MVNOs should focus on securing control of their destiny by becoming more ‘MNO-like’ according to Sýn’s Birkir Marteinsson.

• MVNOs need some of the capabilities of infrastructure-based operators
• Control of network, service features and tech roadmap is key to success
• Operators don’t need to build a RAN but do need control of their tech stack

Is differentiation through targeting a niche market and a relentless focus on customer care enough to enable MVNOs escape the trap of price-based competition and commoditisation? Not necessarily – another ingredient may be required, according to Birkir Marteinsson, Head of Wholesale and Roaming, Sýn (formely Vodafone Iceland).

Making MVNOs more like MNOs – or at least giving them capabilities like those of infrastructure-based operators – “will shape the future of mobile operators”, according to Marteinsson.

Delivering a presentation on Transitioning from MVNO to MNO – The Evolving Strategy for Greater Control and Competitive Advantage, he expressed his belief that “it is necessary for MVNOs to become more like MNOs”, because the sands are shifting under MVNOs’ feet.

“Over the last two decades MVNOs have played a crucial role in expanding markets, innovation and customer choice, but the model that made MVNOs successful is evolving,” he told attendees. “Basic connectivity revenues are shrinking and margins are under pressure. Telco competition is no longer just limited to other telcos. Many others are entering the value chain, and for MVNOs, the traditional model of competing on price, brand, service, and niche is becoming harder to sustain.”

Expanding on the theme that infrastructure matters, Marteinsson said that “control is the most valuable resource for every business”, meaning, in the case of the MVNO, controlling the network, service features, the technology roadmap, speed of innovation and as many business parameters as possible.

Value creation battlefield

The constraints placed on MVNOs by their reliance on their host MNOs have a direct impact on MVNOs’ ability to differentiate their offering at a time when the MNOs are moving ahead by developing new revenue models based on 5G standalone infrastructure, network APIs, private networks, edge computing, automation and AI-driven OSS/BSS, said Marteinsson.

“This is the new battlefield for value creation, and MVNOs risk being locked out unless they evolve,” he said, citing the example of location verification capabilities enabled by APIs based on CAMARA specifications in the case of a customer using an ATM. If the MNO, as owner of the underlying network, exposes the location verification API to the bank, it is possible the MNO will receive the payment made by the bank for verification even though the MVNO is the service provider.

As applications of this type increasingly contribute to mobile operators’ attempts at differentiation (and their top line), the risks to MVNOs of relying on the MNO become more pronounced. In this case, said Marteinsson, “the market will push MVNOs towards price-based competition, shrinking margins and limited relevance in the provision of future services”.

What can the MVNO do? According to Marteinsson, the answer is not necessarily to build their own nationwide radio access network but “to become MNO-like” (or “MNO-light”), focusing on network control, differentiated product control, AI and enterprise integration and the shaping of innovation.

This means taking ownership of the core network. Marteinsson said that being able to automate and adopt cost-effective cloud-native infrastructure, possibly via a partnership, integrate network APIs directly into the core, build enterprise and B2B capabilities and control the SIM and the subscriber environment are the key ingredients.

Faroe Islands example

Marteinsson had an example to hand of how partnerships in this might work in practice – the case of a collaboration agreement between Sýn and Faroese MVNO Nema. The pair – both operating in very small-population markets – collaborate in the areas of the mobile core network, in roaming and in 5G Standalone capabilities while retaining their independence.

Marteinsson rounded off with a pitch for gsmOTA, the cloud-native SIM over-the-air platform developed by him and colleagues Arnar Gestsson and Arni Hauksson to enable MNOs and MVNOs that allows operators to manage their subscribers’ SIMs, describing it as a platform that was “designed so that all operators – both MNO and MNOS – can take ownership like an MNO, with full SIM lifecycle management, no dependency on the host MNO for SIM updates or capabilities, and deployments in minutes, not months”.

While SIM management is a key part of the ‘taking control’ advocated by Marteinsson, his overall message to MVNOs was that the winners in the coming competitive battle will be operators that “control key parts of their stack” with cloud-native and API-driven architectures.

“Those who don’t will see margins and relevance continue to erode. MVNOs don’t need to become MNOs, but they need to become MNO-like businesses. Don’t thrive by chance, thrive by control.”

This is one chapter from Beyond Connectivity: The Future of MVNOs, our eBook covering insights from MVNO Nation Live 2025.

Want the full picture? Download the complete eBook here

Want to be part of the conversation? Join us at MVNO Nation Europe 2026, 3-5 November in Alicante, Spain, where many of the voices featured in this eBook return to explore these themes in person.