Today, OXIO and Comtrend announced a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) platform designed for rural service providers, which they say will provide an immediate opportunities for rural service providers to offer bundled broadband plans, expand their reach, and protect their market position without costly infrastructure environments.
The OXIO MVNO platform will enable Comtrend’s network of rural service providers to offer affordable, flexible mobile connectivity to the communities they serve, resell mobile plans, and build solutions tailored to their markets.
“Comtrend has spent decades shoulder-to-shoulder with rural providers — building trust, solving real-world challenges and showing up in communities that have been left behind by other vendors,” Robb Robinson, OXIO senior vice president of sales, said in a prepared statement about the MVNO.
“Together, we’re delivering a flexible, affordable mobile solution built specifically for the needs of rural communities, so providers can serve their customers on their own terms, not through a generic, one-size-fits-all model.”
The ability to offer multiple services is key to smaller providers attracting customers from larger competitors, according to a recent OXIO study. Ninety percent of consumers would consider alternatives to traditional carriers if those alternatives offered more customized services, OXIO found in its “What U.S. Consumers Really Want from Their Mobile Provider” report.
Among the report’s key findings:
- Price sensitivity dominates consumer mobile priorities, outweighing network coverage and speed of connection.
- There’s a large openness to alternative providers: 90.54% of consumers would consider switching to an MVNO like the one OXIO is introducing, and 39.21% would switch from major carriers.
- Nearly two-thirds of consumers are interested in family plans with granular content control for children.
- Over half of consumers are willing to share private data in exchange for lower cellular rates and additional discounts.
- Retail and financial services emerge as preferred channels for new mobile services, indicating a shift in consumer preferences and an opportunity to create embedded connectivity experiences.
