Blyk to use Orange for Mobile Ad MVNO

Orange and Blyk (the first ad-funded mobile network) today announced an MVNO deal that will see Blyk customers using the Orange network to make calls, send messages and access the mobile internet. The two companies have entered into a wholesale agreement regarding the transportation of voice and data traffic across the Orange network.

Full release here

Sonopia - MVNO Long-tail?

Sonopia are recently out of stealth mode and have announced that they are offering the ability for brands, communities, people, clubs or whatever to set up and offer their own mobile service offering (in the US).
Say you're a soccer team with a legion of committed fans. You can now offer your own branded mobile proposition consisting of customised calling plans, handset range etc. Each brand also gets it own customised "community" platform which is accessible both on the PC and mobile. Sonopia makes it easy for the brands to interact with their customer base, and for the users of the brand to interact with one another.

The example above is LonelyGirl15's mobile offering - she's apparently famous on MySpace and is now using Sonopia to offer a mobile package!!!!!

Read more at VentureBeat and GigaOM

More Apple iPhone/MVNO rumour

More Apple iPhone/MVNO rumour...this time at Bloomberg. Supports the spurious story I tried to spread back in May last year.

Related story in The Register (July 05)

SunSim - Pre-paid Holiday Talk & Text

SunSim have launched a pre-paid offer to German residents, providing cheap(er) text and calls when abroad. In-country (Germany) calls are priced at €0.25/min while calls from abroad back to German fixed lines are priced at €0.35/min with a one-time €0.19 connection fee, and €0.45 for calls to German mobile networks. SMS are priced at €0.25 for most of Europe. The service doesnt require a monthly contract and top-ups start from €5.

Blyk - an ad-funded MVNO

News of a yet another MVNO to tackle the heavily congested UK mobile market has broken. The company, Blyk (further evidence of the fashionable trend not to use vowels in your company name) has funding from Soffinova, and a management team that is hotter than Nokias HQ Sauna. Blyk intend to offer a mobile phone service, initially targeted at the UK's young & fun segment. The key USP and differentiator is that the service will offer free calls (and text?) funded by targeted advertisements. The press release and other available information is short on detail, presumably to maintain an advantage until launch mid next year.

I was surprised to read that Blyk have opted to launch a new MVNO with all the hassle and OPEX overhead of SIM distribution, handset subsidisation, customer service provision and marketing. An alternative approach would be to develop a proposition and product to address the ad-funded model and convince existing operators to market this to the appropriate segment. Although most operators have been taking a very close look at this topic, and producing mountains of powerpoint on the opportunity, most are a long way away from launching a proposition. Blyk could harness this opportunity and provide the operators with a one-stop shop solution that addresses the entire value-chain, from advertiser to device.

As I said, the product details are murky, so we shouldn't go jumping to conclusions assuming that every SMS sent will generate a reply from Coca-Cola. Mobile devices and their associated networks can be very clever things, enabling very smart value-add to an advertiser that traditional advertising outlets and even the web have no way of even coming close to. Location, presence, content purchasing history , device type, roaming propensity and so on cumulatively have the potential to explode CPM rates and finally offer the detailed, auditable and accountable trail that all advertisers and media-buyers crave.


Read more in:
Blyk Blog
International Herald Tribune
MobHappy
BusinessWeek
EngadgetMobile

WorldSIM - cheap(er) calling when roaming?

More evidence of operator disintermediation...... WorldSIM have recently launched a SIM that is available to UK mobile users, to reduce the cost of making and receiving calls when abroad. Using callback technology, users can place a call when abroad and the the service will intercept the call, detect the destination number, then call the caller back while at the same time calling the B-party locally in the UK. Sounds quite complex, but it is currently quite a fashionable use of old technology to address a growing customer need for cheap international calling (the much PR'd Jajah works in a similar way). WorldSIM also makes it cheaper (and in many European countries FREE) to receive a call when abroad, something that all mobile operators currently charge for. In most cases, these propositions are possible by intercepting the customers call and routing the main leg of the call over IP. It then hooks in to local networks to initiate the connection at either end to the callers and recipients numbers, and connects the two calls together.
There are some significant usage and behaviour barriers to overcome with this product but provided you dont mind swapping SIMs and getting used to the caller experience, this is a great solution for saving a few quid. Also take a look at jajah, rebtel, and dialabroad.

Mobiboo - UK's 1st Wi-fi Mobile Network

Mobiboo have recently launched in the UK with the first wi-fi mobile phone network. The network is being provided in partnership with theCloud and they currently offer three tiers of account, ranging from Free Trial (which includes a 07911 number, softphone and 1UKP credit) to the Plus + account which includes a Starcom L1000 wi-fi handset, free voicemail, 10ukp credit, 07911 number, free voicemail and "follow-me".
I think this is spot-on for the die-hard wi-fi starbucks addicted techno-freak, but this segment will always need a GSM mobile in their back pocket for moments when coverage is poor or unreliable. However, couple this with an MVNO deal, reliable network hand-over, and dual-mode handsets and you have reliable nationwide coverage. The tricky bit is going to be making this digestable to the mass-market consumer - ensuring the technology is hidden from the service experience so that they're not hopping for signal on one foot and balancing different call costs on the other.

Kajeet - new US MVNO

Kajeet is currently in start-up mode, having recently raised $27m in first-round funding. 'Kajeet' (an anagram of the founders kids names, and a name I expect they will change) is targeting the tween segment, and the wallets of their parents. Im not hugely familiar with the US operator market but it appears that their focus in on addressing the younger customer who isnt tall enough for an Amp'd or Boost type offering. There is plenty of room in improving the service experience for this segment.
Parents needs to keep in touch with their kids and keep track of where they are and what they are doing on their phones. I expect that the product offering will include a number of kid orientated devices, ranging from the simple 3 button type terminal, up to the pre-teen multimedia flip. I also expect that the proposition will be targeted to parents on the basis of family-connectivity, safety, cost and content control.

Via MobileCrunch

Uglyduck - simple low-cost mobile proposition from Proximus

go here

Another UK MVNO...

"Extreme Mobile" here

SIMYO MVNO launches in Germany

KPN have lanuched SIMYO MVNO in germany - similar pricing structure and offering to EasyMobile in the UK, and co-incidentally similar branding colours as well. Could this be a defensive move before Easy arrive in Germany?

Orange MVNO deal with Tele2

Link