The first keynote panel discussion of MVNO Nation USA 2025 was hosted by Casey Zavaleta, Partner at Performance Culture Consulting.

Casey was joined for the conversation by Ed Evans, CEO and Chairman of Consumer Cellular, Francis Gaelic, COO and Co-Founder of Helix Wireless, and Sergio Adames, Director of Business Development at T Mobile.

The MVNO market has come a long way in 10 years.

Casey began the panel session by asking the audience to think back to how MVNOs 10 years ago, in 2015, were succeeding. Back then, success for MVNOs was based on three things:

1 – They were perfectly counter-positioned to the traditional carriers because they were able to offer affordable plans, so they could win on price in many situations.

2 – They offered pre-paid options that were streamlined and simple to a consumer who was hungry for those types of options.

3 – They started carving out specific niches in the market, where they were targeting specific customer segments and audiences.

However, what worked in 2015 doesn’t work anymore in 2025 or 2026.

1. It’s not simply about having an affordable plan anymore. Everyone has an affordable plan.
2. It’s not simply about being pre-paid anymore. There’s so many prepaid options on the market.
3. It’s not simply about having a niche anymore. Everyone is now targeting a niche.

So, how can you thrive and succeed in the US MVNO market today?

That’s exactly what the panel proceeded to discuss.

The first key point raised was to avoid the trap of underestimating how difficult it is to run and grow an MVNO after launching, especially in the USA.

While technically it’s never been easier to “stand up” a new MVNO, there are a wealth of challenges, across all areas like marketing, operations, and technology, that many businesses overlook and fall down on.

One speaker noted the common adage that while there are a high volume of MVNOs in the market, only a small handful actually survive, let alone thrive.

Why is that? In many cases, it’s because they underestimate the point made earlier about the tactics that worked in 2015 becoming outdated in today’s market.

The reality is MVNOs no longer have the lowest cost structure from a network perspective. So, as one speaker said, “The reality is MVNOs are never going to have the lowest cost structure from a network perspective, so you can’t be the low cost provider, and you can’t compete on price alone.”

This is why it’s so important for MVNOs to:

1. Target niche customer segments
2. Have clear differentiation in your value proposition and offering.

The third tactic that is succeeding in the current MVNO market is to attach a “known brand” or “known entity” to your MVNO business.

This could either be through your own business’s existing brand, if you’re an established business in a different sector, or via a partnership with a celebrity, which we’ll explore in more detail later in this eBook.

Perhaps the most famous example of this is Mint Mobile’s partnership with Ryan Reynolds, but Roccstar Wireless, featured in chapter seven of this eBook, is another great example.

Existing brands come with existing audiences, trust, and online distribution channels, and can therefore capture customers faster and at lower costs.

For “unknown” entities, another speaker added, “You’re probably not going to take share away from T-Mobile or AT&T. You can’t do that as they have the cost advantage. They have every advantage in the world.  So, if you’re not a known brand, you’ll need to find technological innovations, or other things you can do on the network to be different and stand out.”

Perhaps the key to that differentiation is identifying what your target audience does not like about what their current provider offers them.

Currently there’s between 25% to 44% of people in the US who have never changed their mobile phone provider. MVNOs should be conducting deep customer research to identify opportunities to attract those customers away from their legacy providers with new, exciting, personalised offerings.

How can MVNOs niche down or differentiate in order to convince customers to switch over to their service?

In order to “niche down” and differentiate, you should focus on either:

1. A specific target audience or niche group of people in a certain segment of the market

Niche isn’t just about targeting a specific demographic. It’s about building affinity with a group of people based on how your brand’s values and mission resonate and build loyalty with them.

2. A differentiated value proposition through some unique value-added feature, service, or customer benefit

Differentiating your value proposition requires creative thinking, innovation, and deep knowledge of your customers.

For the latter, a good example raised by the panel is if an MVNO were to begin using new technology to secure their customers’ data as an in-built feature. This kind of value-added service could be profitable and scalable, as it’s something customers will pay a premium for.

What other differentiation will we see in the next year or two?

One of the obvious answers to differentiation is using new technologies to innovate, such as 5G, AI, IoT, eSIM, and more.

MVNOs should leverage new technologies to create innovative new products and services that can help remain competitive, but it’s important to remember most network-driven features will be replicated by competitors and become industry-standard relatively quickly.

Instead, MVNOs should focus more on the fundamentals of a strong brand, excellent customer service, and building trust with a specific target audience.

This brought the panel back to the growing trend of existing brands, particularly celebrities, launching MVNOs.

One speaker said, “The wave that’s going to hit the market in the next 12 to 24 months is celebrity brands, and you’re going to see a lot of them. There are large celebrity brands, with access to a lot of capital, that are coming into this market, and they are going to be successful because they already have the trust and loyalty of a ready-made customer base.”

The panel suggested this trend will be good for the market, though, as it will demonstrate that the market is alive and well. However, more importantly, it’s going to shake things up by helping consumers realise that it’s possible to switch brands and look for better offers.

Breaking down established brands vs new brands

That trend is occurring because a known entity has a set of inherent advantages over an unknown entity, including:

• Cost of customer acquisition is lower
• Credibility and trust in the marketplace already exists
• Many prospective customers are already in their marketing and sales funnel.

So how do businesses looking to launch an MVNO with a new, unknown brand compete with this coming wave of celebrity MVNOs?

Reiterating a point made earlier, it’s important to talk to the market and conduct deep customer research to not only find a niche, but understand it better than anyone else.

1. Prioritise customer centricity and a customer-first culture
2. Identify your target audience’s needs, challenges, current situation with their provider, emotional drivers to make purchases, etc., and tailor your value proposition and messaging to this
3. Understand the objections your audience may have about you, and answer them
4. Gain the trust of that target audience through personalised, relatable marketing
5. Find ways to appear more attractive to those customers than your competitors.

What should international companies be aware of before entering the US market?

For international companies planning to enter the US MVNO market, it’s important to understand that the market pressures in the US are significantly different than in Europe.

In the US, with the carriers, you have three large players, and they essentially “own” the market.

In Europe, you have carrier fragmentation, but you have geographic ubiquity. In the US, it’s the opposite. In the US, there’s carrier ubiquity, but huge geographic disparity and diversity.

So, as a new entrant into the market, you have to really understand your key demographic and be very specific about who you’re targeting in the US.

Does B2B represent a good opportunity for MVNOs?

One speaker pointed out that, “If you’re an MVNO and you’re not targeting small or medium-sized businesses today, you’re missing a huge opportunity.”

Some speakers then suggested that in many cases these B2B customers are neglected by their MNO providers, which creates a great chance for MVNOs to capture their business with greater service.

The use case for phones, tablets, and IoT devices are mission-critical for these companies, so they need this service to stay in business, and that’s where MVNOs could find a healthy, loyal new customer base.

However, MVNOs must be strategic before shifting their approach to include B2B.

Some key considerations to make before targeting B2B customers include:

1. The data consumption is materially higher than in B2C
2. And so looking at your own cost structure, you’re going to have to charge a premium
3. And you can only charge a premium if you can tailor your offering to their specific B2B needs.

Don’t enter that segment of the market attempting to capture those customers with lower costs, because that won’t work in the long-term. For MVNOs, B2B customers will require tailored, sophisticated services and solutions.

Key take-aways and guidance for MVNOs

With such a valuable and insightful panel, there was a great deal for MVNOs to take away.

Interestingly, many of the key points align very closely with the fundamentals of a successful MVNO business:

• Target a specific niche and tailor your offering to them
• Gain a deep, extensive knowledge of your target audience
• Differentiate your value proposition in customer-centric ways
• Understand the nuances and trends of the market
• Prioritise excellent customer experience and customer service
• And deliver on your promise to maintain trust and loyalty.

With the forthcoming wave of established brands and celebrities likely to enter the MVNO market, the panel also offered some additional tips in terms of a healthy philosophy for successful MVNOs:

1. Be agile and be prepared to go with the flow
2. Keep an open mind and be prepared to adapt
3. Think creatively and innovatively about how to best serve your customers.

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