Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Apple is said to be eyeing Formula 1 broadcast rights

      9 July 2025

      Vodacom, Maziv deal now looks likely after CompCom U-turn

      8 July 2025

      Icasa publishes new draft regulations for digital TV

      8 July 2025

      Fast-growing Beira port to get private mobile network

      8 July 2025

      MultiChoice hit with multimillion-rand fine for privacy ‘breaches’

      8 July 2025
    • World

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025

      Jony Ive’s first AI gadget could be … a pen

      30 June 2025

      Bumper orders for Xiaomi’s YU7 SUV heighten threat to Tesla

      27 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on data governance in hybrid cloud environments

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » New MVNO to be launched in SA

    New MVNO to be launched in SA

    By Duncan McLeod10 November 2014
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Steve Bailey
    Steve Bailey

    Just two months after Mr Price announced that it would be South Africa’s second mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) after Virgin Mobile, another company has announced plans to venture into the MVNO space.

    Cape Town-based Smart Mobile, which specialises in providing cellular services and handsets to the emerging post-paid market in South Africa, will launch an MVNO through MVN-X, the same company providing services to Mr Price for MRP Mobile.

    MVNOs leverage third-party operators’ network infrastructure to provide services to consumers under their own brands.

    Former Virgin Mobile boss Steve Bailey, who played a key role in the launch of MRP Mobile through MVN-X, has emerged as a key figure in the launch of this latest MVNO, which piggybacks off Cell C’s network.

    Until recently, Virgin Mobile — which also uses Cell C’s network — has had the MVNO space to itself. Although popular in the US, Europe and Asia, MVNOs have not taken off in South Africa until now.

    Bailey told TechCentral on Monday that he expects Smart Mobile to begin offering MVNO services to its clients in the first quarter of 2015.

    “Smart mobile has been in operation for 10 years and has signed over 500 000 contract subscribers across the various networks in this period,” Bailey said.

    The company is run by CEO Andre Geboers. It has signed a deal with MVN-X to build and provide the required billing and customer relationship management platforms, and to provide integration into the host network, Cell C.

    In May, Bailey told TechCentral that the cellular market in South Africa is worth about R100bn/year. “It’s a big market, and there are a number of niche opportunities where operators can’t necessarily serve customers as well as an MVNO could,” he said. “We provide all the necessary infrastructure and platforms to allow MVNOs to launch at a fraction of the cost of doing it themselves, and to launch quickly.”

    According to Bailey, a number of South African banks have also shown “considerable interest” in launching MVNOs. “We have a pipeline of potential MVNOs,” he said.

    Bailey ran Virgin Mobile in South Africa for four years, before leaving in 2012 for a short stint at a telecoms operator in Nigeria. He then joined Ignition Group and began work on the MVN-X business in 2013.  — (c) 2014 NewsCentral Media



    Andre Geboers Cell C Ignition Group Mr Price MRP Mobile MVN-X Smart Mobile Steve Bailey Virgin Mobile
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleUnlimited calls from Telkom for R600
    Next Article High court to hear Cell C banner case

    Related Posts

    Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

    19 June 2025

    MVNO boom is reshaping South Africa’s mobile market

    12 June 2025

    Shein and Temu feel the heat as South Africa closes tax loophole

    8 June 2025
    Company News

    Huawei South Africa Partners Forum 2025: joining hands for a digital, intelligent future

    8 July 2025

    Powering South Africa’s industrial intelligence with Huawei Cloud’s AI-native innovations

    8 July 2025

    Rain launches a new way to connect. It’s a loop

    8 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.