By Gary McCready, Commercial & Strategy Director at iD Mobile
I’m looking forward to joining the Operator panel, “The Wind of Change: MNO-MVNO
Partnerships”, at MVNO Nation Europe in Alicante this November. Ahead of that conversation,
I was asked to share a few thoughts on where I think some of the biggest opportunities and
challenges lie for our industry (outside of AI), as we head into 2027.
The opportunity: proving the model still works
MVNOs have spent the best part of two decades proving that network ownership isn’t a
prerequisite for building a compelling mobile proposition. What’s changed is the scale of
ambition. The strongest MVNOs today arent’t just competing on price; they’re winning through
distribution, brand trust, and genuinely differentiated customer experience.
At iD Mobile, our relationship with the Currys retail ecosystem is central to that. Customers
don’t just want a SIM, they want mobile to sit naturally alongside the technology they’re already
buying and the service relationships they already trust. That’s an opportunity that pure-play
operators can’t easily replicate, and I expect to see more MVNOs across Europe leaning into
similar ecosystem plays in 2027, whether that’s retail, banking, or other adjacent sectors.
The other major opportunity is data and personalisation. MVNOs that can use customer insight
responsibly, and within an increasingly demanding regulatory framework, to build smarter
propositions (fair use models, tailored value-added services, targeted retention) will pull ahead
of those still running one-size-fits-all tariffs.
The challenge: the network relationship
The health of the MNO-MVNO partnership continues to be crucial and underpins the
fundamentals. One question is; As MVNOs scale, will network partners view MVNOs as a
wholesale customer or a competitor? That healthy tension will no doubt help shape
commercial negotiations in ways that didn’t exist in the same way a decade ago.
Getting this relationship right is critical to determine whether an MVNO can plan with
confidence. I’d expect this to be a live theme across our panel discussion in November, and I
suspect most operators in the room will recognise the dynamic.
The challenge: regulatory complexity
Alongside network dynamics, the regulatory bar keeps rising. Whether it’s data protection and
Consumer Duty-style obligations in the UK, evolving fair use and network management rules,
or broader consumer protection scrutiny across European markets, MVNOs are increasingly
expected to operate with the same compliance rigour as much larger, vertically integrated
operators, often without the same scale to absorb that cost. Getting governance right isn’t
optional anymore; it’s a genuine competitive differentiator for those who do it well.
Where I think this leaves us in 2027
The MVNOs that thrive will be the ones that treat the network relationship as a strategic
partnership, that use their ecosystem or brand positioning as a genuine source of
differentiation, and that build compliance and data governance into their operating model from
the outset rather than bolting it on.
I’m genuinely looking forward to comparing notes with peers from across the industry on how
different markets and operators are tackling these same questions, and to hearing what’s on
the horizon from suppliers and MNOs alike.
If you’re heading to MVNO Nation Europe, come and say hello, I’ll be speaking on the
Operator panel on Wednesday 4th November and would welcome the conversation.
See you in Alicante.
Gary McCready will be attending MVNO Nation Europe 26 and joins the Operator panel: The
“Wind of Change” for MNO–MVNO partnerships on Wednesday, 4 November, 12:05–12:45.
