Cable company-owned mobile virtual network operators may have continued to see their customer base grow in the first quarter of 2020, but their impressive growth in the mobile offering market may soon start to slow. Data and analytics company GlobalData warned that "the ongoing pandemic threatens to set its trajectory back." An MVNO is a network operator that uses the wireless infrastructure of a large enterprise to provide services to customers. In the US, these are companies like Cricket Wireless, Visible and Mint Mobile, while known MVNOs in the UK are Virgin Mobile, Sky Mobile and Tesco Mobile.
Initial growth
GlobalData has analyzed Altice Mobile (Altice USA), Spectrum Mobile (Charter Communications) and Xfinity Mobile (Comcast) and said it closed the first quarter with 3.75 million subscriptions. Tammy Parker, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, said: "The Wi-Fi-centric path chosen by these competitors has been beneficial to them when ordering from home, as considerable wireless traffic that would typically have traveled on cellular networks was limited by Wi-Fi. Fi, saving these MVNOs the cellular usage fees they should have paid to their network partners." In the coming months, Parker believes that the growth of 5G and new spectrum will have "roles to play in the future prospects of these players."
Hard few months ahead
However, while these companies have managed to convince their customers to ditch the larger telcos and join their networks, GlobalData warns that the coronavirus pandemic will “significantly hamper net subscriber additions in the second quarter for all mobile operators. and American MVNOs because a continued foreclosure keeps many retailers that stores have closed and the economy remains volatile.” As a result, GlobalData says the three MVNOs "are working to provide more device choices to customers while refining their marketing and distribution efforts." And he predicts that "more cable MVNO price adjustments and promotions are possible in the coming year." Parker concluded: “Cable MVNOs pose competitive challenges to national and regional operators on the net adds front. "Amid the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, one thing these Wi-Fi-focused MVNOs have going for them is their particularly attractive price for service, which will particularly appeal to consumers suddenly finding themselves unemployed or unemployed. limited by your budget." Read more: