To be virtually mobile

Alex Besen cut his wireless teeth in the entrepreneurial wireless fray, as the 11th employee at C Block PCS licensee Pocket Communications. Now he consults with companies that want to enter the complex world of the mobile virtual network operator. Telephony talked to Besen about brands, business models and the importance of content.

On the growth of the MVNO sector: Look at what happened in the early PCS days: Every entrepreneur wanted to get a license from the FCC and try to be an operator. A couple years down the road, they didn't exist any more. I get a lot of requests from potential MVNOs, saying, ‘Hey, I have a business plan and an idea — can you help me?’ I don't feel very helpful to those individuals. They need to have an understanding of what's going to become of mobile data, what's going to happen with voice over IP and the convergence of telecom networks and services. They need to see that overall vision, and only a few players do.

On what makes a strong MVNO contender: Do they have an established brand? Do they have a customer base? Do they have marketing ability? What are there distribution capabilities? Do they have funding? I was asked who would be the best partner for an MVNO, and my response was that the HNOs — host network operators — are the strongest. If you're going to offer similar types of services to the same target markets, it's not going to be a pleasant relationship with the HNO. Let's say you're an HNO targeting business users, and I'm an MVNO trying to target the youth market. Your traffic will be very heavy 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and my traffic will be heavy 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on the weekends. That takes advantage of the empty capacity on the network.

On defining MVNO enablers: Basically, it's an intermediary organization between the HNO and the MVNO. They can have agreements with multiple HNOs, and they can serve multiple MVNOs. The perfect MVNE has all the service offerings: telecom, BSS/OSS, customer care, marketing, mobile data and more.

On MVNO differentiation: It comes down to understanding the end user. Today, the HNOs do not have a good understanding of market segmentation. The bread and butter of any MVNO is the content and services. It is highly unlikely that any brand alone — from Coca-Cola to Starbucks — is enough to retain customers if the actual service does not have any substance. The only way they have to differentiate themselves is on content and services, and that portfolio should support the image the company is trying to project. The only way they can make money and survive is on content and services.

DOSSIER: ALEX BESEN

Occupation: Founder of The Besen Group, a network of independent consultants. Held varied roles at Pocket, Omnipoint, Ericsson and Sotas

Location: Washington, D.C., area

Favorite destination: Lugano, Switzerland

Current reading: “Life 2.0” by Rich Karlgaard

What's next: Bidding for two large mobile data projects in Europe