Having lagged behind it UK rivals, Vodafone has signed a deal with an MVNO aggregator in an attempt to boost its revenues from virtual operators. The company's wholesale division has announced a partnership with Teleena, a Netherlands-based Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE), that it claims will make it simpler for MVNOs to launch their services in weeks rather than months.
Teleena, which signed an agreement with Vodafone last year in the Netherlands, said that its MVNE platform will handle the proposition management and technical requirements of an MVNO, leaving the MVNO to focus on marketing, sales and customer management.
Tim Stone, director of business development and wholesale for Vodafone UK, said that this new relationship, which is likely to be launched in fourth quarter, will support additional growth in the company wholesale portfolio. "There is room for differentiated players offering mobile services that target specific customers with specific needs."
Vodafone has existing MVNO deals with ASDA Mobile, BT Mobile, Lebara, Talk Mobile and Truphone.
Several other UK operators have entered into MVNE agreements. Orange has a partnership with Transtel. 3UK inked a deal with X-Mobility in June 2009. And T-Mobile earlier this year agreed to work with Middle East company Viacloud.
For more on this story:
- read Mobile Today
Related stories:
Become an MVNO within 6 weeks, promises Orange
Virgin Mobile acquires French MVNO rival
O2 goes for growth with MVNOs
MVNO consults with users on pricing bundles