Lifecycle Software launches platform to fast track new MVNOs to market

The idea seems to be about getting an MVNO, or ‘neo telco’, up and running quickly and relatively cheaply by providing the necessary network integrations and a suite of built-in applications and automated workflows. ‘With Nexus, anyone can be an MVNO’, we’re told in the release.

The firm boasts that the included workflows and self-service capabilities allow firms to go to market in under 3 months. For the front end, there are off-the-shelf web and app products for customer onboarding care, which are white-labelled and can be customised in line with a firm’s branding.

All the functionality needed for onboarding, billing, real-time charging, SIM provisioning, CRM and customer engagement come with the platform, says Lifecycle.

The benefit of all this, so goes the pitch, is that companies seeking to launch mobile services face extensive regulatory requirements, prohibitive upfront investments and ‘intricate legacy systems that complicate setup’, and by using the network integrations and modules on the Nexus platform, MVNOs can plug into the network and launch their business quickly.

“The appetite for new mobile digital offerings has been expanding and eSIM will further encourage new entrants,” said Lifecycle Software CEO Kelvin Chaffer. “We are leveraging our years of experience in enablement services and multi-tenanted solutions to change the game. With Nexus it has never been cheaper or faster to launch and operate an MVNO, offering digital brands the requisite agility, reliability, and flexibility for triumph. Nexus’ 'Telco in a Box' approach is simple– anyone can launch a neo telco and become an MVNO.” 

Starting a brand new operator from scratch is an immensely expensive thing to undertake, so you don’t see it happening very often. But starting a new MVNO – or launching an MVNO arm from an existing business – comes with less of a financial barrier since you are essentially layering a service on top of an existing network operator which you’ve made a deal with.

There’s a lot of talk in the telecoms industry about the need for innovation or fresh ideas, whether with regards to how you build the networks or how you sell 5G. Essentially, this platform is purporting to lower the barrier to entry to launch a new MVNO. So it and other platforms like it could offer a way in for a raft of new players to enter the market and perhaps try new things, assuming there is any appetite to do so in the wider world.