Tags:MVNO | WIMAX | GSM

India''s Reliance Communications (RCom) is reported to be planning a global MVNO platform which could create a "single network" spanning 57 countries. The Economic Times reported that the company has already set up a team of staff to investigate the proposal.

＾An in-house team of traffic analysts at RCom is working on various models to enter into bulk airtime offtake agreements at suitable time and terms,￣ industry sources told the newspaper.

The company is understood to have already started talks with several potential operators to rent capacity from their networks. An initial launch would be a basic international roaming SIM card, as currently offered by several other companies, but should expand into a full MVNO platform over time.

Late last week, Reliance Globalcom (a subsidiary of RCom) took a majority stake in a UK base firm which is trying to build up a global footprint for a WiMAX network. It is not a huge leap to leverage the same local business contacts to also secure agreements with GSM operators for a separate mobile MVNO platform as well.

＾RCom is evaluating opportunities to expand this portfolio to more countries where MVNO-based services can be offered. Alliance with more than two operators in a country cannot be ruled out,￣ sources familiar with the development said. ＾The company is developing and testing various value-added services to target overseas customers. It is looking at users with a preference for Ethnic Asian content, specific utility driven mobile-based applications and those with high international calling spends,￣ said sources.



Source: Economic Times