TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Broadcom ‘in talks to buy VMware’

      23 May 2022

      Saboteurs threaten South Africa’s power supply

      20 May 2022

      Prosus to sell Russia’s Avito

      20 May 2022

      Curro pilots artificial intelligence for learning in its schools

      20 May 2022

      Dark weekend lies ahead thanks to you know who

      20 May 2022
    • World

      Is it time to buy bitcoin again?

      23 May 2022

      Chip giant ASML places big bets on a tiny future

      20 May 2022

      Musk moves to soothe investor fears over Tesla

      20 May 2022

      Apple is almost ready to show off its mixed-reality headset

      20 May 2022

      TikTok plans big push into gaming

      19 May 2022
    • In-depth

      Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

      17 May 2022

      Stablecoins wend wobbly way into the unknown

      17 May 2022

      The standard model of particle physics may be broken

      11 May 2022

      Meet Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s personal ‘fixer’

      6 May 2022

      Twitter takeover was brash and fast, with Musk calling the shots

      26 April 2022
    • Podcasts

      Dean Broadley on why product design at Yoco is an evolving art

      18 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E02 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 2’

      17 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E01 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 1’

      10 May 2022

      Llew Claasen on how exchange controls are harming SA tech start-ups

      2 May 2022

      The inside scoop on OVEX’s big expansion plans

      20 April 2022
    • Opinion

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022

      Cash is still king … but not for much longer

      31 March 2022

      Icasa on the role of TV white spaces and dynamic spectrum access

      31 March 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Opinion»Duncan McLeod»Why your bank may soon be your telco

    Why your bank may soon be your telco

    Duncan McLeod By Duncan McLeod26 April 2015
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Duncan-McLeod-180-profileSouth Africa has not been particularly keen on the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model. It’s lagged most developed and some developing markets in launching mobile brands on the back of cellular operators’ infrastructure.

    South African retailers and banks — the two industries internationally that most tend to launch mobile products that leverage their strong consumer brands — have not jumped on the bandwagon in the same way as their peers in the US, Europe and Asia have.

    There are a number of reasons for this — and a few signs that the situation may finally be changing.

    One reason the market has been slow to open up is that MTN and Vodacom, South Africa’s two largest mobile operators — with 90% revenue market share between them — have not been particularly enamoured of the idea of MVNOs, which typically want to attract customers on the basis of low prices.

    Another is that until very recently, the South African mobile market was still growing strongly. Until a few short years ago, the main focus of the operators was not so much on stealing market share from one another, but racing to sign up the millions of South Africans who hadn’t yet been connected. But the market is now fast maturing.

    Yet to date only one operator — Cell C — has shown interest in hosting MVNOs on its network. In fact, it helped launch the country’s first such brand, Virgin Mobile, in 2006 in partnership with Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. It is no longer involved in that business, but the operator continues to court those interested in launching virtual mobile services.

    French telecommmunications giant Orange showed some interest in launching an MVNO here a couple of years ago. But it argued that without regulatory frameworks of the sort that European regulators have imposed on Europe network operators, it doesn’t make sense to invest. And communications regulator Icasa has shown no particular interest in developing those regulations.

    Indeed, it took eight years from Virgin Mobile’s 2006 launch before a second MVNO emerged.

    In 2014, JSE-listed retail group Mr Price revealed plans to launch MRP Mobile. That business was started with the help of former Virgin Mobile boss Steve Bailey, who now runs mobile virtual network enabler MVN-X, a subsidiary of Durban-based Ignition Group. Like Virgin Mobile, MRP Mobile runs on Cell C’s network. MVN-X provides the billing and customer relationship management infrastructure.

    Then, late last year, MVN-X announced that Cape Town-based Smart Mobile, which specialises in providing cellular services and handsets to the emerging post-paid market, will also launch an MVNO (again, using Cell C).

    And the company’s latest partnership, announced this week, is an MVNO called me&you mobile, to be launched in early May by Ignition Group.

    Me&you CEO Brett Howell says the business will be a niche player, offering a Sim-only solution with no contractual lock-in and competitive voice and data prices. The company hopes to attract those in higher living standards measures who no longer want to be locked into a 24-month contract but who still want some of the flexibility that contracts offer.

    FNB is soon expected to muscle into the mobile market with an MVNO of its own
    FNB is soon expected to muscle into the mobile market with an MVNO of its own

    Me&you mobile will operate online only, helping keeping costs low. Customers will order their services via its website, and the Sim will be couriered to them.

    The company plans to work with partners who sell handsets, but Howell emphasises me&you has no intention of doing this itself.

    The model makes sense, especially if one calculates how much it really costs to get a subsidised phone from one of the big mobile network operators on a 24-month contract.

    But the launch of these new and fairly niche players may just be the precursor to the launch of the big daddy of MVNOs.

    First National Bank is widely rumoured to be on the verge of launching a mobile brand of its own, with Cell C again providing the underpinnings, that will give MTN and Vodacom a serious run for their money.

    Details are sketchy, but talk is that FNB’s mobile service will be tightly integrated with its hugely successful eBucks rewards programme.

    And if FNB enters the market, the other big banks surely won’t be far behind.

    • Duncan McLeod is TechCentral editor. Find him on Twitter
    • This column was first published in the Sunday Times
    Brett Howell Cell C Duncan McLeod Icasa Ignition Group me&you me&you mobile Mr Price MRP Mobile MTN MVN-X Orange Richard Branson Smart Mobile Steve Bailey Virgin Group Virgin Mobile Vodacom
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticlePost Office bank accounts remain frozen
    Next Article Eskom’s maintenance weekend a success

    Related Posts

    Creating an effective employer value proposition for the new era of work

    20 May 2022

    Shock as Mustek CEO David Kan dies

    19 May 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Fast-rising fintech Bankingly closes $11m investment round

    20 May 2022

    Creating an effective employer value proposition for the new era of work

    20 May 2022

    Why fibre is the new utility – and what it means for South Africa

    19 May 2022
    Opinion

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

    19 April 2022

    How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

    8 April 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

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

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

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