Intelligent Connectivity: AI-Powered Network Switching for full MVNOs

Introduction

Hybrid MVNO models, which combine career wholesale agreements with other shared wireless access like CBRS and Wi-Fi, are no longer experiments. Charter, Comcast, Rakuten, and others have already proved their value by adopting these models.

• Charter is deploying CBRS small cells in many markets, with expectations of offloading one third of mobile traffic
• Comcast already offloading about 90% of mobile usage onto Wi-Fi, and has agreements that include CBRS offloading as well
• Rakuten in Japan has demonstrated a different form of hybrid network access. As a new entrant with its own spectrum, it used a roaming agreement with KDDI to ensure coverage across the nation, at the same time building out its own RAN

These deployments have already validated the hybrid radio approach. What seems to be missing is the intelligent & dynamic switching between these radios, as most policies remain static. I.e. use own spectrum when available, and fall back to wholesale when it’s not available

AI-Powered Dynamic Switching

The idea now is to evolve hybrid models from static to dynamic by using flexibility of eSIM along with the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

With Agentic AI, decisions no longer need to depend on fixed rules. Instead, multiple factors in real time can be considered to bring the dynamism. E.g.

• Wholesale cost per MB based on the agreement between various MNOs
• Quality of coverage and congestion
• Content type – is it a video call / voice call or regular download/browsing
• Remaining quota on a subscriber’s plan
• Subscriber lifetime value and churn risk
• And many more ….

Through eSIM orchestration, these decisions can be deployed instantly. eSIM profiles can be switched with no user effort. The result can be a network that adapts continuously to customer needs and business goals

This vision can very well be a reality soon as below three evolutions seems to be converging

• Hybrid is established – CBRS and Wi-Fi are widely deployed, especially by MSOs
• eSIM is now becoming mainstream – flagship devices now ship with eSIM as standard
• Agentic AI is maturing – agentic models can sense, decide, and act continuously.

No operator may have fully deployed this model yet, but the technology pieces exist. The opportunity is to be first in this race.

What It Could Enable

Here are some possible advantages if MVNOs can embrace this dynamism

• Cost optimization through minimizing MNO spends while maximizing use of own spectrum. Shifting even a modest share of traffic off wholesale at scale could unlock massive annual savings
• Dynamic wholesale optimization: If multiple MNOs are available, AI can pick the best partner in real time
• Customer differentiation, e.g. premium subscribers get a seamless fallback, whereas cost-sensitive plans may use lower-cost paths. Improved experience reduces churn, protecting lifetime value.
• Application-aware guiding through routing the latency-critical traffic to premium networks, whereas best effort traffic to CBRS or Wi-Fi
• Smarter routing can enable new pricing models – data buckets, performance tiers and combination of these. E.g. In addition to paying for X GB of data, customers pays for a performance tier

Challenges

There, of course, are hurdles

• APIs for dynamic eSIM control aren’t well established yet and provided by limited number of devices
• Wholesale agreements / partnership must evolve to support real-time arbitrage
• AI must respect data privacy and comply with regulation

But these are solvable through broader eSIM API access from device makers, standards update from GSMA/3GPP for dynamic switching, and flexible wholesale agreements that enable real-time guiding.

Conclusion

Hybrid MVNOs with intelligence is not just about saving money but opening new revenue and loyalty opportunities. It’s about building intelligent connectivity that maximizes margins, improves experience, and opens new services

References:

• https://www.nctatechnicalpapers.com/Paper/2021/2021-evolved-mvno-architectures-for-converged-wireless-deployments/download
• https://www.lightreading.com/wireless/charter-reaches-full-deployment-phase-for-cbrs-ceo
• https://www.nexttv.com/news/charter-says-a-third-of-mvno-traffic-could-delivered-via-cbrs-in-five-years
• https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/mobile-really-a-wi-fi-business-comcast-ceo
• https://www.telecoms.com/5g-6g/rakuten-mobile-signs-roaming-deal-with-kddi