to happen.

Finally, measuring one side only. A bank that tracks only the telecom P&L will call the line a failure in year one; one that tracks only engagement will never know whether the line covers its costs. Both numbers belong on the same dashboard.

## Where Avante fits

Avante supplies the BSS a bank runs in a Medium or Full model: product catalogue, online charging, convergent billing, CRM and agent workspace, self-care, partner management and the integrations to the host, the bank app, core banking and payment gateways. Five fintech and bank MVNOs run on the platform. A leading banking MVNO in the CIS was delivered in six months to the bank's security and integration requirements, and Medium to Full runs on the same BSS with no second subscriber migration. Year one can run as a managed service with 24x7 support, so no in-house BSS team is needed at launch. Avante does not run a network or resell airtime; the host agreement remains the bank's. The banking-specific detail, including the scenario library and the data available by model, is on [the banking MVNO page](/en/solutions/mvno/for-banks).

## Frequently asked questions

### Why are banks launching MVNOs?

Four reasons recur: retention and engagement in the core account when mobile rewards are tied to banking behaviour; new data for offers and, within a lawful basis, fraud signals; a telecom revenue line under the bank's brand; and cheaper SMS, USSD and push on the bank's own routes. Capitec Connect, FNB Connect, NuCel, Equitel, Revolut, Klarna and N26 are the public examples.

### How does a bank MVNO make money?

Directly, from plans, top-ups and add-ons sold at a margin over wholesale rates. Indirectly, and usually more, from deposit and primary-account retention, higher app engagement and lower communication costs. The indirect return sits in the banking P&L, so the business case needs both numbers. Capitec's R442 million net income for FY2026 shows the direct line can become material too.

### Which operating model should a bank choose?

Usually Medium: an own BSS with the bank's catalogue, charging and data, integrated with the host's network and the bank app. Reseller and Light models leave pricing logic and subscriber data with the host, which removes the reward and data cases. Full is a planned later step for network autonomy, and on the right platform it runs on the same BSS without a migration.

### Can a bank reuse its KYC for SIM registration?

Where the regulator allows it. SIM-registration rules are national: RICA in South Africa, NIN-SIM linkage in Nigeria, the 2025 SIM Registration Regulations in Kenya with checks against government databases. A bank's verified identity data usually exceeds what a telecom dealer collects, but acceptance is a decision for the telecom regulator, sometimes alongside the banking supervisor. Ask in discovery, not after the host agreement is signed.

### How long does it take a bank to launch an MVNO?

On Avante's planning assumptions, four to six months for a Medium model once the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed, and eight to ten for Full. The host negotiation and the regulator's decisions are the critical path, not the software, so the calendar depends on when those are settled.

### Does a bank need its own telecom team?

Not to launch. Year one can run as a managed service that operates the BSS, host interfaces, porting and regulatory reporting, while the bank owns the proposition, pricing, compliance and the customer relationship. Telecom capability can be built in-house at the bank's pace; the move to a Full model is the natural point to do so.

## MVNO in Mexico and Latin America: market, hosts and platform needs

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-mexico-latam-market-guide

Mexico and Brazil MVNO numbers with sources, the wholesale-network versus bilateral-host question, the segments growing, and what a LatAm BSS has to do.

Mexico is Latin America's reference MVNO market: Walmart's Bait passed roughly 20 million lines in 2025, and Mexican MVNOs together held 15.9 per cent of the mobile market, ahead of Movistar (TeleSemana reading IFT data, August 2025). GSMA Intelligence counted a near fivefold rise in Latin American MVNOs over a decade, and Omdia expects 10.6 per cent annual growth in the Americas. Mexico is unusual in having a wholesale network; elsewhere in the region you negotiate bilaterally with a host.

Walmart's Bait passed roughly 20 million lines in Mexico in 2025, and Mexican MVNOs together held 15.9 per cent of the mobile market, ahead of Movistar, according to TeleSemana's reading of IFT data (August 2025). A retailer's mobile brand overtaking a global operator's local subsidiary is the kind of event that gets boards elsewhere in the region asking whether they should have a SIM in the wallet too. Whether they should depends less on ambition than on three things: which wholesale model the country offers, which segment the brand can credibly serve, and whether the platform behind the brand can run Spanish-language prepaid at scale. In Spanish the operator is an OMV, operador móvil virtual, and the search phrase "OMV México" is now a business question as much as a telecom one.

## The market in one table

GSMA Intelligence (November 2025) counted 2,138 MVNOs worldwide in August 2025 and noted that the number of MVNOs in Latin America had grown almost fivefold in a decade. The same report puts the regional story in context: 58 per cent of countries worldwide still have no MVNO at all, so Latin America's growth came from a small number of markets opening up rather than from the whole region moving at once. Omdia (February 2025) expects MVNO subscriptions in the Americas to grow at 10.6 per cent a year between 2023 and 2029, behind the Middle East and Africa but well ahead of Europe, where the same forecast has the base contracting.

Two markets carry most of the regional numbers, and they work differently.

| Country or region     | MVNO indicator (source)                                                                                                                                                        | Notable MVNOs                                                     | Host or wholesale model                                                                           |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Mexico                | MVNOs at 15.9 per cent of the mobile market, ahead of Movistar; Bait at around 20 million lines in 2025 (TeleSemana on IFT data, August 2025)                                  | Bait (Walmart)                                                    | A wholesale shared network, Altán Redes, exists alongside conventional hosting by the retail MNOs |
| Brazil                | 11.3 million MVNO accesses in Q2 2026; average growth of 73.5 per cent a year since 2021; IoT/M2M operators hold the largest shares (TELETIME on Anatel data, July 2026)       | NuCel (Nubank), Carrefour Mobile, Datora, Surf                    | Bilateral agreements between each MVNO and a national MNO; MVNOs are credentialed by Anatel       |
| Latin America overall | MVNO count grew almost fivefold in a decade (GSMA Intelligence, November 2025); Americas MVNO subscriptions forecast at 10.6 per cent CAGR 2023 to 2029 (Omdia, February 2025) | Retail, bank and IoT brands concentrated in the two markets above | Predominantly bilateral host deals; Mexico is the exception                                       |

Two things stand out. Mexico's MVNO share is a consumer story, led by one retailer's brand. Brazil's is a machine story: the two largest holders of MVNO accesses, Datora with 34 per cent and Surf with 30 per cent, are IoT and M2M specialists, and a bank's consumer brand became the largest credentialed MVNO only in April 2026. A plan that treats "Latin America" as one market will get at least one of these countries wrong. The regional picture beyond these two, and how it compares with Africa, is set out in [the LatAm and Africa market overview](/en/insights/blog/mvno-markets-in-latam-africa-trends-opportunities-and-strategy).

## Mexico's wholesale network versus bilateral host deals elsewhere

Altán Redes is Mexico's wholesale shared network, and hosting MVNOs is part of what it exists to do. That single fact changes the shape of a Mexican launch. In most of the region, and in most of the world, an MVNO negotiates with a retail MNO that is also its competitor for the same customers. The host's wholesale team has to weigh the revenue from your traffic against the risk to its own brands, and that calculation, not the technical work, is usually what sets the pace of the host and legal stage. A wholesale-only network has no retail brand to protect. Its commercial interest and yours point the same way.

That does not remove the decision. A Mexican brand still chooses between the wholesale network and the retail MNOs as host, and between renting a host's or enabler's stack and running its own BSS. What the wholesale model does is make the second choice more open. When the host's business is hosting, the interfaces for provisioning, charging and mediation are built to be reused across many operators, which suits a Medium MVNO that wants its own catalogue and charging engine on top. Our sources do not publish Altán's wholesale terms or interface specifications, so the point is structural rather than a claim about price, and terms have to be confirmed in negotiation as anywhere else.

Brazil illustrates the other model. Its 11.3 million MVNO accesses were built on bilateral agreements with the national operators, and the market grew at 73.5 per cent a year on that basis (TELETIME on Anatel data, July 2026). Bilateral works. Its costs are that each host has its own interface set, its own onboarding calendar and its own view of which tenant segments it welcomes, and that the MVNO's platform must be able to take a second host without re-platforming if the first relationship sours. Multi-host readiness is a design requirement in a bilateral market and a convenience in a wholesale one.

A view, since the numbers support one. In Mexico the wholesale network lowers the cost of the own-BSS route, so a brand with real pricing logic (a retailer paying data for spend, a bank linking plans to accounts) should plan for Medium from the start. In Brazil and the rest of the region, the host and legal stage is the critical path exactly as it is in South Africa or Europe, and the platform decision should follow the host decision, not precede it.

## The segments that are growing

Retail led in Mexico and has a long history in the region. Bait's roughly 20 million lines (TeleSemana on IFT data, August 2025) rest on the same mechanics as retail MVNOs everywhere: the store is the distribution point, the loyalty programme is the pricing engine, and the SIM keeps the shopper inside the brand. Carrefour Mobile, live in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland and Brazil, shows the format travels between continents. What a retailer's BSS has to do differently, and where loyalty-to-data conversion sits in the catalogue, is on the [retail MVNO page](/en/solutions/mvno/for-retail).

Fintech is the newest consumer segment and the fastest-moving. Nubank's NuCel reached one million customers in June 2026 and became Brazil's largest credentialed MVNO by Anatel accesses in April 2026 (Nubank; TELETIME, June 2026). The bank already holds the customer's identity, payment instrument and app, so registration and recharge happen where the customer already is. The banking specifics, from account-linked plans to card-spend rewards, are on the [banking MVNO page](/en/solutions/mvno/for-banks).

IoT and M2M is the largest segment in Brazil by accesses, with Datora at 34 per cent and Surf at 30 per cent (TELETIME on Anatel data, July 2026), and it is growing globally. Kaleido Intelligence (May 2026) counts 290 million IoT MVNO connections in 2025 and expects 600 million by 2031, with revenue rising from 2.8 to 6.4 billion dollars. An IoT MVNO's platform looks nothing like a consumer one: thousands of SIMs per account, tiny per-SIM revenue, pooled data plans, connectivity management APIs and enterprise invoicing rather than prepaid recharge.

Corporate demand is the fourth line. TELETIME's reading of Anatel data (July 2026) attributes Brazil's MVNO growth especially to corporate demand, and the corporate MVNO's requirements are close to the IoT one's: sponsored usage, limits per employee and cost centre, converged invoicing with fixed and managed services. The scenarios and the reasons an ICT provider adds mobile to hold the account are on the [enterprise MVNO page](/en/solutions/mvno/for-enterprise).

## Platform requirements for a Latin American MVNO

A European or South African BSS configuration does not transfer to Latin America unchanged. Six requirements come up in every scoping conversation for the region, and each is a platform decision rather than a marketing one.

Language first. Customer care, self-care, the app, notifications and invoices must be in Spanish, or in Portuguese for Brazil, as the primary language, with the terminology customers actually use: recarga, saldo, plan, factura. A translated English interface is not the same thing, and the care team's tools must match what the customer sees. Plan the language layer as part of the catalogue and CRM configuration, not as a final translation pass.

Prepaid and cash recharge second. Most of the regional base is prepaid, and a large share of recharges is still cash, paid at convenience stores, kiosks and pharmacies that act as cash-recharge networks. The BSS has to accept top-ups from those networks in real time, reconcile them daily, apply the credit to the right balance and handle the commission structure. Card, wallet and app recharge sit alongside cash, not instead of it, and the charging system must apply credit within seconds because the customer is standing at the counter waiting for the confirmation SMS.

Tax and invoicing third. Electronic invoicing and tax rules differ by country, and in several markets the invoice format, numbering and submission to the tax authority are prescribed. The billing system needs a localisation layer for tax calculation, invoice layout and fiscal reporting per country, maintained as rules change. Confirm the current requirement with local tax advisers for each market before the platform stage, because it shapes the invoicing design, not only a template.

KYC fourth. Subscriber registration rules are set per country by the regulator, IFT in Mexico and Anatel in Brazil, and one country's flow should not be assumed to work in another. Plan for a configurable registration flow: which identity documents, which checks against which registries, what happens on failure, and who stores the record and answers a regulator's request for it. Where a bank or retailer already holds a verified identity, the platform should reuse it rather than asking the customer to register twice.

Multi-host fifth. In a bilateral market a second host is insurance; in Mexico it may mean the wholesale network for one segment and a retail MNO for another. Either way, provisioning, charging and mediation interfaces should be modelled per host on one platform, with the catalogue and subscriber records above them, so that a host change is an integration and not a migration.

eSIM sixth. NuCel's growth shows digital-first activation works in the region, and a fintech or retail brand with an app should offer eSIM from launch. The platform has to handle profile ordering, download and swap alongside physical SIM inventory, with the same registration flow on both. The launch stages, from Discovery through the host and legal track to integrations, are in [the launch guide](/en/insights/blog/how-to-launch-an-mvno).

## Regulatory checklist

A BSS vendor is not the right source for a country's licensing conditions, and this article does not set them out. What it can do is list the items that appear on every regional launch plan and say who confirms each. The regulators of record are IFT for Mexico and Anatel for Brazil; other countries have their own, and each requirement below must be confirmed with the relevant regulator and local counsel.

- Authorisation or registration of the MVNO with the regulator, and any conditions attached to it. Brazil's MVNOs are credentialed by Anatel; confirm the current procedure, its timeline and what the host requires from you before signing.
- Subscriber registration and identity verification: which documents, which checks, where the record is stored and who answers regulator requests. Set per country; confirm with the regulator.
- Numbering and number portability: how numbering resources are allocated to an MVNO, and the porting process, calendar and party of record. Plan certification as a long-lead integration.
- Electronic invoicing and tax compliance: invoice format, tax calculation and any prescribed submission to the tax authority. Confirm with local tax advisers per country.
- Data protection: where subscriber data resides, what the host or enabler may do with it, and how consent and retention are implemented in the BSS. Counsel's work; the BSS must be able to implement the outcome.
- Lawful interception and regulatory reporting hand-off between the host, the MVNO and the BSS vendor, written into the technical annex of the host agreement.
- Consumer protection rules on tariffs, contract terms and complaint handling, which shape how the catalogue and care processes are configured.

None of these items sets the launch stages. They lengthen the host and legal stage and add integrations to the platform stage, which is why they belong in Discovery and not in a compliance review after the platform contract is signed.

## A realistic timeline

Avante plans a Medium MVNO, own BSS on a host, at four to six months from the point the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed, and a Full MVNO at eight to ten. Platform readiness for a standard mono-MVNO is about three months. The stages are the same in the region as elsewhere: Discovery of two to three weeks; the host and legal track as the critical path; the BSS platform in four to eight weeks; integrations in six to twelve weeks, partly in parallel; launch in two to four weeks.

What Latin America adds is weight in two stages. Discovery carries the language, tax and KYC scoping described above, and the integration stage carries cash-recharge networks, electronic invoicing and per-country registration flows on top of the host interfaces. A brand launching in two countries should treat the second as a separate integration stream on the same platform, not as a copy of the first. One calibration point from outside the region: a leading banking MVNO in the CIS was delivered on Avante in six months to the bank's security and integration requirements.

## Where Avante fits

Avante is a BSS vendor, not an enabler. It supplies the platform an MVNO runs when it chooses its own BSS on a host, the Medium and Full models: product catalogue, online charging (Avante OCS), convergent billing, CRM, self-care, mediation and provisioning, with host, payment, recharge, KYC and eSIM integrations, delivered on-premises, in a private cloud or as a managed service. The same stack runs as a multi-tenant [MVNE and MVNA platform](/en/solutions/mvne) for operators and aggregators hosting several brands, which is the form an enabler in a bilateral market would use. Latin America is a priority region for Avante alongside Africa. Its published references are in Africa, Europe and the CIS, and it does not claim a Latin American customer; the language, tax and recharge localisation described above is scoped in Discovery for each market.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which MVNOs operate in Mexico and how large is the market?

TeleSemana's reading of IFT data (August 2025) put Mexican MVNOs at 15.9 per cent of the mobile market, ahead of Movistar, with Walmart's Bait at around 20 million lines. Bait is the brand that moved the market. Our sources do not give a full list of Mexican MVNOs, so the IFT's own publications are the place to check the current count and each operator's host.

### What is Altán Redes and why does it matter to an MVNO in Mexico?

Altán Redes is Mexico's wholesale shared network, and hosting MVNOs is part of its purpose. The practical difference from a retail MNO as host is that a wholesale-only network has no consumer brand competing with yours, so its interest in your growth is aligned with your own. Its terms and interfaces are not in our sources and have to be confirmed in negotiation like any host agreement.

### How big is the MVNO market in Brazil?

Brazil had 11.3 million MVNO accesses in Q2 2026, having grown at an average of 73.5 per cent a year since 2021, according to TELETIME's analysis of Anatel data (July 2026). The base is IoT-heavy: Datora held 34 per cent of accesses and Surf 30 per cent. Nubank's NuCel reached one million customers in June 2026 and is the largest credentialed MVNO by Anatel accesses.

### Do I need a licence to run an MVNO in Mexico or Brazil?

The authorisation or registration requirement, its conditions and its timeline are set by the regulator, IFT in Mexico and Anatel in Brazil, and must be confirmed with them and with local counsel. Brazil's MVNOs are credentialed by Anatel. Do not rely on a vendor's description of the process; ask the host's wholesale team what authorisation it requires from a tenant, and put that question at the start of the host and legal stage.

### What does a Latin American MVNO platform need that a European one does not?

Spanish or Portuguese as the primary language across care, self-care and invoices; real-time cash recharge through convenience-store networks alongside card and app top-up; per-country tax and electronic invoicing localisation; a configurable KYC flow per country; and multi-host interfaces on one platform. eSIM alongside physical SIM is now expected in the fintech and retail segments. None of these is exotic, but each is a design decision that has to be made in Discovery.

## MVNO in a box vs your own BSS: what 'turnkey' really includes

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-in-a-box-vs-own-bss

What an MVNO-in-a-box SaaS platform includes, where it stops, how three-year cost compares with owning your BSS, and how to migrate later.

An MVNO in a box is a packaged service, not a piece of software: a multi-tenant SaaS BSS, a host network the vendor has already connected, SIM supply and the operational work around them. You launch faster and own less. Your own BSS takes longer to stand up but leaves the product, the subscriber data and the margin logic under your control. The question is which of those you need, not which is cheaper.

A retailer's product lead sends the same brief to three suppliers and gets back three "turnkey" proposals. One quotes a launch in three weeks and a price per active subscriber. One quotes one to three months on an enabler's network in two countries. The third quotes four to six months after the host agreement is signed, for software the retailer would own. All three are honest; they are selling different things under the same word. Juniper Research titled its January 2026 forecast "MVNO in a box platforms to drive MVNO market" and estimates 333 million MVNO subscribers globally in 2026, rising to 438 million by 2030, so the box is now the default entry point for many brands. Working out what is inside it, and what is not, is the decision that matters.

## What "MVNO in a box" means

An MVNO in a box is a packaged service, not a piece of software. In the form the SaaS vendors sell it, the package has four parts. First, a multi-tenant BSS delivered as SaaS: product catalogue, charging, billing, CRM and a self-care front end, configured through the vendor's portal and API. Second, a host network that is already connected, either through the vendor's own wholesale agreement or, in some cases, with the vendor acting as carrier of record so the brand never signs with an operator at all. Third, SIM and eSIM logistics: profile ordering, activation and inventory. Fourth, care tooling, typically an agent console and the flows for porting, suspension and top-ups.

The commercial model follows the shape of the service. Telness Tech states a low set-up fee followed by pay-per-user or revenue share; Amdocs prices BRAND/ON as a set-up fee plus a per-subscriber charge; Alepo sells BSS Now on pay-as-you-grow terms. Time to launch is quoted in weeks. Telness Tech says "3 weeks", Alepo "30 days", Gigs "weeks", Amdocs "under 3 months", and Transatel gives "a few weeks" or "1–3 months" for its MVNO-in-a-Box depending on the page. Those are the vendors' own claims, and they assume the host is already connected in your country.

The same term is also used by enablers with their own network elements, such as Plintron, Transatel and Effortel. There the brand is a tenant on the enabler's platform and the enabler holds the host relationship and often its own core or HLR/HSS. The [comparison of MVNE and MVNO BSS platforms](/en/insights/blog/best-mvne-mvno-bss-platforms-2026) describes each vendor in turn.

## What is inside the box, and what usually is not

The table sets the SaaS box against the two alternatives a brand usually compares it with: a Light or Medium MVNO on an enabler's network, and a BSS the brand owns and operates as a Medium or Full MVNO. Entries describe the usual arrangement. Individual contracts vary, and the useful question to any vendor is which column it is actually in for each row.

| Component                                                       | SaaS box                                                                      | Enabler on own network                                           | Own BSS (Medium or Full)                                          |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Catalogue and pricing rules                                     | Inside: configured in the vendor's portal within its plan templates           | Inside: the enabler's catalogue, often with a wider template set | Yours: any rule the charging engine can express                   |
| Charging and billing engine                                     | Inside, shared and vendor-operated                                            | Inside, shared and enabler-operated                              | Yours, dedicated; on-prem, private cloud or managed               |
| Host interfaces                                                 | Inside: pre-connected hosts in the vendor's countries                         | Inside: the enabler's own core elements and host agreements      | Yours to integrate; a host agreement is the prerequisite          |
| Numbering and interconnect                                      | Vendor's or host's ranges; vendor or host is carrier of record                | Enabler's ranges and interconnect                                | Host's ranges (Medium) or your own (Full)                         |
| KYC and SIM registration (RICA and equivalents)                 | Inside for the vendor's markets; the regulatory duty stays with the brand     | Inside for the enabler's markets                                 | Your integration to the national provider; your records           |
| Subscriber data ownership and export                            | Records in the vendor's tenant; access by API and export                      | Records in the enabler's platform; export on contract terms      | Records in your perimeter and your data model                     |
| Custom billing logic (sponsored billing, balance-based rewards) | Usually not: limited to what templates support                                | Sometimes, as a chargeable change request                        | Yes: this is the reason to own the engine                         |
| Multi-tenancy (hosting other brands)                            | No: you are one tenant among many                                             | No: the enabler is the multi-tenant party                        | Yes, if the platform is built for MVNE or MVNA use                |
| On-prem or private-cloud option                                 | Usually not: vendor cloud                                                     | Usually not: enabler infrastructure                              | Yes                                                               |
| Exit and migration                                              | Export formats and exit terms in the contract; leaving is a migration project | The same, and the host relationship may not transfer             | You hold the assets; a later Full stage extends the same platform |

Two rows carry most of the weight. Custom billing logic decides whether the box can express your product at all. Subscriber data ownership decides whether your risk engine, loyalty platform or data-residency obligation can be met by an API and a nightly export. If both are comfortable, the rest of the table is about price and convenience.

## Where the box is the right answer

Plainly: for a consumer brand adding mobile as a feature, in its first twelve to twenty-four months, with a small team and standard plans, the box is usually the right call. The vendors' reference lists show the pattern. Gigs names Revolut, Cash App, Klarna, Nubank, Santander, Starling and Motorola; Telness Tech names Lebara, Truecaller and New York Mobile. These are brands that wanted a SIM inside an app, a few bundles and a porting flow, and did not want a telecom department.

The arguments are concrete. Time to first customer is weeks rather than months, because the host is already connected. Fixed cost is low and variable cost tracks subscribers, which suits a product whose demand is unproven. Amdocs states that "10 people or fewer" can run a full MVNO or MVNE on its platform; whatever the exact number, the operating team is small. And the box is a legitimate way to test whether your customers want mobile from you before you commit to a platform, a host negotiation and a regulatory posture of your own.

A Light MVNO on an enabler's network is the neighbouring answer. It is better when you want a Light or Medium position in a country where the enabler already operates, and you accept the enabler running the BSS and sitting in the commercial chain. Retailers and communities in Europe have launched this way for years, and an enabler that also acts as MVNA can offer wholesale terms a single brand would not get alone.

## Where it stops

The box stops where the product stops being a plan. Six situations recur.

Pricing logic as the product. A bank that wants data allowances to move with account balance, a retailer that wants a loyalty tier to change the price of a bundle at the moment of purchase, or an employer that pays part of an employee's usage (the sponsored-billing model Brilliantel runs in South Africa) needs a charging engine it can program, not a template it can choose from. Templates can be extended by the vendor, at the vendor's pace and on the vendor's roadmap.

Event-level data in your systems. An API returns what the vendor exposes; a nightly export returns yesterday. A risk model, a churn model or a real-time offer engine that needs the usage event as it happens needs the mediation and charging layer to be yours, or at least to feed your data platform directly.

B2B and B2G billing. Corporate accounts with hierarchies, cost centres, pooled allowances, split invoices, purchase orders and public-sector payment terms are a different billing problem from a consumer plan with a card on file. Most boxes are built for the latter.

Regulated in-country data. Where a regulator, a central bank or a procurement rule requires subscriber records to stay inside the country or inside your own perimeter, a vendor-cloud tenant in another jurisdiction is not an option, whatever its features.

Hosting other brands. If the plan is to become an MVNE or MVNA, or an MNO wholesale team wants to onboard partners, you need to be the multi-tenant party. In a box you are the tenant.

Host renegotiation. When the vendor holds the wholesale agreement or is carrier of record, the wholesale rate, the network and sometimes the number ranges are the vendor's to renegotiate. A brand that reaches a few hundred thousand subscribers and wants to take its own volume to the host, or to add a second host, needs the host relationship in its own name. The [operating-models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models) sets out who owns what at each stage.

## Total cost over three years

Avante does not publish prices, so this comparison stays qualitative and the only figures are market estimates, labelled as such. MVNO Index puts a thin MVNO in the EU or UK at roughly EUR 105,000 to 475,000 in total set-up, and Spenza estimates USD 100,000 to 400,000 for a light MVNO against USD 2 million to 10 million or more for a full one. Those are single-source market estimates, not Avante numbers, and they describe launch cost rather than three-year cost. The [cost-structure guide](/en/insights/blog/mvno-launch-cost-structure) goes through the components one by one.

The shape of the two cost curves is what matters. A box starts low and grows with the subscriber count: a set-up fee, then a per-subscriber charge or a revenue share, plus wholesale airtime bought through the vendor's agreement. There is little to depreciate and little to staff. Your own BSS starts higher: licence or subscription, integration to the host, a project team for four to six months, and either an operations team or a managed-service fee. It then grows slowly, because software cost does not scale one-for-one with subscribers, and because wholesale is bought at your own volume.

Where the two curves cross depends on four variables: subscriber count, average revenue per user (a revenue share bites harder on a high-ARPU base), the number of change requests your product needs, and your wholesale rate. Below a certain base, and with a plan that fits the templates, the box is cheaper for the whole three years. Above it, and with a product that needs custom logic, the per-subscriber line plus change requests plus the margin taken by the intermediary tends to pass the fixed cost of owning the stack. Ask any box vendor to model year three at your target base and ARPU, with the change requests you already know you will need. Ask any BSS vendor for the managed-service and integration cost over the same period. Compare those two numbers, not the launch prices.

## Moving from the box to your own BSS

Brands do outgrow the box, and the move is a migration, not an upgrade. The subscriber base, billing history, SIM and eSIM inventory, number ranges, active plans and balances all move from the vendor's tenant into your platform, while porting windows and service continuity are managed with the host. The work is on the scale of the original launch, which is why the exit terms deserve reading before signature: export formats, what happens to number ranges if the vendor was carrier of record, and the notice period.

Done well, it is one migration window. Subscribers keep their numbers, active plans and history, and the brand switches charging and care to the new platform in a defined cut-over rather than re-enrolling customers. This is the path Avante describes for Light MVNOs moving to Medium, and the [launch page](/en/solutions/mvno/launch) sets out the stages, including the host and legal work that sits on the critical path.

Two things shorten the project. Negotiating your own host agreement early, in parallel with the box period, so it is ready when the base justifies the move. And choosing a target platform on which Medium and Full share one data model, so the migration happens once and a later Full stage adds network elements without a second move.

## Where Avante fits

Avante supplies the BSS an MVNO, MVNE or MVNA owns and runs; it does not run a network or resell airtime, so a host or enabler is always a partner. The MVNx Suite covers product catalogue, online charging, convergent billing, CRM, provisioning, mediation, interconnect and partner management, delivered on-premises, in private cloud or as a managed service, with an OPEX model available. A Medium MVNO launch is planned at four to six months after host agreement and legal readiness; Full is eight to ten months and extends the same platform, with no second subscriber migration. The platform is multi-tenant for MVNE and MVNA use. Brilliantel (sponsored billing, B2B and B2G, OPEX model) and VENTAmobile (multi-IMSI, eSIM, M2M) are published cases. The [platform page](/en/solutions/mvno/platform) lists modules and host interfaces.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is an MVNO in a box?

A packaged mobile service for brands: a multi-tenant SaaS BSS (catalogue, charging, billing, CRM, self-care), a host network the vendor has already connected or for which it acts as carrier of record, SIM and eSIM logistics, and care tooling. It is priced as a set-up fee plus a per-subscriber charge or revenue share, and vendors state launch times from three weeks to under three months. The brand configures within the vendor's tools rather than owning the platform.

### Is MVNO as a service the same as using an MVNE?

They overlap. MVNO as a service, or the SaaS box, is a managed platform plus a wholesale relationship, sometimes with the vendor as carrier of record. An MVNE provides network elements and a multi-tenant platform in specific countries and takes brands on as tenants. In both cases the brand configures within someone else's stack; the difference is mainly who holds the host agreement and the core elements.

### How much does an MVNO SaaS platform cost?

Vendors do not publish figures. The stated structure is a set-up fee followed by a per-subscriber charge or revenue share, plus wholesale airtime. Market estimates from MVNO Index and Spenza put a thin or light MVNO launch in the low to mid hundreds of thousands of euros or dollars; those are single-source estimates for launch, not for three years of operation. Model year three at your target base and ARPU before comparing with owning a BSS.

### Can we launch on a turnkey MVNO platform and move to our own BSS later?

Yes. Treat it as a migration project: subscriber base, billing history, SIM and eSIM inventory, number ranges, active plans and balances all move, with porting and continuity managed with the host. Read export formats and exit terms before signing, start your own host negotiation early, and choose a target platform on which Medium and Full share one data model, so the migration happens once.

### Who owns the subscriber data on an MVNO in a box?

The records sit in the vendor's tenant, in the vendor's cloud, and you reach them through an API and scheduled exports. Contractually the data is usually yours; operationally it is in someone else's system and often another jurisdiction. Where a regulator or your risk team needs event-level data inside your perimeter, or in-country, that arrangement does not meet the requirement, whatever the contract says.

### When does owning the BSS pay off?

When pricing logic is the product (sponsored billing, balance-linked rewards, loyalty rules on purchase events), when event-level data has to be in your systems, when you bill corporates or public bodies, when data must stay in-country, when you intend to host other brands, or when you want the host relationship in your own name. Below those thresholds, a box or an enabler is usually cheaper and faster for the first year or two.

## MVNO glossary: the terms behind MVNE, MVNA, BSS and launch

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-glossary

Plain-language definitions of 28 MVNO terms, from MNO, MVNE and Full MVNO to OCS, MNP, DSA, eSIM and multi-IMSI, each with why it matters at launch.

This glossary defines the terms that come up in host negotiations, licence applications and platform RFPs: operator models, network and SIM, BSS and billing, regulation and numbering, wholesale and commercial. The vocabulary is not standardised: a "thin" MVNO in one host's deck is a "Light" MVNO in another and a "Tier 2" licensee in a third. GSMA Intelligence counted 2,138 MVNOs worldwide in August 2025, of which 96 were Full MVNOs and 265 operator sub-brands.

GSMA Intelligence counted 2,138 MVNOs worldwide in August 2025, of which 96 were Full MVNOs and 265 were operator sub-brands (analysis published November 2025). Everyone else sits somewhere in between, and the vocabulary for describing where has never been standardised: a "thin" MVNO in one host's deck is a "Light" MVNO in another and a "Tier 2" licensee in a third. The terms below are the ones that come up in host negotiations, platform tenders and licence applications, defined the way we use them on this site. Each entry ends with a sentence on why the term matters when you are the one launching or running the operator. Where a definition comes from a named source it is attributed; the rest is working telecom usage.

## Operators and models

### MNO and host operator

A mobile network operator (MNO) holds spectrum licences and runs the radio network, the core and the subscriber databases in a country. When an MNO sells capacity to an MVNO under a wholesale agreement it becomes that MVNO's host operator, or simply the host. One MNO can host many MVNOs, and in some markets a single host carries most of them: TechCentral's 2025 list of South African MVNOs put 13 of the 23 on Cell C. Why it matters for an MVNO: the host's engineering queue, wholesale rates and technical annex set your timeline and your margin before you have sold a single SIM.

### MVNO (mobile virtual network operator)

Juniper Research (January 2026) defines an MVNO as "a mobile service provider that leases wholesale capacity from mobile network operators, without owning its own network infrastructure". The definition covers a supermarket brand on a reseller contract and an operator with its own core and numbering range. What separates them is how much of the stack the MVNO runs itself, which is what the model names further down describe. Why it matters for an MVNO: regulators, hosts and vendors all use the word, but they rarely mean the same scope, so agree the model before you agree anything else.

### MVNE (mobile virtual network enabler)

Wikipedia's definition is the one most people use: an MVNE "provides network infrastructure and related services, such as BSS and OSS, to an MVNO". In practice an enabler runs a multi-tenant platform (SIM management, charging, billing, care tools, interconnect, operations) between the host and several MVNOs, so that each brand does not have to build the stack. An MVNE may be an independent company or an MNO's own wholesale unit. Avante supplies BSS to enablers rather than acting as one; see the [MVNE page](/en/solutions/mvne). Why it matters for an MVNO: an enabler is the fastest route to market, and also the place your subscriber data lives until you decide otherwise.

### MVNA (mobile virtual network aggregator)

Wikipedia describes an MVNA as "a wholesale intermediary between MNO and smaller MVNOs" that "holds a large wholesale agreement with the MNO, then re-wholesales airtime to smaller MVNOs". The aggregator's asset is the volume contract: it buys capacity at a price a small brand could not negotiate alone and resells it in tiers, usually on an MVNE platform it runs or rents. Nigeria's NCC licenses this role explicitly as Tier 4, "Virtual Aggregator/Enabler". The full comparison is in [MVNO vs MVNE vs MVNA](/en/insights/blog/mvno-vs-mvne-vs-mvna). Why it matters for an MVNO: contracting through an MVNA lowers your entry cost and negotiating burden, at the price of a second margin between you and the host.

### Sub-brand and flanker

A sub-brand, or flanker, is a second consumer brand run by the MNO itself, usually online-only and priced to defend the low end of the market without discounting the main brand. giffgaff, online-only since 2009 and owned by Virgin Media O2, is the usual example. GSMA Intelligence counted 265 sub-brands among the 2,138 MVNOs in its August 2025 data, because from the outside they look like MVNOs. Why it matters for an MVNO: a flanker is your most direct competitor on price and pays no wholesale margin, so compete on something the host cannot copy cheaply, such as a bank balance or a loyalty programme.

### Reseller and Light MVNO

Also called "thin" or "branded reseller". The host or an enabler runs every network and BSS function: SIM logistics, HLR/HSS, rating, billing, interconnect. The MVNO owns the brand, the distribution and the customer relationship, and in the Light variant its own customer care and tariff presentation. Products are limited to what the host's shelf and pricing tools allow, and commercial launch typically takes from a few weeks to about three months. Why it matters for an MVNO: it is the right first step for most consumer brands, provided you know which assets (data, catalogue, numbers) you will want back later and what moving them will cost.

### Medium MVNO (own BSS)

Sometimes "enhanced". The operator runs its own BSS: product catalogue, online charging, billing, CRM, self-care and partner management, integrated with the host through provisioning, charging and mediation interfaces. Subscriber data and pricing logic belong to the MVNO; in some markets it also holds its own numbering range and issues its own SIMs. The host still provides radio, core and usually HLR/HSS. Avante's planning assumption for a Medium launch is four to six months after the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed. Why it matters for an MVNO: this is the point at which pricing becomes your product rather than the host's, and a base built here can move to Full without a second migration.

### Full MVNO

Sometimes "thick". A Full MVNO adds the network layer to its own BSS: its own HLR/HSS or subscriber data management, its own packet core or gateways, own numbering, and its own interconnect and roaming agreements. The host supplies spectrum, radio access and capacity, nothing more. GSMA Intelligence counted 96 Full MVNOs worldwide in August 2025; Avante plans eight to ten months for a Full launch. The models are compared line by line on the [operating-models page](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models). Why it matters for an MVNO: it is the most independent position and the most operationally demanding one, so it pays off when roaming, IoT or multi-host strategies need control the host will not sell you.

The table sums up who runs what in each model, with Avante's planning assumptions for the time to commercial launch.

| Model            | BSS (catalogue, charging, billing, CRM) | HLR/HSS and core                    | Numbering and interconnect      | Time to commercial launch* |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| Reseller / Light | host or enabler                         | host                                | host                            | weeks to 3 months          |
| Medium (own BSS) | MVNO                                    | host, via interfaces                | host; numbering in some markets | 4–6 months                 |
| Full MVNO        | MVNO                                    | MVNO, core via partner where needed | MVNO                            | 8–10 months                |
| MVNE             | enabler, multi-tenant                   | host or enabler                     | per tenant                      | 6–12 months                |
| MVNA             | aggregator, with wholesale tiers on top | host or aggregator                  | aggregator or per tenant        | 6–12 months                |

*Avante planning assumptions from delivered projects; the clock starts once the host agreement and legal framework are confirmed.

## Network and SIM

### HLR/HSS (home location register, home subscriber server)

The database that tells the network who a subscriber is, which services they may use and where they are currently attached. HLR is the 2G and 3G name, HSS the 4G one; 5G splits the function again under new names, but the job is the same. In Light and Medium models the host's HLR/HSS holds the MVNO's subscribers and the BSS provisions them through an interface; a Full MVNO runs its own. Why it matters for an MVNO: whoever operates the HLR/HSS controls activation, SIM swaps and service changes, so the provisioning interface to it is usually the first technical annex you negotiate.

### Packet core

The set of network functions that carries data traffic between the radio network and the internet, authenticates sessions and enforces policy: gateways such as the PGW in 4G, or the UPF and SMF in 5G. A Light or Medium MVNO uses the host's core entirely. A Full MVNO runs its own or rents one from a partner, which is what lets it steer traffic, apply its own policy and connect several hosts to one core. Why it matters for an MVNO: your own core is what makes multi-host and own roaming possible, and it is also the component that turns a BSS project into a network operation.

### IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity)

The 15-digit identity stored on a SIM that tells any network which operator the subscriber belongs to; the first five or six digits identify the country and the operator. It is not the phone number: the MSISDN is assigned separately and can change through porting while the IMSI stays. A third identifier, the ICCID, is the serial number of the physical or embedded SIM itself. Why it matters for an MVNO: IMSI ranges are allocated to the host or, for a Full MVNO, to you, and every rating, roaming and settlement record is keyed to them, so IMSI management is a billing question as much as a network one.

### Multi-IMSI

A SIM or eSIM profile that carries several IMSIs from different operators and switches between them according to rules on the card or instructions from a platform. Crossing a border, the device stops roaming on the home IMSI and attaches as a local subscriber of a partner operator, at that partner's wholesale rate. VENTAmobile in Latvia runs multi-IMSI, sponsored roaming, M2M and eSIM on the Avante platform. How it works and when it is worth the effort is covered in [Multi-IMSI explained](/en/insights/blog/multi-imsi-explained). Why it matters for an MVNO: it is the main tool for IoT, travel and cross-border operators to control roaming cost, and it multiplies the usage feeds your mediation and settlement must reconcile.

### Sponsored roaming

An arrangement in which an MVNO uses the roaming agreements of a sponsor operator, typically a larger MNO or a specialist wholesaler, instead of negotiating hundreds of bilateral roaming deals itself. Traffic abroad runs under the sponsor's IMSI range and agreements and is billed back to the MVNO under one contract. It is often combined with multi-IMSI, but the two are different things: multi-IMSI is the SIM mechanism, sponsored roaming is the commercial arrangement behind one of the IMSIs. Why it matters for an MVNO: it is how a Medium or Full MVNO gets roaming coverage in months rather than years, provided the settlement flow with the sponsor is modelled in the BSS.

### eSIM and eUICC

An eUICC (embedded universal integrated circuit card) is a SIM chip, soldered into or inserted in a device, that can hold several operator profiles and download new ones remotely. eSIM is the everyday name for the profile and the experience: a QR code or in-app activation instead of a plastic card, delivered from an SM-DP+ platform that usually belongs to the host or the enabler. FNB Connect in South Africa reported eSIM at 10% of monthly SIM sales in late 2025 (TechAfrica News). Why it matters for an MVNO: eSIM removes the logistics chain from a digital launch, but regulators treat it exactly like a plastic SIM for registration, as South Africa does under RICA.

### SIM and eSIM inventory (DSA, dynamic SIM allocation)

The stock of physical SIMs and eSIM profiles an MVNO holds, with each ICCID, IMSI and, once assigned, MSISDN tracked through its lifecycle: ordered, in the warehouse, at a dealer, activated, suspended, recycled. Dynamic SIM allocation (DSA) assigns identifiers and profiles to a subscriber at activation rather than pre-pairing them in the factory, so a SIM in a supermarket rack can become any plan and, where the market allows, any number. Why it matters for an MVNO: inventory is capital sitting on shelves and identifiers sitting in a database, and if the two do not match, activation fails at the point of sale and the audit fails later.

## BSS and billing

### BSS and OSS

Business support systems (BSS) are the software that faces the customer and the money: product catalogue, CRM, order management, charging, billing, payments, partner management, self-care. Operations support systems (OSS) face the network: provisioning, inventory of network resources, fault and performance management. For an MVNO with no network of its own the OSS layer shrinks to provisioning and mediation towards the host, which is why vendors talk about "BSS/OSS" as one stack. Why it matters for an MVNO: the BSS is the part of the stack you can own from the Medium stage onwards, and it is where your pricing, your data and your customer history live.

### OCS (online charging system)

The engine that rates usage while it happens. When a subscriber starts a data session, the network asks the OCS for a quota over a Diameter Gy/Ro interface or the host's charging API; the OCS reserves against the balance, grants units and closes the session when the balance or allowance runs out. Offline (batch) rating processes records after the fact, which leaves a window in which prepaid users consume beyond what they have paid for. Avante OCS is described on the [OCS product page](/en/products/ocs). Why it matters for an MVNO: prepaid margin, and any real-time promise you make such as an instant reward or a top-up from a bank balance, depend on charging being online rather than batch.

### Convergent billing

One rating and billing engine for prepaid, postpaid and hybrid customers, across mobile, fixed and any other service the operator sells, producing one bill or one balance view per customer. The historical alternative is a prepaid platform for one base and a postpaid billing system for another, with two catalogues and two customer records that never quite agree. Why it matters for an MVNO: a bank or retailer will want to move a customer from prepaid to a monthly plan, sell a family bundle or add a home broadband line without re-creating that customer in another system, and only a convergent engine does that cleanly.

### Product catalogue

The single definition of everything an operator sells and the rules attached to it: plans, bundles, add-ons, partner offers, eligibility, prices, allowances, expiry and reward rules. A catalogue-driven BSS lets a product manager configure a new offer and publish it to charging, billing, CRM, the app and dealer channels at once, rather than commissioning development in each. Why it matters for an MVNO: launching a plan for a promotion week, a segment or a partner, and retiring it afterwards without a change request to the host, is the practical difference between owning your catalogue and renting the host's shelf.

### Mediation

The software that collects usage records (CDRs and EDRs) from the host's network elements, from your own elements if you have any, and from roaming partners and sponsors, then normalises, deduplicates and enriches them before passing them to rating, billing, settlement and analytics. Every source has its own format, cadence and quirks; mediation is where those are absorbed so the rating engine sees one clean stream. Why it matters for an MVNO: the host's wholesale invoice is built from the host's records and your retail revenue from yours, and mediation is the only place where you can reconcile the two and find the gap.

## Regulation and numbering

### MNP (mobile number portability)

The right of a subscriber to keep their mobile number when changing operator, and the industry process (a national clearinghouse or a bilateral procedure, with defined windows and rejection reasons) that makes it happen. The EU's Electronic Communications Code requires porting within one working day; South Africa's current MNP regulations have been in force since 7 March 2022. An MVNO must be a recognised participant in the national scheme, directly or through its host or enabler. Why it matters for an MVNO: port-in is how you win customers from incumbents and port-out is how you lose them, and both stall if your BSS and the clearinghouse adapter are not certified before launch.

### KYC and SIM registration (RICA as an example)

Know-your-customer obligations require an operator to verify and record who is behind each SIM before or at activation. South Africa's RICA requires full name, ID number, address and the MSISDN to be captured before activation, and treats an eSIM as a SIM for this purpose (De Rebus, September 2025). Nigeria links SIMs to the national identity number; Kenya's 2025 regulations verify registrations against government databases. Why it matters for an MVNO: the registration flow is the first thing a regulator audits and the first thing that breaks a fully digital onboarding, so it needs to sit inside your CRM and activation process rather than in a spreadsheet.

### Lawful interception

The obligation, under national law, to allow authorised agencies to intercept communications and obtain subscriber records on a valid legal order. In Light and Medium models the interception functions sit in the host's network, and the MVNO's duty is typically limited to providing subscriber and usage data through agreed hand-off points; a Full MVNO with its own core may carry the obligation directly. Requirements, cost allocation and retention periods differ by country and are set out in the licence and the host agreement. Why it matters for an MVNO: this is a compliance item to scope with the host and the regulator before launch, not something to discover when the first order arrives.

## Commercial and wholesale

### Wholesale agreement

The contract under which a host operator (or an MVNA) sells network capacity to an MVNO. It defines the services, the wholesale rates per unit or per subscriber, minimum commitments, the technical annex of interfaces, service levels, forecasting and reconciliation rules, exclusivity and exit terms. In Avante's delivery stages the host and legal workstream is the critical path: the platform can be ready in weeks, but the clock to launch does not really start until this agreement is signed. Why it matters for an MVNO: it fixes your cost of goods for years, so the unit rates, the commitment and the migration clauses deserve more attention than the platform demo.

### Interconnect and wholesale settlement

Interconnect is the exchange of traffic between operators (calls and messages terminating on another network) and the fees paid for it. Wholesale settlement is the periodic reconciliation between an MVNO and its host, its sponsors and, for an MVNE or MVNA, its tenants. Both depend on records: what was used, at which rate, under which agreement. In Light and Medium models the host handles interconnect; a Full MVNO manages its own agreements. Why it matters for an MVNO: settlement is where wholesale invoices are challenged and margin is recovered, and an MVNE or MVNA cannot bill its tenants at all without it.

### Sponsored billing and balance-based rewards

Two commercial models that need the operator's own charging. Sponsored billing splits one subscriber's usage between payers: an employer covers a work allowance and the employee pays for the rest, which is how Brilliantel in South Africa serves business and government customers on the Avante platform. Balance-based rewards grant telecom value (data, minutes) on an event in another system, such as a card payment or a savings balance; Pick n Pay Mobile's one megabyte per rand spent through its loyalty programme (TechCentral, July 2025) is a retail example. Why it matters for an MVNO: these are the propositions a host's standard shelf cannot deliver, and the usual reason a bank or retailer moves to a Medium model.

### MVNO in a box

A packaged offer, from an enabler or a SaaS vendor, that bundles the host wholesale agreement, SIMs or eSIM profiles, a hosted BSS, customer-care tooling and sometimes numbering into one subscription, so that a brand can launch with a small team. Juniper Research (January 2026) expects such platforms to drive growth in the MVNO market. The box is standardised by design: the tenant chooses from the provider's catalogue and pricing tools, and subscriber data lives in the provider's platform. Why it matters for an MVNO: it is the lowest-risk way to test a market, and the exit terms (portability of data, numbers and catalogue) are the part of the contract to read first.

### Time to launch

The elapsed time from a go decision to the first paying subscriber: the metric most often quoted and least often defined. Avante's planning assumptions from delivered projects are platform readiness in about three months, Medium four to six months after host agreement and legal readiness, and Full eight to ten months. The stages behind those numbers are Discovery (2–3 weeks), host and legal (the critical path), BSS platform (4–8 weeks), Integrations (6–12 weeks) and Launch (2–4 weeks). Why it matters for an MVNO: a quoted time to launch that does not say where its clock starts, and whether the host agreement is inside or outside it, cannot be compared with any other.

## Where Avante fits

Avante supplies the BSS an MVNO, MVNE or MVNA runs: product catalogue, Avante OCS for online charging, convergent billing, CRM and self-care, mediation, interconnect and wholesale settlement, SIM and eSIM inventory, MNP adapters and per-market KYC records, delivered on-premises, in a private cloud or as a managed service on an OPEX basis. It does not run a network or resell airtime. That puts it in the Medium and Full rows of the table above, and behind enablers and aggregators that need multi-tenant charging and tenant settlement; 15 live MVNOs and three MVNE platforms run on the stack. The modules and the interfaces to the host are set out on the [platform page](/en/solutions/mvno/platform).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between an MVNE and an MVNA?

An MVNE supplies the platform: BSS/OSS, SIM management, interconnect and operations that several MVNOs share. An MVNA supplies the capacity: it holds one large wholesale agreement with the host and resells airtime in tiers to smaller MVNOs, usually running them on an MVNE platform it owns or rents. One company can be both, and an MNO wholesale unit often becomes an enabler without calling itself one. The test is which contract you sign: platform services, capacity, or both.

### Does a Light MVNO need its own OCS?

No. In a Reseller or Light model the host or enabler rates usage in its own charging system and the MVNO sees the results. You need your own OCS when the proposition depends on pricing logic the host does not offer, such as real-time rewards from a bank account or sponsored allowances, or when you want event-level usage data in your own systems. That is the line between Light and Medium, and it is a product decision before it is a technology one.

### Who handles number portability for an MVNO?

The MVNO must be a participant in the national porting scheme, but the technical work depends on the model. In Light, the host or enabler runs the clearinghouse connection and the MVNO submits requests through its tools. From Medium upwards, the BSS holds the porting workflow and an adapter to the national clearinghouse, certified before launch. Timelines are set by regulation: one working day in the EU, and national rules such as South Africa's 2022 MNP regulations elsewhere.

### Is an MVNO a licence or a business model?

Both, depending on the country. In many European markets an MVNO needs only a general authorisation and a wholesale agreement with a host. Others license the role explicitly: Nigeria's NCC defines five tiers, with Tier 4 for aggregators and enablers and Tier 5 for a unified virtual operator, each with a fee and a ten-year tenure (IBA, 2022). Ghana issued two full MVNO licences in 2015 and neither has launched, a reminder that a licence is a starting point, not a business.

## MVNO licence in Saudi Arabia: rules, hosts, launch

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-licence-saudi-arabia

How CST licenses MVNOs, the four operators trading and their hosts, what the 2020 application round required, and the porting rules a platform must meet.

Saudi Arabia licenses MVNOs through the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) under regulations adopted as decision 484/1443 on 20 April 2022, with a separate set of rules covering the host operator's obligations. Four MVNOs are licensed and trading: Virgin Mobile and Friendi on stc, Lebara on Mobily, Salam Mobile and Red Bull MOBILE on Zain. Together they hold about 11 per cent of the subscriber base on EFG Hermes' estimate, in a market CST put at 68.2 million mobile subscriptions for 2024. Licences have come in rounds rather than on demand, and the last award we can confirm was July 2021, so the first question for a new entrant is whether a window is open at all.

## Who regulates, and under which law

The sector runs on the Telecommunications and Information Technology Law, issued by Royal Decree M/106 of 1 June 2022 and in force since 7 December 2022, which replaced the 2001 Telecommunications Law (Clyde & Co, August 2022). The regulator is CST, the former Communications and Information Technology Commission, renamed when space regulation joined its mandate.

Two documents govern the MVNO relationship, both adopted under decision 484/1443 of 20 April 2022. The Regulations of the Provision of the Mobile Virtual Network Operators Services bind the MVNO. The Regulations of the Provision of MVNO Hosting Services bind the operator whose network carries it. Splitting them matters more than it looks, because the obligations that decide whether an MVNO can actually trade sit in the hosting regulation: access, wholesale conduct, and whether the host may favour its own retail arm.

One honest caveat. CST publishes the metadata for both documents but not their text, and we could not obtain either. The figures in the next section come from the 2020 application round and the 2012 public consultation, which CST and the Saudi press did publish. They describe how the regime has been run, not necessarily how the 2022 text reads. At the point of applying, get the current terms from CST and local counsel rather than from a vendor's article.

## What the licence has required

In the 2020 Request for Application round, Saudi press reported a ten-year licence, an application fee of SAR 100,000 and a licence fee of SAR 5 million (Ajel, February 2020). The applicant had to be a Saudi entity with 40 per cent Saudi ownership, consistent with the 60 per cent cap on foreign ownership in telecommunications services described in the ICLG 2025 country chapter, and had to bring a foreign operator partner with relevant experience. Where several foreign partners were involved, one had to hold at least 15 per cent and carry the management agreement. Commercial launch was required within twelve months of the licence being issued.

The 2012 consultation that shaped the first round adds three structural conditions. An MVNO may not be controlled or majority-owned by a licensed host. Each MVNO works with a single host. Each incumbent was obliged to take on one MVNO. That last condition explains the pairings you still see: one MVNO per network in the first wave, a second added to Zain later.

The neighbouring IoT-VNO regime, which CST documents in more detail, shows how the commission thinks about virtual operators generally. Al Tamimi's 2019 summary describes a Class A licence, limited in number, normally ten years, with commercial launch required inside twelve months. The application package includes a business strategy, a market analysis, a customer service plan, a technical plan and an HR strategy with Saudisation targets. The host's duties are spelled out: negotiate in good faith, do not price the wholesale service worse than it prices its own retail customers, do not tie the deal to other agreements, and put no technical obstacle in the way of a customer moving away. A hosting permit for IoT-VNO services carries a SAR 100,000 fee on CST's own service page, and supporting agreements are filed in Arabic.

## Four MVNOs, three hosts

| Brand                   | Licensee                                       | Host     | Licensed  | Trading since |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | -------- | --------- | ------------- |
| Virgin Mobile / Friendi | Virgin Mobile Saudi Consortium, now Beyond ONE | stc      | June 2014 | October 2014  |
| Lebara                  | Etihad Jawraa                                  | Mobily   | 2014      | December 2014 |
| Salam Mobile            | Integrated Telecom Company (ITC)               | Zain KSA | July 2021 | 2022          |
| Red Bull MOBILE         | Future Networks Communications                 | Zain KSA | July 2021 | 2022          |

_Licence dates from Saudi Gazette (July 2021) and Developing Telecoms (October 2014). Trading dates from Argaam (September and December 2014) and AGBI (January 2026). CITC described the 2021 awards as doubling the number of MVNOs in the Kingdom to four._

The two 2014 operators went at the same segment from opposite ends. Lebara launched at what it then put at ten million expatriates, distributed through Saudi Post, and Mobile World Live reports around 2.5 million customers and roughly 30 per cent of the Kingdom's international traffic. It later moved from a light MVNO to a full one, migrating onto its own core with Huawei in seven months. Virgin Mobile ran two brands from the start, Virgin for a younger domestic segment and Friendi for expatriates, with stc holding ten per cent of the venture. Salam Mobile came from the other direction, launching a consumer service on top of ITC's existing enterprise base, on an Optiva cloud BSS, and renewed its hosting partnership with Zain through 2030.

A counting note that matters when you read market reports. Some analyst coverage lists Jawwy and Yaqoot among Saudi MVNOs. Those are sub-brands of stc and Zain, not third-party licensees, and market sizes built on the wider definition are not comparable with CST's count of four.

## What the Red Bull MOBILE reversal shows

The most instructive event in this market did not involve a launch. In September 2024 Mobily announced a six-year hosting agreement with Future Networks Communications, the licensee behind Red Bull MOBILE, putting its value at more than five per cent of Mobily's 2023 revenue and expecting the effect from the fourth quarter of 2025. On 25 December 2025 Future Networks sent written notice discontinuing the project. Mobily told the market the termination would have no material impact on its results or its strategic targets, and that it reserves the right to take all necessary regulatory and legal actions (Argaam, September 2024 and December 2025).

Red Bull MOBILE stayed on Zain. EFG Hermes' reading, quoted by AGBI in January 2026, was that it had secured a better wholesale arrangement from its existing host. An MVNO's economics are set by a contract it does not control, and the credible threat of moving is one of the few instruments it has. The threat works only if moving is possible. If the subscriber base, the product catalogue, the rating logic and the billing history live in the host's systems, there is nothing to move and nothing to negotiate with. We make the same argument at more length in the comparison of [MVNO in a box against your own BSS](/en/insights/blog/mvno-in-a-box-vs-own-bss).

Sixteen months passed between signature and abandonment, and no service ever launched. That is also worth knowing when you plan a timeline.

## The market an MVNO sells into

CST reported 68.2 million mobile subscriptions for 2024, up seven per cent year on year, in an ICT market it valued at SAR 180 billion. GASTAT put the population at 35.3 million in 2024, of whom 44.4 per cent were non-Saudi. That share is why every MVNO in the Kingdom so far has been built around expatriate communities rather than against the incumbents' mass market.

The money behind that segment is visible in the remittance data. SAMA figures reported by Argaam in August 2026 put transfers by expatriate workers at SAR 165.5 billion for 2025, a record and 15 per cent above the year before. A mobile brand sitting next to a remittance corridor sells international minutes, data for video calls home and, increasingly, a payment relationship. We traced the same logic for [cross-border MVNOs in Africa](/en/insights/blog/cross-border-mvno-africa-remittances).

Pilgrimage is the other structural feature, and there is nothing like it elsewhere in the region. GASTAT counted 1,673,230 pilgrims for Hajj 1446H in 2025, of whom 1,506,576 arrived from abroad, and 20.66 million Umrah pilgrims in the first half of 2025, 7.84 million of them from outside the Kingdom. In May 2025 CST, the Ministry of Interior and licensed operators launched instant eSIM activation for pilgrims through Absher with biometric verification. For a platform, a pilgrimage cohort is a specific set of demands: activation in minutes rather than days, a service life measured in weeks, sharp seasonality in provisioning and charging load, and self-care in the languages the pilgrims actually speak.

## Rules that reach into the platform

Three Saudi rules land on the platform rather than on the licence application.

The first is number portability, and it is the sharpest. CST's Regulations for Number Portability between Fixed and Mobile Services, decision 1-195-2025 of 3 July 2025, set intervals that are short by any standard. For mobile numbers the donor must accept the request within 30 minutes and the recipient must activate the service and confirm readiness within 15 minutes. Porting runs through a central electronic request-management system with a reference database of every ported number. Fifteen minutes is not an interval a manual process or a nightly batch will meet, so porting has to be an automated path through ordering, provisioning and the subscriber record.

The second is personal data. The Personal Data Protection Law took effect on 14 September 2023, with the transition period closing on 14 September 2024, supervised by SDAIA. Clyde & Co's September 2024 summary describes restricted cross-border transfer, registration in the National Register of Controllers for some categories, and a mandatory data protection officer where the core activity involves monitoring data subjects or processing sensitive data at scale. For a platform decision this lands on deployment: where the subscriber database physically sits, and who can reach it, becomes a licensing question rather than an IT preference. The [Avante MVNx Suite](/en/solutions/mvno) runs on-premises, in a local cloud or as SaaS for that reason.

The third is localisation, which is the easiest to underestimate. Documents filed with CST go in Arabic, and the VNO application package includes an HR strategy with Saudisation targets. Arabic-first customer interfaces are a commercial requirement in this market whatever the licence says, which for a BSS means right-to-left support in self-care, invoices and notifications, not a translated front end bolted on at the end.

## The rest of the Gulf, briefly

Oman has the region's most developed MVNO segment by share. Telecom Review reported in January 2026 that Friendi and Renna together hold around 19 per cent of the market, aimed at younger and expatriate customers. That is a striking figure next to Saudi Arabia's estimated 11 per cent, and it survived heavy attrition: of six resellers licensed in 2008, two remain.

Kuwait issued its first MVNO licence in March 2021, to a consortium of stc Kuwait and Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa (Telecompaper, March 2021). The UAE is a different case. Virgin Mobile UAE, launched in 2017, is a brand of EITC alongside du rather than an independent licensee, and its managing director said exactly that in a Telecom Review interview at the time. Qatar's regulator stated in 2010 that no MVNO was licensed there, and we found no more recent regulatory source either way. For Bahrain we found no confirmed framework at all.

The pattern across the region is that MVNO segments grow where the regulator obliges hosts to carry a tenant, and where a large migrant population gives a challenger something to sell that the incumbent sells badly.

## Before you approach a host

Six things are worth settling before the first conversation with a host's wholesale team.

Confirm the window first. Licences have come in rounds, so ask CST directly whether applications are open and under which class instead of assuming one can be filed at any time.

Budget the licence separately from the platform. On the 2020 terms, SAR 5 million on award plus SAR 100,000 to apply is a line item with nothing to do with software.

The Saudi entity and the operator partner take longer than people expect. A 40 per cent Saudi shareholding and an experienced foreign operator partner were conditions rather than preferences. Start both before you start shortlisting platforms.

Read the hosting regulation, not only the MVNO one. Non-discrimination against the host's own retail pricing, no bundling and no technical obstacles to customer migration are the clauses that decide your margin.

Assume twelve months to launch, and start the integrations first. Salam did roughly that. The 2013 cohort slipped on interconnection and on Saudi security requirements rather than on software, which is the pattern we describe in the [stage-by-stage launch guide](/en/insights/blog/how-to-launch-an-mvno).

Decide what you own before you sign. Red Bull MOBILE is the worked example: the ability to change host is real only if the catalogue, the rating and the subscriber data are yours.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do you need a licence to operate an MVNO in Saudi Arabia?

Yes. CST licenses MVNOs under regulations adopted as decision 484/1443 on 20 April 2022, and a matching regulation governs the host operator. Unlike some markets where an MVNO trades under the host's authorisation, Saudi Arabia has a distinct MVNO licence and has awarded it in competitive rounds. We could not obtain the text of the 2022 regulations, so confirm the current class and conditions with CST directly.

### How much does an MVNO licence cost in Saudi Arabia?

The only figures we can source are from the 2020 application round, reported by Ajel in February 2020: SAR 100,000 to apply and SAR 5 million on award, for a ten-year licence. Whether those still hold under the 2022 regulations is not something we could confirm. A separate act on telecommunications service fees, decision 512/1445 of 8 February 2024, exists, but CST does not publish the rates on the page we could reach.

### Which mobile network operators can host an MVNO in Saudi Arabia?

Three: stc, Mobily and Zain KSA. They are the only holders of their own mobile networks in the Kingdom. Under the conditions set out in the 2012 consultation, an MVNO works with a single host and cannot be controlled or majority-owned by one. Today stc hosts Virgin Mobile and Friendi, Mobily hosts Lebara, and Zain hosts both Salam Mobile and Red Bull MOBILE.

### How many MVNOs operate in Saudi Arabia?

Four licensees are trading. CITC awarded the first two in 2014 and two more in July 2021, describing the second round as doubling the number to four. Be careful with market reports here: some count stc's Jawwy and Zain's Yaqoot as MVNOs, but those are the operators' own sub-brands. CST does not publish MVNO subscriber numbers, so the roughly 11 per cent share of the base is EFG Hermes' estimate rather than a regulatory figure.

### Can a foreign company own a Saudi MVNO?

Not outright, on the terms of the 2020 round. The applicant had to be a Saudi entity with 40 per cent Saudi ownership, which matches the general 60 per cent cap on foreign ownership in telecommunications services. A foreign operator partner with relevant experience was required rather than merely permitted, and where several were involved one had to hold at least 15 per cent and carry the management agreement.

### How long does it take to launch an MVNO in Saudi Arabia?

The regulatory answer has been twelve months from licence award, and Salam Mobile did roughly that between its July 2021 licence and its 2022 launch. The practical answer depends on the host agreement, not the software. The first Saudi cohort took around fifteen to eighteen months from tender result to commercial service, and Reuters reported in September 2013 that interconnection, security requirements and host reluctance were the causes, not platform readiness. On Avante's planning assumptions, an operator running its own BSS is live four to six months after the host agreement and legal readiness are confirmed.

### Is an MVNO a good business in Saudi Arabia?

The demand case is the expatriate base and the pilgrimage flow, both large and both underserved by the incumbents' mass-market propositions. The risk is the same one Red Bull MOBILE ran into: your unit economics live inside a wholesale contract you do not own. Operators that hold their own catalogue, rating and subscriber data have something to negotiate with when that contract comes up. Operators that do not, do not.

If you are working through a Saudi launch and want the platform questions separated from the regulatory ones, [talk to us](/en/company/contacts). Avante has delivered BSS for operators in the Middle East and Africa since 2006, including MVNO platforms in markets with comparable licensing and data-residency conditions.

## From Reseller to Full MVNO: How Much of the Stack a Brand Should Own

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/reseller-to-full-mvno

Sky Italia stopped reselling Fastweb SIMs in September 2026 and became an MVNO. What each step up the MVNO ladder gives a brand, and how to plan the next one.

**Short answer.** A brand does not have to pick between reselling SIMs and running a full MVNO once and for all. Most move up in steps. Sky Italia resold Fastweb SIMs from 2024 and launched its own MVNO on 23 September 2026. The model a brand launches with matters less than whether its product catalogue, customer data and billing can move with it to the next one.

Sky Italia sold mobile plans for two and a half years without being a mobile operator. From February 2024, a Sky Mobile SIM was a Fastweb SIM with a Sky logo. Customers who activated one became Fastweb customers, and when Fastweb changed its tariffs, Sky's tariffs followed, as [SmartWorld](https://www.smartworld.it/news/sky-mobile-mvno-sim-fastweb-operatore-indipendente.html) pointed out in September 2026.

In February 2026, Italy's industry ministry authorised Sky to operate as an ESP-type MVNO. On 23 September the new Sky Mobile went live on the Fastweb + Vodafone network, with Sky running the service and the customer contracts itself ([Il Sole 24 Ore](https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/sky-alza-posta-mobile-is-to-become-a-mobile-virtual-network-operator-and-will-manage-the-service-AJ22gRLB), [Broadband TV News](https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2026/09/23/sky-italia-takes-direct-control-of-sky-mobile-as-mvno/)).

In network terms the step is small. Sky still has no SIM ranges or number prefixes of its own and uses Fastweb's. Commercially it is large. Sky now sets its own prices, owns its customer base and bundles mobile with Sky TV and Sky Wifi on its own terms.

That is the decision hiding behind "should we launch an MVNO?". A brand has to decide how much of the telecom business it needs to run today, and how much it will want to run in three years.

## The three rungs of the MVNO ladder

MVNO models differ by how much of the service the brand runs itself. At the bottom, a reseller runs the brand, distribution and the customer relationship. At the top, a full MVNO runs everything except the radio network. The terms are not standardised: Italy's regulator says "ESP" (enhanced service provider), and many vendors call any MVNO without its own core "light". This article uses the three rungs from our [operating models guide](/en/solutions/mvno/operating-models); the full comparison, MVNE included, is in [Full MVNO, light MVNO or MVNE](/en/insights/blog/full-mvno-light-mvno-mvne-operating-model).

| Model            | What the brand runs                                                                                    | What the host MNO or an enabler runs                       | Typical fit                                                   |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Reseller / Light | Brand, distribution, the customer relationship; in the light variant also care and tariff presentation | SIM management, HLR/HSS, rating, billing, interconnect     | Testing demand; mobile as a loyalty add-on                    |
| Medium (own BSS) | All of the above plus product catalogue, charging, billing, CRM, self-care and subscriber data         | Core network and radio; in some markets numbering and SIMs | Brands that need their own tariffs, bundles and customer data |
| Full MVNO        | All of the above plus HLR/HSS, packet core, own numbering, interconnect and roaming agreements         | Spectrum, radio access and capacity                        | Companies for whom connectivity is the main business          |

_Sky Italia moved from the first rung towards the second in September 2026. It did not need the third to control its own prices and customers._

The guide also has a five-question selector that maps a brand's goals to one of these rungs.

## What does a brand gain by moving up?

Moving up the ladder gives a brand three things.

The first is control of the product catalogue. A brand that owns its catalogue launches tariffs, bundles and promotions on its own schedule. Sky's tariffs used to move whenever Fastweb's did. Now Sky prices Sky Mobile Maxi at €7.90 a month and gives unlimited data to customers who also take Sky TV or Sky Wifi.

The second is ownership of the customer. Until September 2026, a Sky Mobile subscriber was legally a Fastweb subscriber. Customer data, contract and number all sat with another company.

The third is room to connect mobile with the rest of the business. A bank can tie connectivity to payments and rewards. A broadband provider can sell fixed and mobile on one bill.

Each gain comes with work attached. A brand that runs billing answers for billing accuracy, tax, reconciliation and disputes. One that runs provisioning needs reliable integrations with the host network. Taking SIM profiles and numbering adds security and compliance duties. In Pakistan, for example, a licensed MVNO must keep call records for a year and have lawful interception in place before it starts selling ([ProPakistani, June 2026](https://propakistani.pk/2026/06/24/pta-allows-telcos-with-no-physical-networks-to-launch-in-pakistan/)). More control can improve margins and speed to market. It also enlarges the operation the business has to run.

## Why do brands move from reseller to MVNO?

Brands move up when mobile stops being a side product. For a retailer using SIMs as a loyalty perk, or a travel app selling eSIMs, a reseller model can stay the right answer for years. Building telecom operations would add cost without adding value.

For others, mobile grows into part of the core relationship with the customer. Sky is one case: once mobile sits in the same bundle as TV and broadband, the price and the customer record have to be Sky's.

South Africa's FNB Connect shows the bank version. FNB spent three years planning the service before launching it in June 2015. By the end of 2025 it had one million active SIMs, and FirstRand says about three million customers use FNB Connect and its money platform. FNB Connect earned about R300 million, up 17% on the previous year ([BusinessDay, July 2026](https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/2026-07-22-fnb-connect-targets-price-sensitive-consumers-with-devices-under-r5000/)). The SIMs sit next to payments, rewards, prepaid electricity and devices. For FNB, mobile is part of the banking product. We look at this pattern in more detail in [why banks launch MVNOs](/en/insights/blog/why-banks-launch-mvnos).

## When the launch model becomes the year-three problem

The launch model becomes a problem when the business changes faster than the platform can. New projects focus, sensibly, on the first SIM: how fast it activates, what the integration costs, how much can be outsourced.

The trouble shows up later, in three recurring forms. A managed platform that suited the first tens of thousands of subscribers restricts pricing once marketing wants weekly promotions or personalised bundles. A product catalogue held in the host's system becomes the bottleneck. And an integration built tightly around one host network blocks a second host, a new country or a renegotiated wholesale deal.

At that point, changing the model can cost almost as much as launching again. Subscribers have to be migrated. Product logic has to be rebuilt. Billing and usage history must stay available for disputes and audits, and customers keep using the service while all this happens.

> **Key insight.** Customers do not move on their own when the model changes. Sky has to offer each existing Sky Mobile customer the option to move to the new service, because those customers belonged to Fastweb. In Pakistan, the regulator gave ONIC's operator three months to migrate its whole base.

The deeper comparison between a turnkey platform and your own BSS is in [MVNO-in-a-box vs own BSS](/en/insights/blog/mvno-in-a-box-vs-own-bss).

## What the BSS must let you change later

A platform does not need every function on day one. It needs to let the brand take more functions in-house later without starting over. Four properties decide whether the next step is an upgrade or a rebuild.

Start with the product catalogue. The brand should control it even when the host or MVNE runs everything else. If all commercial logic lives in someone else's system, every tariff change waits for their release cycle.

Data comes next: customer, usage and charging records, with history. A migration without access to them begins as a data recovery project.

Modules should be separable. When charging, billing, CRM and provisioning talk through documented APIs, the brand can move one of them in-house and leave the rest running.

Finally, plan for more than one host. An MVNO may start on one network and later want a second host, its own IMSI ranges or another country, so the architecture should not assume the year-one wholesale contract lasts forever.

Alexander Donskoy, Avante's Sales Director, has worked on seven BSS transformation projects since 2006, in Western and Southern Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the CIS. "The layer operators most often want back is the product catalogue together with rating. While the host holds them, every new bundle is a change request in someone else's queue. When an MVNO later moves to its own BSS, the software is rarely the slow part. Rebuilding tariff logic and customer history from whatever the host can export takes longer, so the format and frequency of that export belong in the host contract before launch."

## How regulation changes the choice

Regulators decide what a service is by looking at who runs billing, KYC and customer care. Pakistan shows how far that goes.

ONIC was a digital brand of PTML, the company behind Ufone, which holds the network and spectrum. In September 2026 the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority ordered PTML to stop new ONIC sales and SIM activations ([The Pakistan Connect](https://thepakistanconnect.com/?p=132396)). The PTA found that ONIC had its own packages, billing, CRM and customer care. A separate company, DTMS, handled marketing, customer acquisition, KYC, SIM logistics and customer service, and took 55% of relevant revenue for the first three years. That was enough to treat ONIC as an MVNO, and PTML's ownership of the brand did not change the conclusion. PTML must either fold ONIC back into its own licence or have it licensed as an MVNO.

Regulation can also remove rungs from the ladder. Pakistan's new MVNO licence, open since June 2026, costs $140,000 for 15 years and does not allow MVNOs to build their own radio or core networks. A full MVNO in the sense of our table is not available there.

So before choosing a model, map who will own subscriber data, KYC, billing, customer care, lawful interception, data localisation and business continuity. The PTA raised most of these points about ONIC. The technical design, the commercial model and the regulatory model are one decision.

## Mistakes to avoid

Four mistakes come out of the cases above. Each one is cheap to avoid at launch and expensive to fix later.

| Mistake                                                        | What it looked like in the cases                                       | What to do at launch                                                     |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Product catalogue only in the host's system                    | Sky's tariffs tracked Fastweb's while Fastweb held the catalogue       | Keep a catalogue the brand controls, even on a managed platform          |
| Customer record owned by the partner, with no migration clause | Sky's reseller-era customers were Fastweb's and have to opt in to move | Agree data access and a migration procedure in the host or MVNE contract |
| Outsourcing so much that the regulator sees another operator   | ONIC's revenue share and outsourced KYC were part of the PTA's case    | Map licence obligations before splitting roles with partners             |
| BSS hard-wired to one host network                             | Not in these cases, but it blocks a second host or a new country       | Keep network integrations behind documented interfaces                   |

## Where Avante fits

Avante supplies BSS. [Avante MVNx Suite](/en/solutions/mvno/platform) is BSS/OSS for MVNOs, MVNEs and MVNAs, and it supports every rung in the table above. Avante does not act as an MVNE itself. It supplies the BSS to MVNEs and to brands that run their own.

For a brand that expects to move up, three things matter. The suite is assembled from separate products (OCS, Billing, Product Catalog, Mediation, CRM, Selfcare Portal and others) and is deployed whole or as the modules a model needs. The product catalogue and customer data stay with the brand whichever rung it starts on, and the data can live on-premises, in a private cloud or in Avante's managed environment. And the same BSS stays underneath when a Medium MVNO later adds its own core, so moving to Full is an extension rather than a second launch. On Avante's planning assumptions, a Medium launch takes four to six months once the host agreement and the legal framework are confirmed.

Two projects show different reasons to own the stack. VENTAmobile, a Latvian operator founded in 2015 that sells sponsored roaming, multi-IMSI, M2M and eSIM services, runs a full Avante platform covering the BSS/OSS functions an MVNO needs, with its own IT environment and integrations to third-party systems. In South Africa, Brilliantel chose Avante in April 2026 for its planned enterprise and government MVNO. Its offers go beyond standard MVNE configurations: with sponsored billing, for example, an employer pays an agreed share of an employee's usage and the rest is billed to the employee. More on both is on our [clients page](/en/customers).

Avante's team also covers the work outside software: the business case, negotiations with the host operator, and network components through partners.

## How to decide

Answer two questions before choosing a model. What does the brand need to control in its first 12 months? What will it need in year three if mobile works? Then check that both the platform and the host contract allow the second answer. The [launch process page](/en/solutions/mvno/launch) builds a timeline for your model and market, and [MVNO vs MVNE vs MVNA](/en/insights/blog/mvno-vs-mvne-vs-mvna) explains who does what in the chain.

## Frequently asked questions

### How long does it take to move to your own BSS?

On Avante's planning assumptions, a Medium launch on a platform already in production takes four to six months once the host agreement and the legal framework are confirmed. A Full MVNO with custom network integration typically takes about twice as long. Migrating existing customers needs its own plan on top of that.

### Which MVNO type is best?

No single type is best. A reseller model suits brands that want mobile as a supporting product with little operational load. A Medium MVNO with its own BSS suits brands that need their own tariffs, bundles and customer data. A full MVNO makes sense when connectivity is the main business and the market's licence allows it.

### What is the downside of becoming an MVNO?

The brand takes on responsibilities the host used to carry: billing accuracy, tax, customer disputes, KYC, data protection and, depending on the country, lawful interception and call record retention. The further up the ladder, the more of these it owns. The wholesale price also limits how far an MVNO can compete on price.

### Can an MVNO move from one model to another?

Yes. Sky Italia moved from reseller to an ESP-type MVNO in 2026. The move is easier when the product catalogue, customer data and billing history are accessible and the BSS modules can change one at a time. Existing customers usually have to be migrated, and that step needs planning from the start.

### Does a full MVNO need its own core network?

Yes. That is what separates it from a Medium MVNO. A full MVNO runs core network functions such as the HLR/HSS, issues its own SIMs from its own IMSI ranges and controls routing, while the host operator provides radio access. Some regulators, including Pakistan's under its 2026 licence, do not allow MVNOs to run their own core.

Want to map your brand to a model and a timeline? [Book a 30-minute call with Alexander Donskoy](https://cal.eu/avantebss/intro-call).

## Enhancing the Network Provider Ecosystem for Optimal Performance

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/enhancing-the-network-provider-ecosystem-for-optimal-performance

The network provider ecosystem is an essential part of the digital environment and is crucial for allowing digital transformation.

The digital revolution has resulted in a significant change in how businesses operate. Businesses today use technology to improve operations and gain a competitive advantage. In this context, network providers' roles have become extremely valuable because they play a critical role in enabling digital transformation.

## The Importance of Network Providers in the Digital Landscape

Network providers form the backbone of the digital world. They are responsible for establishing the network infrastructure that connects customers and businesses to the internet, facilitating trade and communication. With the rise of the internet, network providers have emerged as important players in the digital economy.

## The Network Provider Ecosystem: An Enabler for Digital Transformation

The network provider ecosystem is a complex network of relationships between network providers, technology providers, and customers. The success of digital transformation initiatives depends on this ecosystem, which also serves as the basis for the expansion and advancement of the digital economy.

Network providers collaborate closely with technology suppliers in this ecosystem to create and execute cutting-edge solutions that promote digital transformation. In the quickly changing digital landscape, this collaboration helps businesses keep one step ahead of the competition and gives them a competitive advantage.

## The Benefits of Network Providers for Digital Transformation

Network providers provide a variety of advantages for businesses looking to digitally transform their processes. These benefits include:

- Scalability and dependability: Network service providers offer scalable infrastructure that enables organizations to grow and attract new clients.
- Flexibility: Network service providers provide flexible solutions that can be modified to satisfy changing business requirements.
- Security: Network providers provide safe networks that defend organizations and their clients from online attacks and other security risks.
- Cost-effectiveness: Network service providers give affordable options that let companies cut expenses while enhancing productivity.

## The Future of the Network Provider Ecosystem

As the digital economy continues to evolve, the network provider ecosystem will play an essential role in shaping the future of technology. In order to create fresh solutions that enable digital transformation and give companies a competitive edge, network providers will continue to collaborate closely with technology suppliers.

As a result, the ecosystem of network providers is a critical enabler for digital transformation and provides the framework for the expansion and development of the digital economy. Businesses may achieve their goals for digital transformation and stay ahead of the competition in the quickly changing digital world by utilizing the advantages of network providers.

## Enhancing the Network Provider Ecosystem for Optimal Performance

Enhancing vital components like connectivity, performance, and security is important if the network provider ecosystem is to reach its full potential. This can be done through a number of tactics, such as:

- Investing in cutting-edge technology: To increase connectivity and performance, network providers should spend money on cutting-edge technologies like 5G networks and edge computing.
- Collaborating with technology providers to build new solutions and promote innovation in the digital sphere is something that network providers should do.
- Focusing on security: Network providers should prioritize security by implementing robust security measures such as encryption and multi-factor verification to protect against cyber-attacks and other security threats.
- Improving network reliability: Network providers should concentrate on increasing reliability of the network by investing in redundant systems and disaster recovery solutions.
- Adopting automation: Network providers should adopt automation to boost productivity and cut costs. Automating network management, customer support, and invoicing procedures is one example of this.

## Conclusion

The network provider ecosystem is an essential part of the digital environment and is crucial for allowing digital transformation. By enhancing the key aspects of the network provider ecosystem, businesses can take advantage of the benefits offered by network providers and achieve their digital transformation goals. Businesses may rely on the network provider ecosystem to assist their digital transformation objectives, whether they focus on optimizing performance, increasing connection, or addressing security.

AvanteBSS is a leading provider of innovative technology solutions for network providers. Our wide-ranging [product line](/en/products/bss) offers network operators a cutting-edge and effective way to improve their services and keep up with the rapidly changing digital landscape.

## How a Partner Relationship Management System Can Help You Scale Your Business

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/how-a-partner-relationship-management-system-can-help-you-scale-your-business

Discover the benefits of a Partner Relationship Management system in improving collaboration, managing partnerships, and achieving business growth goals

Are you seeking for strategies to grow your company, boost sales, and access new markets? In that case, you might want to think about putting a Partner Relationship Management (PRM) system in place. You can manage your partnerships, enhance teamwork, and grow your organization with the support of a PRM system. In this post, we'll talk about the advantages of PRM systems and how they can support your professional objectives.

## What is a Partner Relationship Management System?

A software platform called a Partner Relationship Management (PRM) system helps businesses in managing their partnerships. Features including partner onboarding, deal registration, lead distribution, training and certification, and performance tracking are all common in PRM systems. A PRM system gives partners a centralized platform through which they may access resources, communicate with the business, and work together.

## Benefits of Partner Relationship Management Systems

### Improved Partner Collaboration

Improved partner collaboration is one of a PRM system's main advantages. Partners can access resources, communicate with the business, and work together on projects using a PRM system. Better alignment between the business and its partners as well as more successful collaborative selling and marketing initiatives may result from this partnership.

### Streamlined Partner Onboarding

A PRM system can help streamline the partner onboarding process. With a PRM system, partners can easily access training and certification materials, as well as sales and marketing resources. This can help reduce the time it takes to get partners up to speed and selling.

### Increased Partner Performance

A PRM system can help increase partner performance by providing partners with the resources they need to be successful. This includes sales and marketing collateral, lead distribution, and deal registration. By providing partners with the resources they need to be successful, a PRM system can help increase partner revenue and profitability.

### Better Partner Relationship Management

A PRM system can help improve partner relationship management by providing a centralized platform for managing partner interactions. This includes tracking partner performance, managing deal registration and lead distribution, and providing partners with the resources they need to be successful. By providing a centralized platform for managing partner interactions, a PRM system can help improve the overall quality of partner relationships.

## How a PRM System Can Help You Scale Your Business

### Enter New Markets

One of the ways a PRM system can help you scale your business is by helping you enter new markets. By working with partners in new regions or industries, you can expand your customer base and revenue streams. A PRM system can help you identify potential partners in new markets and provide them with the resources they need to be successful.

### Increase Revenue

A PRM system can also help you increase revenue by providing partners with the resources they need to be successful. This includes sales and marketing collateral, lead distribution, and deal registration. By providing partners with the resources they need to be successful, you can increase partner revenue and profitability, which can in turn drive more revenue for your business.

### Improve Efficiency

A PRM system can help improve efficiency by streamlining partner onboarding, deal registration, and lead distribution. By automating these processes, you can reduce the time and resources required to manage partner relationships, allowing you to focus on other areas of your business.

### Expand Your Product Offering

A PRM system can help you expand your product offering by working with partners who offer complementary products or services. By partnering with companies that offer products or services that complement your own, you can create bundled offerings that can increase sales and revenue.

## Conclusion

Partner Relationship Management (PRM) systems can help businesses manage their relationships with partners, improve collaboration, and scale their business. By providing partners with the resources they need to be successful, businesses can increase revenue, enter new markets, improve efficiency, and expand their product offerings. With a PRM system, businesses can streamline partner onboarding, deal registration, and lead distribution, and provide partners with access to training and certification materials, sales and marketing collateral, and performance tracking.

If you're looking to scale your business, consider implementing a [PRM system](/en/products/prm). By improving partner collaboration, streamlining partner onboarding, and providing partners with the resources they need to be successful, you can increase revenue, expand into new markets, and drive business growth.

## MVNO Markets in LATAM & Africa: Trends, Opportunities and Strategy

https://avantebss.com/en/insights/blog/mvno-markets-in-latam-africa-trends-opportunities-and-strategy

Explore how MVNOs are scaling in Latin America and Africa. Key market trends, business models, challenges, and the role of modern BSS/MVNE platforms.

Latin America (LATAM) and Africa are moving from being “experimental MVNO” regions to becoming strategically important growth markets for mobile virtual network operators and the MVNE platforms that enable them. For telecom executives, this shift changes the core question from _“Is an MVNO viable here?”_ to _“How fast can we enter — and on what digital foundation?”_ 

This transition is not the result of a single catalyst. Rather, it reflects the combined impact of mobile-first consumer behavior, rapidly expanding digital commerce, the rise of fintech and mobile money, and a sustained policy focus on digital inclusion. In many parts of LATAM and Africa, connectivity has moved beyond being a standalone service. It now sits at the center of broader digital ecosystems that combine payments, commerce, content, and enterprise services.

At the same time, MVNOs themselves are evolving. The new wave of virtual operators is less about rebranding wholesale airtime and more about building fully fledged digital businesses — with differentiated distribution models, distinct customer experiences, and clear monetization strategies. In this environment, BSS/OSS is no longer a background IT concern. It has become a primary enabler of speed, regulatory compliance, partner integration, and sustainable unit economics.

## Why Emerging Markets Are Becoming MVNO Growth Engines

Compared with Europe, where MVNO models matured over decades, many LATAM and African markets are still in the early stages of wholesale and virtual operator development. That relative immaturity is precisely what creates opportunity. There are fewer entrenched legacy structures, fewer inherited business assumptions, and more underserved segments where new propositions can gain traction.

Two structural signals are particularly important.

First, market formation is accelerating. Industry data and regulatory disclosures consistently show a sharp increase in MVNO launches across Latin America over the past decade. This is not a series of isolated experiments, but a clear indication that wholesale access and virtual operator models are becoming part of the mainstream telecom landscape.

Second, digital ecosystems in these regions are increasingly mobile-native. In LATAM especially, smartphones have become the primary interface for commerce, communication, and financial services. This reinforces the logic of bundling connectivity with payments, subscriptions, and digital services rather than selling it as a standalone product.

What makes emerging markets especially attractive for MVNOs is the combination of demand-side segmentation and supply-side openness.

## Untapped Niches with Clear Monetization Logic

The most compelling MVNO opportunities in LATAM and Africa are rarely about offering a cheaper SIM card to the mass market. They are targeted propositions where trust, distribution reach, and service packaging matter more than headline price.

Several segments stand out:

- **Youth and digital-native users**, attracted by content bundles, short-validity plans, and micro-subscriptions

- **Migrants and cross-border communities**, with strong demand for international voice, roaming optimization, and remittance-related services

- **SMEs and informal businesses**, seeking simple connectivity combined with payments, POS solutions, or device financing

- **Fintech-led segments**, built on KYC-verified user bases and embedded payment flows

- **Enterprise and IoT use cases**, requiring managed connectivity, policy control, analytics, and SLA-backed services

Each of these segments brings a different operational profile and economic logic. As a result, they impose very different requirements on the underlying platform.

## Regulatory Openness Is Improving — Unevenly, but Meaningfully

Across Africa, regulators have begun to formalize MVNO frameworks with the explicit goal of encouraging competition and service innovation. Nigeria is often cited as a reference point, with a licensing structure that clearly defines MVNO tiers, responsibilities, and scope.

Latin America remains more fragmented. Regulatory approaches vary widely from country to country, reflecting different market histories and policy priorities. Even so, the overall direction is broadly supportive of digital competition, particularly where financial inclusion and affordable access align with national objectives.

For operators, the decisive factor is not regulatory uniformity but regulatory predictability. Clear rules around licensing, numbering, taxation, and compliance materially reduce uncertainty and make serious market entry viable.

## Lower Legacy Constraints as a Strategic Advantage

New entrants in emerging markets often benefit from the absence of deeply entrenched legacy systems. Without decades of integration debt, they are more willing to adopt cloud-native platforms and standardized APIs from the outset.

That flexibility has tangible consequences. It shortens time-to-market, improves operational resilience, and makes it easier to evolve the business model as demand shifts and new segments emerge.

## Market Outlook: From Opportunistic to Scalable MVNOs

LATAM and Africa are moving from opportunistic MVNO launches toward more structured and scalable virtual operator ecosystems.

Growth is increasingly driven by ecosystem-led propositions rather than pure price competition, by non-telco brands using connectivity to deepen customer relationships, and by enterprises embedding mobile connectivity directly into operational workflows.

At the same time, execution risk remains high. Market demand alone is not enough. Platform readiness increasingly determines which operators can scale beyond an initial launch.

## MVNO Business Models in Practice

In practice, MVNO models are combinations of three core elements: distribution advantage, service differentiation, and monetization mechanics.

Four patterns dominate across LATAM and Africa:

MVNO model

Primary segment

Monetization logic

Complexity

Brand-led MVNO

Existing consumer base

Lower acquisition cost via owned channels

Medium

Bank-led / fintech MVNO

Financial services customers

ARPU uplift through ecosystem lock-in

High

Ethnic & migrant MVNO

Cross-border communities

Margin on international services

Medium

Enterprise / IoT MVNO

SMEs and enterprises

SLA-based managed services

High

Across all of them, platform choice directly affects margin sustainability.

## The Role of MVNEs in Accelerating Market Entry

In emerging markets, MVNEs are more than outsourced BSS providers. They act as risk mitigators, timeline compressors, and capability multipliers.

By providing pre-integrated charging, provisioning, compliance, and operational tooling, MVNE platforms allow MVNOs to focus on proposition design and go-to-market execution rather than full-stack telecom engineering.

The difference is often measured in quarters. MVNE-enabled launches can be executed in months, while fully in-house stacks typically take much longer to reach production stability.

## Technology as a Differentiator — and an Economic Lever

Many MVNO propositions begin with a simple offering. The risk is that simplicity at launch turns into fragility at scale.

Legacy BSS environments struggle where it matters most in emerging markets: product agility, real-time monetization, partner onboarding, and cost automation.

This becomes especially visible in unit economics.

For enterprise and IoT-focused MVNOs, profitability depends less on subscriber volume and more on operational efficiency per customer or contract. Every manual step — onboarding, provisioning, reconciliation, support — directly erodes margin.

Platforms influence unit economics in three ways: reducing cost-to-serve through automation, protecting revenue through real-time charging and policy control, and enabling growth without proportional increases in operational overhead. Where systems rely on manual processes, margins collapse as soon as scale increases.

## Standards as a Trust Anchor

Modern MVNO platforms increasingly align with established telecom standards rather than proprietary architectures.

TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA) provides a reference model for modular, cloud-native BSS/OSS design. Combined with TM Forum Open APIs and REST-based integration, it enables cleaner system boundaries, faster partner onboarding, and lower long-term integration risk.

At the charging layer, Online Charging Systems (OCS) remain central — particularly for prepaid, hybrid, and enterprise use cases. The key difference is that modern OCS implementations are API-driven, tightly coupled to dynamic product catalogs, and built for event-based rather than batch processing.

For CTOs and CIOs, standards alignment is not theoretical compliance. It is a practical mechanism for reducing vendor lock-in and future-proofing the MVNO stack.

## Real-World Signals from the Market

Several operators illustrate how this plays out in practice.

The Retail Powerhouse: Bait (Walmart Mexico)

**The Play:** Walmart Mexico launched **Bait**, leveraging the wholesale network Altán Redes. By the end of 2024, it became the largest MVNO in the country, boasting over 13 million subscribers.

- **The Secret Sauce:** Seamless integration with retail. Customers receive data rewards for purchasing groceries.

- **The BSS Requirement:** A high-performance **Real-time Charging System (OCS)** capable of handling millions of micro-transactions triggered by retail POS systems.

#### The Fintech Disruptor: Nu Celular (Nubank, Brazil)

**The Play:** Nubank, the world’s largest digital bank outside Asia, launched its own MVNO to deepen its ecosystem "stickiness."

- **The Secret Sauce:** Using telecom data to refine credit scoring and offering integrated management through the banking app.

- **The BSS Requirement:** Deep **API-First integration** between the BSS and Core Banking systems, ensuring that identity verification (KYC) and payments are a single, unified flow.

#### The Ecosystem Pioneer: Equitel (Equity Bank, Kenya)

**The Play:** Equity Bank didn’t just want to provide mobile banking; they wanted to _be_ the SIM card to control the security and user experience.

- **The Secret Sauce:** They utilized "Thin SIM" technology to sit on top of existing MNO cards, allowing users to switch between banking and standard mobile services.

- **The BSS Requirement:** Sophisticated **Multi-tenant and Multi-IMSI management** capabilities to handle complex routing and security protocols.

#### The Value Architect: Capitec Connect (South Africa)

**The Play:** One of South Africa’s leading banks entered the MVNO space with a radical proposition: data that never expires.

- **The Secret Sauce:** Disrupting the market through radical simplicity and transparent pricing, directly addressing consumer pain points regarding "vanishing" data bundles.

- **The BSS Requirement:** An ultra-flexible **Product Catalog** that allows for non-traditional rating logic (no expiry) without requiring months of custom coding.

## Expert Perspective

Across MVNO launches in emerging markets, one conclusion keeps resurfacing. Market demand is rarely the constraint. Segments are underserved, and regulatory openness is improving.

What separates success from failure is execution discipline — and the quality of the digital foundation supporting it. MVNOs that treat BSS and operational tooling as strategic assets adapt faster, control margins more effectively, and integrate partners with less friction. Those that compromise early often hit a growth ceiling after the first expansion phase.

In emerging markets, the cost of re-platforming is almost always higher than the cost of doing it right from the start.

## Conclusion

Latin America and Africa are becoming strategic MVNO regions as digital economies scale, customer segments remain underserved, and regulatory frameworks mature. The operators that succeed will be those that combine speed with discipline — launching quickly, learning fast, and scaling on platforms designed for partners, payments, compliance, and multi-segment monetization.

MVNO success today is less about spectrum access and more about the digital foundation behind the business. In emerging markets especially, the choice of BSS or MVNE platform is not an IT detail. It is a strategic decision.

# Contact

E-mail: info@avantebss.com
Phone: +357 95 981974 (Monday to Friday 10–19 EET)
Address: Sotiras 2, Tziovani Building, Office 6, Paralimni, 5286, Famagusta, Cyprus
Request a demo: https://avantebss.com/en/company/contacts