#mvno

Thanks to another recent donation from Rare Noggin Stuff, the following Sanyo feature phones had their firmwares preserved:

Sanyo Juno (1.000BT and 1.007SP, both Boost Mobile and Sprint versions)

Sanyo PRO-200 (1.011SP, ReadyMobile "branded")

Many mobile virtual network operators choose a light entry strategy to launch services quickly. This approach enables rapid market entry without heavy upfront infrastructure investment. Yet as their business expands, operators inevitably encounter a significant barrier. They face persistent pressure from shrinking profit margins and a lack of control over their core business operations.

The Light MVNO Model: Limited Flexibility as a Data Reseller

Operating as a Light MVNO means functioning primarily as a data reseller. Service plans and pricing depend entirely on the wholesale offerings provided by the host mobile network operator. When market conditions change rapidly, competition intensifies, or price wars emerge, Light MVNO operators have almost no ability to adjust their strategies. They cannot independently modify pricing structures, develop innovative service packages, or respond promptly to evolving customer needs. This inherent dependency creates a natural ceiling for business growth and profitability.

The Full MVNO Model: Control Through Independent Core Network Deployment

Full MVNO operators achieve genuine operational independence by deploying their own core network infrastructure. Solutions such as IPLOOK flexible core network systems give operators complete control over essential network components including subscriber databases and gateway functions. This level of control empowers operators to design customized tariff structures, implement real time dynamic billing systems, and deliver specialized services such as data connectivity without additional charges for specific enterprise or Internet of Things applications.

Profitability Comparison: Clear Differences Revealed by Industry Data

Industry statistics demonstrate a remarkable gap in profitability between these two operational models. Light MVNO operators typically see gross margins ranging from 10 percent to 25 percent. This narrow margin severely restricts long term growth potential and return on investment, leaving limited resources for service enhancement or business expansion. In contrast, Full MVNO operators achieve consistently higher gross margins ranging from 35 percent to 50 percent. They accomplish this by separating from retail packages offered by mobile network operators and purchasing wholesale network capacity directly at the source level. This substantial margin advantage creates a solid financial foundation for sustainable development and continuous innovation.

The Strategic Shift: Becoming an Independent Telecom Operator

The asset light approach delivers speed during the initial startup phase, but it translates to loss of control as the business reaches maturity. The transition from Light MVNO to Full MVNO represents far more than a technical improvement. It constitutes a fundamental business transformation that elevates an operator from a simple commercial distribution channel into an independent, sovereign telecom service provider with full authority over its products, services, and customer relationships.

IPLOOK: Your Partner for Successful MVNO Transformation

The global MVNO market has grown significantly, with over 2,100 MVNOs active today, up 60% over the last decade. Yet 58% of markets worldwide still have no MVNO presence at all, primarily because launching and operating these services has always been complex and costly. Netcracker's cloud native BSS platform tackles this head-on, enabling telcos to onboard MVNO partners faster and helping brands enter the mobile market in weeks rather than months.

Built on AI-powered automation, self-service tools and ready-made templates, the platform streamlines everything from customer onboarding to billing and eSIM management, giving both telcos and their MVNO partners a solid foundation for scalable, long-term growth.

For a new mobile virtual network operator, launching a 5G core network project has become increasingly challenging. On one hand, the market demands fast rollout of differentiated services to capture subscribers and roaming revenue. On the other hand, the traditional core network design sits like a heavy burden, making it hard to breathe.

Traditional core networks are usually delivered as large, monolithic systems. A complete solution requires multiple high performance servers, dedicated hardware accelerators, and complex software licenses. For a startup MVNO with only tens of thousands or even just a few thousand subscribers, paying for a core network designed to support millions of users creates a heavy upfront capital expenditure burden. The operator ends up spending a fortune before making its first dollar.

The operational cost side is even more troublesome. Managing a traditional core network requires a dedicated team of engineers for monitoring, upgrades, and troubleshooting. For an MVNO with limited technical resources, this means either high personnel costs or long term dependency on vendor support. When the subscriber base is still small, continuous operating expenses quickly eat into profit margins.

Another Cost of Legacy Architecture: Inflexible Scaling

Even if an MVNO manages to launch, traditional core networks often struggle with traffic fluctuations. MVNO business is typically tidal. A tourist season may suddenly bring a flood of eSIM users, and a marketing campaign may cause a sharp traffic spike. Under the old architecture, scaling up means ordering new hardware, waiting for delivery, and racking and configuring it. The whole process takes weeks. By the time the equipment is ready, the peak traffic has already passed. If the network is overprovisioned to handle peaks, resources sit idle most of the time.

This is the core dilemma for emerging MVNOs. They need a core network that can scale elastically to handle uncertain growth, but they cannot afford the high cost of traditional solutions.

IPLOOK’s Approach: Cloud Native and Microservices Architecture

IPLOOK addresses this pain point with a fundamentally different design. By transforming the 5G core from heavy equipment into lightweight software, and by using cloud native and microservices architecture, IPLOOK redefines the economic model of MVNO network deployment.

On demand scaling instead of upfront investment

All IPLOOK core network functions (such as AMF, SMF, UPF, and AUSF) are delivered as containerized microservices. This means an MVNO only needs to start the necessary service instances based on its current subscriber base. When subscribers grow from 10,000 to 100,000, there is no need to buy new hardware. The operator simply increases the number of container replicas on the cloud platform. This horizontal scaling capability truly links capital expenditure with subscriber growth. You invest more only when you have more users, not before.

High performance with low resource footprint

Cloud native does not mean compromising performance. IPLOOK’s core software is deeply optimized for resource usage and achieves industry leading throughput on standard x86 servers. The memory and CPU consumption per microservice instance is kept very low, enabling MVNOs to support more user sessions with less hardware. For extremely budget sensitive projects, IPLOOK also offers an ultra lightweight core that can even run on edge appliances or virtual machine environments, further lowering the entry barrier.

Automated operations to reduce operating expenses

Thanks to its cloud native foundation, IPLOOK’s core supports declarative configuration, auto scaling, rolling upgrades, and self healing capabilities. Many routine operations can be automated, reducing the need for manual intervention. An MVNO can manage a core network spanning multiple regions with a very small technical team.

From Asset Heavy to Asset Light

What IPLOOK offers to emerging MVNOs is not just software but a new way of thinking. Treat the core network as a service that you pay for as you use, rather than a fixed asset that you purchase upfront. Whether you choose public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, you can flexibly adjust network size according to your actual business pace.

For MVNOs that have just obtained a license and are planning their first core network project, IPLOOK’s lightweight 5G core means no need for millions of dollars in starting capital, no need for a large operations team, and no need to overinvest for future uncertainty. You can start with a small, lean core and then scale smoothly to a full size 5G core as your business grows.

Conclusion

Many MVNO projects start with the technical team rushing to build the core network. Selecting equipment, defining the architecture, testing performance – it all seems straightforward. But in the real business world, one rule is often overlooked: technology cannot outrun regulation. You may have a perfectly tuned 4G and 5G core in the lab, but if your license is not in place, your interconnection agreement with the host MNO is unsigned, and your compliance roadmap remains a blank sheet, then the entire project is like a building without a foundation. It looks promising, but it can be stopped at any moment.

This is not an exaggeration. Looking at MVNO practices worldwide, most project delays and failures come not from a lack of technical capability, but from compliance lagging behind. By the time the core network is fully deployed, you discover conflicts between regulatory requirements and your technical design. The cost of rework is high, and the launch window is missed. To address this challenge, IPLOOK proposes a practical approach: a dual track strategy. This means that from day one, licensing and compliance planning must run in parallel with technical design, rather than waiting for one to finish before starting the other.

The first pillar of the dual track strategy is licensing and compliance. This is not a back office task that can be fixed later. It is the strategic foundation that determines whether your MVNO business model can succeed. You need to answer several key questions upfront. Is your business goal a light MVNO or a full MVNO? The two models differ significantly in core network control, dependence on the MNO, and profit models. Choosing the wrong model may force you to scrap your technical design later. Have you secured your host MNO interconnection agreement before finalizing technical specifications? Without clear interconnection terms, any decision about signaling, routing, or billing carries high uncertainty. You also need to understand local regulatory requirements for data retention, lawful interception, and number portability. These are not details you can easily patch after the fact.

The second pillar is cloud native core deployment. While the compliance path is being clarified, the technical team does not have to wait idle. On the contrary, IPLOOK’s cloud native core solution allows you to run engineering validation in parallel within a compliance framework. A converged core design supports both 4G and 5G on a single architecture, protecting your investment while maintaining agility. Deployed on public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, the core scales elastically and iterates quickly. Whether for IoT use cases or consumer services, you can go live as soon as compliance conditions are met. With compliance guidance from the beginning, your core network topology, network function selection, and interface protocols become more targeted instead of being built blindly.

The core value of the dual track strategy is not to slow down for compliance, but to prevent compliance from becoming a bottleneck. While your technical team is still designing the core network, the compliance team is already advancing the license and agreements. Once regulatory approval is granted, the core network is already integrated, tested, and ready for commercial service. This means the time from approval to monetization can be compressed to a minimum. In an increasingly competitive MVNO market, the operator that brings services to market faster captures user mindshare and roaming revenue.

From May 20 to 22, Asia Tech x SG (ATxSG) 2026 concluded at the Singapore EXPO, gathering global operators, technology innovators, and industry leaders to shape the future of digital ecosystems. At Booth 3G2-7, IPLOOK presented its latest technical developments, focusing on reliable, high-capacity backbone infrastructures engineered for next-generation mobile networks.

The centerpiece of the exhibit was IPLOOK’s 4G/5G Converged Core network. Built to meet the growing need for network modernization in the Asia-Pacific region, the platform offers a practical approach for operators looking to upgrade their infrastructure. The architecture is engineered to support millions of concurrent subscribers, ensuring stable traffic management under heavy loads while maintaining carrier-grade reliability.

A key technical feature highlighted at the event was the solution’s multi-cloud adaptability. The core network can be deployed across major public and private cloud infrastructures, including AWS, Azure, Alibaba Cloud, and Tencent Cloud. This gives operators the flexibility to scale their network capacity horizontally without being locked into specific hardware or cloud providers.

IPLOOK also emphasized its full-stack voice capabilities driven by its IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). The portfolio covers essential 3GPP-compliant network functions, including Compact EPC, 5G Core (5GC), and User Plane Function (UPF). Together with the IMS, these components enable operators to deploy integrated, high-definition voice and data services such as VoWiFi, VoLTE, and VoNR, ensuring a smooth transition from legacy systems.

Throughout the three-day event, IPLOOK’s technical team met with regional Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) and enterprise partners to discuss cost-effective migration strategies. Because the platform is software-upgradable, it allows providers to modernize their networks and introduce advanced voice features with minimal disruption to existing operations.

The MVNO community is heading to Amsterdam this June, and IPLOOK is excited to be part of the conversation. We’ll be setting up at the Okura Hotel from June 1st to 3rd, and we’d love to see you there. The industry is moving fast, and we’ve been hard at work building what we call the “Digital Heart” of next-gen networks. Whether you’re looking to scale your existing services or explore entirely new territories, we’re coming to the Congress with solutions designed to Elevate Your Connectivity.

Why Visit IPLOOK at Stand 13?

We invite you to stop by Stand 13 to explore how we can help you Elevate Your Connectivity through four strategic pillars:

5G + LEO Satellite Integration:Experience our Native NTN-Ready Core, offering unified management of terrestrial and LEO satellite networks for truly global reach.

Seamless Global Roaming:Solve 2G/3G sunset challenges with our VoLTE/VoNR Roaming solutions, ensuring voice continuity from London to Tokyo.

Cost-Efficient Cloud Excellence:Discover how our lightweight, cloud-native deployments can significantly optimize your operations—our partners have already seen OpEx reductions of up to 40%.

Boundary-Free VoWiFi:Empower your subscribers with Cross-border VoWiFi, allowing them to stay connected via any Wi-Fi network worldwide without the burden of roaming charges.

Don’t just hear about it—see it. Visit our booth to interact with our Interactive Network Map and consult with our experts on how to customize these solutions for your specific market needs.

Event at a Glance:

Date: 1 – 3 June, 2026

Venue: Okura Hotel, Amsterdam

Location: Stand 13