Highlights of solutions

• Support centralized MVNE network for multiple nations, decrease TCO
• Flexible expansion NE capacity, decrease OPEX
• Dual IMSI solution support seamless international roaming

Customer benefits

• Improve network quality, good experience of network for customer
• High capability, high expansibility, less NEs, convenient for operator to construct network, easy maintenance, decrease TCO
• Hold pulse of market accurately and create Globally High-end MVNO Brand

 

In recent years in European telecom market, even after obtaining 3G licenses through the way of auction, many MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) have failed to quickly launch 3G operations and services, because they paid huge cost for 3G licenses.. At that time, many operators who does not have 3G licenses and some strong company who has strength to provide mature 3G services are grabbing the opportunities to cooperate with the MNOs, sharing the 3G development costs, through the mutual cooperation to build networks and participate in the operation. It reduces investment cost and complementary advantages between operators, to achieve win-win solutions.

Materna is the first company which operates MVNO in Germany. Vistream is the brand of their MVNO, which is the most powerful German MVNO brand. Materna has nearly 500,000 mobile MVNO exiting users in Germany.

Now, Materna have cooperated with several MNO and third parties content providers to create a variety of innovative business operating model and their services operations throughout the European countries.

As an MVNO, Materna is facing fierce competitions in Germany Telecom Market. They are not only competing with those big MNO such as Vodafone and T-MOBILE, but also facing heavy pressures from the other MVNOs. In this situation for own survival and development in the market, Marerna must have to focus on various personalized services and flexible rates to attract low-end users.

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Materna, Vistream began to construct package MVNE platform in 2006, including Core, IN, VAS, BSS and other equipment, and cooperated with German E-Plus’s GSM/3G network to provide MVNO services platform for others non- telecommunications businesses who are aspiring to provide telecommunication services. Vistream owns whole set of core network and VAS; the Call, SMS and Data Service can be routed to Vistream equipment through the MNO（Mobile Network Operator）and MVNE platform route agreement. Vistream have full operational control, which can not rely on the MNO to rapidly customize services. ZTE’s targeted solution for this new business model of Materna not only reduces the network maintenance and upgrades cost, but also reduces operational costs, network quality are significantly improved.

• Support centralized MVNE network of multiple nations, decrease TCO

Materna not only builds operation network in Germany, but also has plan to build network in the other European counties. ZTE initiates multi-nation sharing conception creatively, which means one set of MVNE platform can be centralized deployed for multiple nations. Control plane NEs such as MSCS/GGSN/HLR/VAS are centralized, and MGW/IVR are distributed into different countries, which ensure the media stream can be routed locally. Sharing one MVNE platform and developing own MVNO services to niche market by MVNO multinational enterprises or operators, it was significantly reduce the Materna's CAPEX and OPEX investment on MVNE. Furthermore, centralized multiple nations MVNE platform is conducive to provide the integrated international roaming services for users who frequent roam in many countries.

• Flexible expansion of NE capacity, decrease OPEX

Because the MVNO services are facing problems to acquire the niches market, Materna has few users initially, but with the market promotion, user quantity is expected to be gradually increased. Based on these operation characteristics, ZTE core network equipments supports flexible board level online expansion, and the board can be hot replaceable. Small capacity is deployed at the initial stage and gradually expanded with the MVNO service deployment.

The flexible expansion capacity of equipment reduces the initial capital investment of MVNO, saving more money for the promotion of Materna MVNO services to improve operator / enterprise profitability.

• Dual IMSI solution supports seamless international roaming

Due to small network size and capacity, MVNO operator depends on network sharing to realize operation, but they do not directly sign the roaming agreements with the global mainstream operator. So, the international roaming for MVNO customers has become the most serious question they concern.

Materna adopts ZTE creative Dual IMSI solution to successfully solve the international roaming problem. Two IMSIs are assigned to MVNO international users within the HLR and the corresponding MSISDN are mapped with IMSIs. For MVNO international roaming user, the local IMSI is adopted when roaming in its own network and another IMSI is assigned to the user when international roaming occurs. The MVNO users from Materna can enjoy seamless international roaming service based on the roaming agreement signed between Materna and other operators.

After reconstructing the network by adopting ZTE solution, Materna not only optimizes network quality and enlarges network capacity, but also gains desirable upgrading and evolving capabilities, which lays sound foundation for attracting more customers in severe market competition and achieving profound benefits. The superior network quality and abundant services bring high market benefits to Materna. Besides, customer satisfaction and faithfulness are greatly increased, and Materna has planned to reach 1 million marks in next 2 years. 

Nowadays, more and more operators begin to pay more attention to sharing networks. The MVNO promotes the rapid development of telecommunication value-added services by making full use of network resources and enhancing network efficiency. The network sharing operation brings high flexibility to newly emerged operators as well as small-and-medium-scaled operators. Generally, the telecom industry in Europe is interested in MVNO market and believes that the MVNO operation mode will become the main operation mode for 3G communications.

ZTE Corporation acutely catches the chance that operators require sharing networks. Upon mastering and understanding the customers' demands, ZTE offers various flexible solutions for MVNO, satisfies network sharing demands under various scenarios, and has made successful applications in Materna (Germany), CSL (Hong Kong), China Motion (Hong Kong), and so on.

http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=446959

MVNE (Mobile Virtual Network Enabler) provides infrastructure and services to enable MVNO’s to offer services and have a relationship with end-user customers.