According to the Yankee Group, mobile virtual network operators are expected to have $10.7 billion in annual revenue and 29 million subscribers by 2010. For the uninitiated, a mobile virtual network operator is a service provider that does not own or manage their own network, but leases that capacity from another company. For example, Virgin Mobile in the US leases its mobile network capacity from Sprint PCS.
I hope mobile phone manufacturers are keeping an eye on this, because this has the major potential to change their business model. If the number of mobile service provider brands proliferate, customers are likely to change service brands much more often. Theyre likely to want to take their phones with them when they do (provided thats technologically feasible). I would suspect consumers are going to be much more willing to choose on emotion and fads, which will influence their phone-buying choices. Heck, the premium mobile phone makers themselves may wish to extend their brand by becoming virtual operators.
