Israel is preparing to welcome its first MVNOs after recently publishing regulations allowing local operators to host service providers. On Wednesday the Israel Post (the post office) said it has contracted Belgian MVNO enabler Effortel to project manage its launch.

The Israel Post plans to launch mobile services via its network of more than 700 retail outlets and has charged Effortel with defining the market proposition, business planning and modelling as well as identifying a suitable technology platform and choosing a network partner.

So far, only a handful of companies, including Telecom 365, a subsidiary of local retail group Hamashbir, have been awarded MVNO licenses and none have yet reached a hosting agreement with any of Israel’s mobile operators, Cellcom, Orange, Pelephone and iDen operator MIRS.

Cellcom leads the market with 4.6 million subscribers at the end of June, followed by Partner Communications with 3.1 million, Pelephone with 2.8 million and MIRS with 378,000.

Israel Post’s move into the mobile arena follows the local Government’s decision earlier this year to issue MVNO licences to stimulate competition and innovation in the sector. The company is banking on its position as one of the largest existing distributors of prepaid mobile top-ups via its retail network, and established relationships with customers through its postal and banking services.

Effortel currently centrally manages seven MVNOs on its platform – three MVNOs in joint venture with Carrefour (Carrefour Mobile Belgium, Carrefour Uno Mobile Italy and Carrefour Telecom Taiwan), as well as providing services to Carrefour Mobile Mova and FM Group Mobile in Poland, and Daily Telecom in Italy.