As the number of MVNOs increases, it’s becoming evident that selling connectivity and data is the bare minimum. Both in the United States and across the world, MVNO revenue is projected to be higher in 2025 than in 2024. Why is that occurring? It’s not because companies are just lowering their costs and doing nothing else. How do MVNOs stand out in a marketplace where they offer similar connectivity and customer experience through an Enabler? The answer is differentiation, being able to offer more. Two things: a community and value-added services (VAS), and both need to be enabled by technology. We’re seeing this play out across the spectrum, from brand-driven launches like Trump Mobile, which is bundling lifestyle benefits such as telemedicine and roadside assistance, to community-rooted MVNOs focused on immigrant and underserved populations that integrate financial education and local trust into their model.
MVNOs = Community & Technology Architects
MVNOs are becoming lifestyle platforms, offering a sense of belonging. Whether that is built around religion, sports fandom, political & religious beliefs an and industry, etc, these brands are building a sense of togetherness.
They offer more than just connectivity; they play to their target audience. They find their niches and they attack with either a message that resonates with their target demographic, or they build their customer experience process in a way that resonates with their community. We’ve seen examples of MVNOs doing all of the above.
Trump Mobile and the Power of the Brand
With recent current events and the 24/7 News Cycle with America being the topic of the World’s Current Events, it’s no surprise that Trump Mobile, a politically aligned wireless brand leveraging the power of the Trump name, is generating clicks everywhere.
But this MVNO is not just offering voice, text, and data. It is bundling in things like telemedicine, roadside assistance, and discount perks for members.
Love it or hate it, this is a masterclass in niche positioning.
The Trump brand instantly resonates with a defined audience. Add in noncore services that align with that audience’s lifestyle, and you create a customer relationship that is emotional, not just transactional. Instead of switching carriers to save five dollars a month, the customer stays because the service package aligns with their identity and lifestyle.
Community-Based MVNOs with Financial Literacy at the Heart: Assisting the Underprivileged
Two MVNOs stood out at the MVNO Nation event in Miami. Not because they had the support of tech companies or celebrities, but rather because they had a thorough understanding of their target market, which is underserved and immigrant communities in the US.
These providers offered more than just reasonably priced mobile plans. By becoming fully integrated into the communities they serve, they were able to establish trust. Local agents, frequently bilingual and situated in local stores or service centers, were the backbone of their distribution strategy. These agents served as trusted financial advisors in addition to being salespeople.
However, what these MVNOs provided beyond connectivity was what really made them stand out. They offered prepaid voice and data plans as well as resources for financial literacy that were specific to their clientele. They are offering to better impact the communities they serve, and they are demonstrating that they care and know where their clients may need assistance.
The Supplier Opportunity: Aggregating Value-Added Services
This trend also creates an enormous opportunity for MVNEs, MVNAs, and BSS OSS platform providers.
The MVNOs of tomorrow will need
- Built in integrations to telemedicine, streaming, cloud storage, roadside assistance, and more
- Flexible product catalogs that can bundle and unbundle VAS offers by customer segment
- Workflow engines that trigger upsells, renewals, and promotional perks automatically
- Revenue sharing logic for third-party services within a single bill
Suppliers who can offer a VAS aggregation layer or who build easy plug-and-play catalogs of services will have a serious competitive edge.
An Emotional Edge: Loyalty Through Identity
When you compete purely on price, you are always one promo away from losing the customer.
But when customers feel connected to a brand because of what it stands for or because it makes their life easier beyond basic connectivity, you have built something that can last. Star-branded MVNOs understand this well. You are not just selling a SIM card. You are selling trust.
In some cases, that identity is political. In others, it is cultural, generational, or aspirational. But in every case, value-added services act as the glue. They make your offering holistic, personal, and harder to replace.
Final Thoughts: Beyond the SIM
MVNOs must consider more than just mobile connectivity if they hope to endure the upcoming competitive wave. Cheap plans are no longer the only thing that customers want. They seek experiences that are pertinent to them. They want services that reflect their values, simplify their lives, and offer real utility.
And increasingly, they want to support brands that stand for something.
Trump Mobile may be the highest profile example of this trend right now, but it will not be the last. From celebrity-led ventures to industry-specific platforms, we are entering a new era where differentiation comes not from your rate plan but from your ecosystem.
For MVNOs, the playbook is clear: partner widely, bundle smartly, and define your audience deeply. For suppliers, the message is even clearer: build the tools to support it or risk becoming obsolete in a market that is quickly evolving beyond infrastructure.
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