In an address by the POTRAZ Director General Dr. Gift Machengete, it was revealed that 3 companies have been granted Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) licenses to operate in Zimbabwe with Dolphin Telecoms being the one that is closest to going live. the other 2 are yet to be named.
It is exciting stuff because after decades of swapping sims between 3 mobile operators with pretty similar offerings we finally get some potential competition. So what is Dolphin Telecom looking to offer to the table?
This network builds on a robust existing infrastructure to answer a critical problem, which is at the service layer, and our ambition, which is driven by technology, is to launch with best-in-class user experience and customer services in Zimbabwe.
Nyasha Charumbira – MD Dolphin Telecom
What’s an MVNO?
A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) is a mobile network operator that runs on top of another mobile network operator. Put simply, an MVNO virtually has no physical infrastructure like base stations. It makes use of the infrastructure of the operator it is running on. Which makes it easy to understand how Dolphin Telecom could afford to set up with just US$8 million. They had almost no infrastructure cost.
MVNOs also pay substantially low operator license fees. POTRAZ states that a light MVNO can pay US$5 000 for a 20-year license and a full MVNO up to US$50 000 for the same 20-year period. Much cheaper than the US$137 million paid by regular MNOs, the likes of NetOne, Econet, and Telecel. And on top of that, they get data, voice, and SMS at wholesale price from the MNO they are riding on.
Let’s look at how an MVNO operates. There needs to be an existing MNO with an infrastructure network already set up and running. This MNO also needs to have excess capacity on its network. It is this excess network capacity that the MNO will sell to the MVNO. And in the Director General’s address, that is what he means when he says efficient use of available spectrum.
Who has the excess capacity?
Unfortunately there is no word yet on which MNO Dolphin has partnered up with for their MVNO venture. The question I have is which MNO has excess capacity in Zimbabwe? Econet network is absolutely unreliable as of late. NetOne was better but it’s not doing too good either. Telecel is on life support. Given the nature of MVNOs reying on already existing MNO hardware I am more than curious to see who exactly that is.
We have already secured an agreement with one mobile network operator, and our model aims to create a new layer of efficiency in the virtualisation space.
Nyasha Charumbira – MD Dolphin Telecom
From a purely capacity point of view, the only MNO with excess capacity is the MNO that has lost the most subscribers over time. And that would be Telecel. In the past 10 years Telecel has lost 1.5 million subscribers which it over 75% of the subscribers they had in 2012. It’s market share also dropped from 19.8% in 2012 to 3.3% in 2021. So if anyone has excess capacity it’s them. But strategically Telecel is probably the worst MNO because not only does it have the poorest network coverage, it’s also only got 1.2% of all existing 4G base stations. About 179 of them. As a Metro MVNO like Rain in South Africa, Telecel could be a viable candidate.
Econet and NetOne would offer more reach and more coverage but between the 2 NetOne could have more excess capacity than Econet. After all, Econet has more subscribers than NetOne at 9.1 million vs 4.4 million on NetOne. And when we look at network performance, NetOne is doing slightly better than Econet in terms of connection stability for voice and data. There are less call drops or random data connectivity drops to 3G or 2G vs Econet making them a more desirable candidate for setting up an MVNO.
Will they sink or swim?
The telecoms space is a numbers game. The margins operators make are very little and so to be sustainable the numbers have to be very good. With an MVNO the cost side of things is much less of a headache. Very cheap licence fees and almost non-existent maintenance costs mean they have less overheads to worry about. And if an MNO is desperate to sell it’s idle capacity, they can negotiate higher wholesale discounts for data, voice and SMS.
Negotiating discounts is one thing. Convincing you and me to ditch my current service provider and number and jump onto this new one is a totally different ball game. They have to offer a very attractive value proposition.
We have tightened the software layer to ensure that the issues that people are frustrated with, regarding failure to top up; top ups not being recognised; having to switch network settings for data to activate; and other common problems clogging customer service lines are resolved within the software layer
Nyasha Charumbira – MD Dolphin Telecom
On paper they seem to be on the right track. What Zimbabweans have been crying for is a network that works and that is affordable. Nothing fancy just a reliable network that operates as expected all the time. And tariffs that don’t break the bank. If they can solve that out of the gates then maybe. Just maybe, they might be part of the 20% of MVNOs that lasts beyond a couple of years. Research done by Salience Consulting in 2020 suggests that being the cheaper option is no longer enough to stand out. Telecel is a very practical example of that.
However, research indicates that only 20% of MVNOs survive more than a few years.1 Simply having lower pricing is no longer the key to success. There is a need for innovative solutions, brand partnerships and targeted branding to stand-out from competitors
Salience Consulting
Competition is always welcome. It breeds innovation and hopefully clever ways of providing value to Zimbabweans. For now we wait for the launch and see what they bring to the table. Let me know in the comments what your ideal list would be for the ideal network operator.
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21 comments
I really wonder how cheap they will be if they will be riding on an existing MNO🤔🤔
Cheaper than Telecel, Netone & Econet
I doubt that very much
Keep dreaming 😅
Additional players don’t always equate to competition the consumer benefits from. That’s one thing Zim teaches well.
If name Charumbira is MD at Dolphin, probably Chief Charumbira’s son, meaning Zanupf and would probably ride in netone and Telecel.
I don’t understand how they can provide better service if they are riding on MNO infrastructure which they have no control over. If the MNO decides to completely shut down the network for a day like Netone once did what happens. I don’t understand at all😭
They are controlled by regulatory Authority which is POTRAZ & ITU at large .
You don’t just wake up saying i am shutting down my service
They can and business is viable in Europe America’s and our neighbors at SA side. It reminds me of that super hero actor ( Deadpool )who own mint Mobile an MVNO.
@ Edwin what is a Metro MVNO you mentioned (like Rain in SA)
I don’t trust these ventures that are started during this period going on forward up until elections are run. Why would any current MNO have excess capacity yet they are daily plagued with connectivity challenges probably arising from old unmaintained infrastructure, so riding on an ailing 🐎 horse will give you the gitty ride you regret.
there should be uptime clauses in the contract. means nothing to us, but their side of things will be covered.
,”Telecel is on life support”😂😂😂
Could one of the other two be zupco?
Zupco? Kkkiest
😂 😂 😂
Overpromise and underdeliver is the motto of Zimbabweans trying to market a new service.
Its not their fault as the environment is not conjusive. Ko ku supporter wo and be positive munobveiiko imi ma Zimbabweans
Hahaha the discussion is over
You know the environment, so don’t make a business promise to begin with, if you have doubts in attaining it. That promise is a contract as far as a client is concerned. Kana zvagozha vamwe vanotanga kuti “sangshens” or forex yazodai.
mulata
Hot air. Hapana zviripo makumbo enyoka. Hapazati pave nechokupururudzira APA. As long as this network provider rides on the already existing infrastructure hapana hapana. Panogona Paine vakadzwanyiwa zvikanzi ngatidyei tose. Isu tongomiramira basi. Expect further deterioration of the already existing service.
It’s common sense that if the so called “MVNO” rides on the existing MNOs Infrastructure,You can’t logically expect anything better than what the MNOs are already offering
Like every new entrant they claim to disrupt the scene. I just have reservations on where they promise robust communications when they are riding on a network which itself is struggling to offer good service and I’m like how will they do that. I imagined a scenario of renting a rundown bus and expect it to perform better than when it’s being used by the owners yet it has the same engine and probably driver what only changes being the ticket book and the conductor. Let us not be throwing stones to Dolphin when they start dithering like all Zim businesses who promise us heaven on earth only to offer us hell in the end.
I wish Dolphin includes the clause that if they fail us we have to take them to the city peripherals and pelt them with rocks like in biblical times.
Food for thought.