In my last article I explained how Indian ventures via ‘PSEUDO-MVNO’ route failed to sustain. But in the changed situation in the telecom sector, which includes less competition, exit of most new operators, power to incumbents, standardized tariff regime, expansion of 3G coverage & hence more uptake, upcoming 4G based mobile broadband, aggressive growth of mobile internet in urban areas, interest in mobile internet in rural areas, gross difference between rural & urban teledensity and establishment of a new government believing in corporate work culture; the market can find a sustainable & profitable niché for mobile virtual network operators.

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There are few steps are needed to boost this never-properly-explored segment of Indian telecom.

A Proper Rules & Regulations for MVNO in India:

Government of India is yet come up with a proper policy for MVNO. Once it comes, several companies from domestic & overseas market may be interested to enter in India via MVNO. But nobody knows when the final outcome would come in.
In 2009 TRAI sent some suggestions to DoT but ultimately DoT is yet to publish final draft. It was decided that 5 cr, 3 cr & 1cr will be the entry fee for category A, B & C type of circles respectively.

Existing Telecom Players must not worry

Existing players (Mobile Network Operator or MNO) may think about more competition but actually they may find more revenue earning routes due to MVNO in their network. Selling of huge amount of voice, text & data to MVNO at a wholesale rate will definitely make their revenue stream positive. MNO can be Mobile Virtual Network Enabler or MVNE for these virtual players. And most importantly Indian operators offer straight forward approach to the customers. MVNO can target specific user base segments. In short MVNO can help better utilization of resources & assured revenue for the companies.
Apart from the above mentioned criteria, a solid planning, marketing strategy & focus on a selected audience are required from the companies who are willing to enter the market.