Virtual Mobile Operators: A Winning Alternative?

We all know the mobile operators , at least the traditional ones: TIM, Vodafone, Wind , 3. For about 25 years, the 4 Sisters (also known as MNOs , Mobile Network Operators ) divided up the generous national mobile market. At the end of 2016, Wind and Tre merged, effectively creating the leading national operator by mobile market share. But over the last ten years, alongside these telecommunications giants, dozens of alternative telephone companies have entered the mobile market. These are virtual operators, also known as MVNOs ( Mobile Virtual Network Operators) , which offer traditional voice, messaging and Internet connection services, without having their own network of owned antennas . By relying on the network of “real” operators, MVNOs allow their users to keep their original telephone number (a “number portability” service) and to have almost complete coverage across the country. After the complete liberalization of services that began in 1998, CoopVoce was the first virtual operator to enter the market in 2007 (on the TIM network). Ten years later, in 2017, MVNOs accounted for 7.6% of the market by number of SIM cards. Today, their market share hovers around 10% . The reason for MVNOs' success? Their rates tend to be cheaper than those of traditional carriers, thanks to the lack of maintenance and upgrade costs for transmission antennas. In this article, we'll learn more about them: what they are, which real operators they "lease" their mobile networks from, and what their best offers are for customers.

Types of Virtual Operators

Virtual operators can be further divided into subcategories:

• Full MVNO : The MVNO issues its own SIM cards, owns the switching network, and is free to change its operator without having to replace all its SIM cards. Currently the best type of virtual operator, it will need to rely on a more solid financial base to support the higher operating costs. PosteMobile, for example, recently became a Full MVNO operator, meaning it can fully manage its own services.
• ESP MVNO: The MVNO leases the network and provides only VAS ( Value Added Services ), while the SIM cards are issued by the actual operator you choose. Due to its convenience, this type is the most common in Italy, but the virtual operator is not allowed to change the agreements, under penalty of losing compatibility with all SIM cards.
• Air Time Reseller (ATR) : an operator that resells traffic acquired wholesale from a real operator, handling only marketing, sales, and in some cases customer care (usually outsourced). The SIM cards are produced by the real operator and are entirely managed by them.

Advantages and disadvantages of MVNOs

Advantages

• Cheaper rates : Subscription and prepaid rates are much lower than those offered by those with their own infrastructure (real operators). PosteMobile, Kena Mobile, and Fastweb Mobile offer basic packages costing between 2-3 euros per month (for larger packages, in terms of calls and gigabytes, prices don't exceed 6-8 euros per month).
• Fewer contractual constraints : virtual operators do not normally impose minimum duration constraints or hidden costs, giving their users the option to cancel/change operator
• Simplified top-ups : Some operators are linked to a "brand" operating in the area (post offices, supermarkets, etc.), where customers can easily top up while using the traditional services offered.

Disadvantages

• Lower Priority and Variable Internet Speed : In some cases, depending on the agreement between the virtual and real operators, MVNO users are not always guaranteed quality of service, especially regarding the ability to connect to the Internet from their mobile phones. Precisely because of this commercial and technological subordination, MVNO users may have lower network access priority than real operators, which translates into reduced Internet connection speeds when antennas are crowded.
• Compatibility : For ESP operators only, you may need to change your SIM and also lose your phone number if the agreements change or if the operator goes bankrupt.
• Technological gap with MNOs : many MVNOs do not have the ability to access with priority, if at all, the latest generation technologies available from the real operator, limiting themselves to offering 3G networks or at most LTE (therefore no LTE-Advanced and LTE , 5G, etc.).

What are they? What networks do they operate on?

Before looking at the current MVNOs in operation and which mobile networks they use, let's briefly look at the actual operators in Italy:

• Vodafone Italia (founded in 1994 as Omnitel and renamed Vodafone Italia in 2003)
• TIM (born May 1995)
• Wind-Tre (founded in 1997 and 1999 respectively, merged on December 31, 2016)
• Iliad Italia (founded May 29, 2018)

MVNOs that use the TIM network

• Fastweb (Full)
• Kena mobile (Full)
• BT Mobile (Full)
• Tiscali Mobile (ESP)
• CoopVoce (ESP)

MVNOs that use the Vodafone network

• Lycamobile (Full)
• ho. Mobile (ESP)
• ERG Mobile (ESP)
• DailyTelecom (ESP)
• 1Mobile/Carrefour (ESP)
• Optima mobile (ESP)

MVNOs that use the Wind-Tre network

• PosteMobile (Full)
• NV mobile (ESP)
• UniMoble (ATR)
• Green Telecommunications (ATR)