Few market segments have seen as much upheaval across the mobile industry as the mobile virtual network operator space. Having at various times been the belle of the ball and the one left behind to clean up after a raucous party, MVNOs have seen market extremes.
MVNOs have recently begun to make a bit of a comeback, with dozens of new entrants coming online to much less fanfare than those in the past. This is probably a good tactic as those past efforts crashed and burned in spectacular fashion once more established mobile operators began to take notice of their marketing savvy. Who can forget the likes of Disney Mobile, ESPN Mobile or Amp’d Mobile, to name a few?
In general, the MVNO space requires a company to find a market niche that is not being filled, find a carrier partner or two willing to sell access to their mobile network, and set up back-office systems that can handle billing, customer care and logistics. Other operating needs vary depending on how deeply a company wants to involve itself.
One entrant into the space is Ultra Mobile, which targets prepaid international services as its niche play. The company recently launched a $19 plan that includes unlimited voice calling and text messaging throughout the U.S. and to 10 countries. The plan also includes 100 megabytes of data service running across T-Mobile US’ network, international direct dialing, three-way calling, 411 information services, voicemail, caller ID and global MMS services. The company offers access to its service using a SIM card, so customers need to bring their own, unlocked devices.
Chris Furlong, EVP of product development and marketing at Ultra Mobile, provided some insight into the company’s operations, challenges it’s facing in the market and workforce opportunities Ultra Mobile has available.
RCR Wireless News: What makes Ultra Mobile unique in the market?
Chris Furlong: Ultra is unique in our focus on serving all international communities in the U.S. Our subscribers call over 200 different countries per month and we consider 50 of them to be significant destinations for us.
As an international MVNO, we make sure that our subscribers can keep in touch with loved ones overseas any way possible. All of our plans come with unlimited international talk, text and LTE data. That means we cover everything from the good old-fashioned international call all the way up to the latest in communication apps.
RCRWN: The MVNO/reseller space has seen its share of ups-and-downs. What is different today about the market?
CF: What is different about today’s market is that no contract wireless, bring your own phone and prepaid value are becoming mainstream. That’s the model that many MVNOs have embraced for years, and it’s finally catching on as the smart way to get mobile service. This is leveling the playing field for MVNOs vs. the big four.
On the flip side, we feel that the expectations for MVNOs are being raised as well. Customers want strong support and full service. Today’s market is shaped around the ability to scale and grow the business quickly and continue to grow. You always need to be raising your game.
RCRWN: How has the increased attention larger operators have given to the no-contract, flat-rate space impacted the market?
CF: It’s a double-edged sword. On the positive side, it validates our model. We believe that you can provide great service for a low price. When MVNOs were doing this but the incumbents weren’t, there was this element of mystery in the consumer’s mind. Now that those big guys have adapted MVNO practices, it just makes us look ahead of our time.
On the negative side, large operators have name recognition and an advertising war chest. We have to make sure that we do not get drowned out.
Differentiation and serving our core international customer is how Ultra responds to that. We can tailor plans that serve the needs of the frequent international caller, and we can be in their native languages. Ultra offers tri-lingual support for our English-, Spanish- and Mandarin-speaking customer base. The ability to be in language and eliminate communication gaps has been critical to our success.
RCRWN: How have network operator attitudes changed in terms of working with MVNOs/resellers?
CF: Some operators are very open to working with MVNOs and some are not. We have a great working relationship with our network supplier. In the classic wholesale model, an operator wants to work with an MVNO that is complementary and not competitive to their retail base. Ultra does that.
Some of our best customer segments are immigrant communities with 100,000 to 200,000 people in the U.S. A big operator cannot build-out programs for them, but we can, and a lot of that is due to the support we get from our network provider.
RCRWN: How have retailers responded to what Ultra Mobile is bringing to the space?
CF: The response has been overwhelmingly positive. There are 40 million foreign-born people in the U.S., and there are tens of millions more who need to stay in touch with loved ones around the world. That is an enormous market, and before Ultra Mobile launched they did not have a single service that covered their domestic and international communication needs.
We removed the need for calling cards. We removed having to buy bolt-on packages. We removed the need to go home and get on Skype to talk internationally.
Our retailers love the fact that they can sell a mobile service that allows their customers to keep in touch with anyone, anywhere, anytime.
RCRWN: What is behind the decision to not offer devices, but to instead work on a “bring-your-own-device” model?
CF: Ultra is international. It’s who we are and who our customers are. Our subscribers grew up in countries where the BYOD model is the norm. They are very comfortable with the idea that mobile service comes from a SIM and that they need to bring their own device.
We want to focus on providing the best level of service that we can. Our expertise is in connecting people around the world, not in selling phones.
Finally, we found that most of our retailers have their own thriving phone businesses and don’t need us to be providing devices.
When you take all three factors into account, it just made sense to go BYOD.
RCRWN: Which companies does Ultra Mobile work with to handle back-office, billing activities?
CF: In general, we try to handle as much of the back office as we can in-house. We have a very experienced and sophisticated international voice team and routing infrastructure. We have an amazing operations group. We’ve built our own retailer portal, our own billing platform and our own account management tools.
We can’t do it all, and do partner with some outside companies, but our practice is not to disclose who they are or what services they provide.
RCRWN: How big is the Ultra Mobile organization?
CF: Ultra Mobile has been growing like wildfire. We have offices in Costa Mesa, Calif.; New York; and Manila, and the head count between all those locations is in the hundreds.
RCRWN: Are there employment opportunities or positions that Ultra Mobile is looking to fill?
CF: Yes. Technology and sales are the two places we are growing fastest, but we have openings in almost all of our departments. We probably have 15 positions open right now, and are hungry for talented people who want to make a difference. You can see our current listings here.
A lot of our company is made up of seasoned people from the wireless industry, and they love having the opportunity to take their experience and use it to shape our future. We are in such a high-growth phase of our company that everyone who comes in has an opportunity to make an immediate positive impact.
If you know anyone looking to make a difference, please send them our way.
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