MVNO. You may have heard this term floating around lately but weren't sure what the exact angle was. It has to do with cell phones, you might be saying, but don't know the specifics or advantages involved.
So, what is MVNO? It's the next frontier in wireless communication services.
What does MVNO stand for and what does it mean?
The specifics: MVNO stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator. What does MVNO mean in real-world terms for consumers? It means that wireless consumers can receive the benefits of major carrier networks without major network prices.
How does an MVNO manage this? Well, major carriers are left often with extra capacity on their networks that goes unused. Rather than write off this unused commodity, these carriers choose to sell this network capacity at a wholesale rate to an MVNO. Thanks to the reduced cost, MVNOs can then turn around and offer wireless connectivity to consumers at much lower rates.
MVNO Coverage - Is it the same?
Many consumers who hear about MVNO for the first time have one big question: Is the coverage the same? Yes. In fact, in many scenarios, it is better. We have all experienced outages with even the major carriers. The advantage an MVNO has is that it can combine multiple major networks to offer more comprehensive coverage. A reliable MVNO will also drill in on coverage for consumers, providing location-specific coverage maps on request and even offer trial SIM cards.
Why Do the Big Carriers Let MVNOs Happen?
As mentioned, carriers enjoy the benefit of repurposing capacity that would otherwise go to waste. More significantly, however, partnering with an MVNO can give a big carrier exposure in a niche market segment. This opportunity to expand market share is appealing when you consider the increased competition amongst the big four carriers.
Why Don't More People Use MVNOs?
Short answer: They haven't heard about them yet. With any innovation, it takes a conversation for consumers to learn about the benefits of a product. As the conversation around MVNOs continues, more and more cell phone users will discover that MVNOs are a cost-effective and appealing option for them. MVNO’s traditionally are not the easiest to deal with either. All orders are usually done online so you’ll need to know how to install a SIM card and port your phone number too. Reaching a human or any time of quality support is notoriously difficult with MVNOs as well.
Finding the Right MVNO - Community Phone
What makes Community Phone different? It's grassroots, to start. Community Phone wasn't started by one of the big corporations, and their focus is on the consumer, as their premium customer support and service demonstrate. Call Community Phone and speak to a human right away or get to someone online just as quickly. The onboarding process, too, is simple and effortless. In the past, working with an MVNO was left to the more tech-savvy, but, with Community Phone, every user can have an easy experience. Another benefit of Community Phone is that since it is not owned by one of the larger carriers in any way like Metro by T-Mobile is owned by T-Mobile (Cricket by AT&T, Boost by Sprint, etc) Community Phone can provide access to three different major networks. If one of the networks isn’t providing the best coverage for you, Community Phone can simply switch you to one of the other networks.
Want to learn more? Get to know how Community Phone can help you save and enjoy performance wireless connectivity.