MVNOs World 2025: eSIMs and cloud solutions expand opportunities

As the traditional market for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) — namely competing with major telcos on prices and focusing on niche consumer segments — reaches maturity, players in the industry are looking to new opportunities enabled by emerging technologies. These dominated discussions at MVNOs World 2025, held in Vienna, Austria, from May 12-13. Speakers and attendees praised the efficiencies of embedded SIM (eSIM) and cloud-based platforms, which make it easier than ever for anyone to set up a mobile service for their brand.

Since the emergence of MVNOs in the 1990s, Western Europe has seen the development of some of the most successful MVNO markets in the world. According to Kagan research, 14.6% of subscribers in the region's top five mobile markets — Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain — were MVNO customers in 2023, with the UK reporting the largest MVNO market share at 18.7%.

Germany, however, has the largest number of MVNOs in operation with 98, compared to the UK's 62 MVNOs, with a wide variety of brands offering mobile services based on the infrastructure of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) such as Deutsche Telekom AG, BT Group PLC's EE Ltd., Telefónica SA and Vodafone Group PLC. In addition to their own low-cost brands (such as VMED O2 UK Ltd.'s Giffgaff Ltd.), MNOs' wholesale clients include TV and broadband operators looking to bundle their fixed services with wireless offers, as in the case of German DTT operator freenet AG; retailers, such as Tesco Mobile Ltd., looking to expand their access to customers; or regional groups with a wide array of services, from healthcare to travel to financial services such as Lyca Group.

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More recently, the emergence of travel eSIM services has become the main driver of new MVNO launches and of eSIM consumer adoption. Low pricing and high ease of use have allowed apps such as Airgsm Pte. Ltd.'s Airalo, AfinityClick Inc.'s AloSIM, LotusFlare, Inc.'s Nomad and startup Holafly S.l. to become increasingly popular with travelers looking to avoid international roaming charges from their network operators. "For the consumer, eSIM is just another app," said Yannick Decaux, Senior Vice President of Mobile Wholesale & Interconnection at Orange SA.

The technology can significantly reduce subscriber acquisition costs for operators, virtual or not, eliminating the need to ship physical SIM cards to customers. "eSIM makes activation easier," said MTEL Austria GmbH CTO Milenko Cvijanovic. The Telekom Serbia subsidiary has already built a fully digital service in Germany, according to the executive.

Market players argue, however, that telcos must do more to market the benefits of eSIM, which is limited by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) still offering a limited number of eSIM-enabled devices. While Apple Inc. discontinued physical SIM slots in iPhones in 2022, other lower-end manufacturers still do not support embedded SIMs in their devices.

This means the penetration of eSIM-enabled devices can vary significantly from market to market. According to Deepak Gusain, Global Head of Sales & Solutions, Mobility & IoT at Tata Communications Ltd., eSIM adoption in the USA has reached around 40%, while in Middle East and Africa only 3% of devices are eSIM-enabled.

The same is true for IoT applications, where Gusain said equipment fragmentation is also an issue for eSIM adoption, as many manufacturers don't follow industry standards. He also cited MNO lock-in policies as a further restriction to increasing the penetration of eSIM-enabled devices.

Another restriction comes from regulators. For example, Poland requires SIM registration to be done in person, which undermines one of the key features of eSIM, which is to allow a fast, fully digital experience.

While eSIM technology is expected to expand opportunities for MVNOs, travel startups are expected to be short-lived. According to Deutsche Telekom's Head of Wholesale EU, Joerg Henkel, "in two or three years, operators will improve their roaming offers, so the opportunity window is small for travel MVNOs."

According to Kaleido Intelligence Ltd.'s Nitin Bhas, the top five markets for travel eSIM adoption in 2024 were China and other Asia Pacific countries, followed by United Arab Emirates and Brazil, while Europe remains less appealing due to Roam Like at Home (RLAH) regulation, an EU initiative that allows consumers to use their mobile phones while traveling in other EU countries without incurring additional roaming charges.

The question is how to turn a one-off service — a subscription lasting the length of a single trip — into a recurring revenue stream. As competition intensifies and MNOs enter the market, travel MVNOs will need to go beyond low-cost offers. This often requires core access, which has traditionally been excluded from MVNO deals. Still, a growing number of vendors are looking to negotiate with MNOs to provide wider access to features, allowing more opportunities for their MVNO clients to differentiate their products.

A key advantage for MVNOs, enabled by having access to the network's core, is the ability to surface subscriber data and gain insights into customer usage and habits. This, along with cloud-based platforms that allow greater flexibility, opens up the MVNO market to a variety of new entrants for which mobile connectivity is merely a complement to their main business.

According to Charlotte Thorpe-Costa, OXIO Corp.'s Head of Marketing Content & Communications, the future of MVNOs now lies in brands such as retailers, fintech and influencers. The seamless roaming capabilities enabled by Mobile Virtual Network Enablers (MVNEs) with multi-carrier deals across borders can also be an attractive feature for global employers such as banks, which require greater control over business communications, allowing companies to have a single global provider of mobile services.

New MVNO launches already reflect these emerging market niches. In early May 2025, German digital bank N26 SE launched N26 SIM, an exclusive digitally activated eSIM mobile plan for its banking customers, with unlimited calls and free roaming in Europe. The offer is initially available in Germany, with the possibility of expansion to additional European markets. UK fintech Revolut Ltd. also announced its intention to launch mobile plans following the success of its travel eSIM service, launched in February 2024. Revolut's mobile offer includes 20 GB of EU and US data roaming and is set to initially launch in the UK and Germany.

Sports brands are also joining the MVNO market. In April 2025, Spanish football club Futbol Club Barcelona launched its Barça Mobile MVNO service, initially offering a Global Travel eSIM with roaming services in over 170 countries, available to fans all over the world on its Barça Mobile App. The plan is to eventually expand to a full mobile and fiber service in Spain over Masorange S.L.'s network.

The service is expected to drive fan engagement — a benefit already experienced by Red Bull Mobile Saudi, an MVNO launched by Future Networks Telecommunication Company in Saudi Arabia in May 2022. According to Chief Strategy Officer Cedric Vansteenkiste, the operator overtook an existing MVNO competitor within three months of launching and has since reached a total of 1.2 million customers.

The executive attributes this rapid growth to the brand's multiple perks, including exclusive merchandise and access to events with Red Bull athletes in Formula 1, eSports and XGames, which can be acquired with Gigacoins, a digital token made up of customers' leftover data usage. In 2024, Red Bull Mobile partnered with local football club Al Hillal to offer dedicated packages for fans, including discounts on Al Hilal products and prize draws for match tickets and signed merchandise.

Mobile Investor is a regular feature from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.