- T-Mobile launched a new service to make it easier to set up MVNOs using its 5G network
- The service is designed specifically for emerging MVNOs and leading consumer brands across a range of segments
- The “un-carrier” is offering the solution in collaboration with LotusFlare
T-Mobile last week unveiled its Your Name, Our Wireless solution to make it easier for traditional and non-traditional MVNOs to launch and operate their own custom wireless service using T-Mobile’s 5G network.
It sounds like a dream come true for some entities interested in getting in on the wireless action. After all, the Your Name, Our Wireless is an end-to-end managed and operated solution, simplifying the backend set-up and day-to-day operations. What’s not to like?
T-Mobile said it’s targeting emerging MVNOs and leading consumer brands across diverse segments including retail, membership services, consumer electronics, financial services, as well as lifestyle and entertainment.
The press release didn’t name the company that’s working with T-Mobile to make it all happen, but a T-Mobile spokesperson identified it as LotusFlare, a Silicon Valley company with which T-Mobile launched a partnership back in November.
T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom recently enlisted LotusFlare to provide the LotusFlare DNO Cloud for its MagentaBusiness API service.
LotusFlare was founded by former Facebook employees. Listed as chairman of LotusFlare is Chamath Palihapitiya, the founder and CEO of Social Capital who made the news lately in connection with his seat next to former President Donald Trump at a fund-raiser last month.
But that’s another story.
Aggressive MVNO timeline
Back to the nitty gritty of LotusFlare’s proposition. LotusFlare co-founder and Chief Product Officer Terry Guo took to LinkedIn last week to highlight the partnership with T-Mobile Wholesale. They’re providing a full-stack solution for brands to quickly launch their own mobile services.
According to T-Mobile, LotusFare simplifies the technology and customer experience, providing a UX-driven platform and rapid time-to-market approach.
“With the Your Name, Our Wireless service, we are targeting a launch timeline of under three months, from contract signing to deployment, with our out-of-the box solution. As we expand this program, we aim to significantly reduce this timeframe,” the T-Mobile spokesperson told Fierce.
T-Mobile declined to say how many MVNOs it hopes to serve – say a year from now – but said the goal is to scale its services to meet market demand, with the potential for “significant growth” within the next year, the spokesperson said.
Why not Plum?
The relationship with LotusFlare is a little bit of a head scratcher, in part because T-Mobile recently acquired Plum, which advertises itself as a wireless wholesaler that helps launch MVNOs using T-Mobile’s network.
Update: We heard back from T-Mobile on why it’s not using Plum for the Your Name, Our Wireless service and here's the answer:
"Your Name, Our Wireless is a separate operation from Plum and was developed prior to their acquisition. T-Mobile is pleased to support MVNOs and MVNO solutions through both LotusFlare and Plum. Both collaborations enable T-Mobile to expand its Wholesale services and deliver innovative solutions to its customers."
Here's the rest of the original story:
The Plum purchase was part of a larger acquisition of Plum parent company Ka’ena, which included Mint Mobile – the MVNO made famous by part-owner Ryan Reynolds – and Ultra Mobile. Plum’s business sounds a lot like Reach, which extended a wholesale deal with T-Mobile a couple years ago.
“Plum had a strikingly similar mission to what was described in the press release about ‘Your Name, Our Wireless,’ but the Plum name was not mentioned,” noted Jeff Moore, principal of Wave7 Research.
“Overall, this is confusing, but I did see that T-Mobile mentioned that it ‘powers more than 200 MVNO brands,’ which is positive, as T-Mobile is showing a clear interest in facilitating MVNOs,” he said.
“Given T-Mobile’s abundance of spectrum, this makes sense,” he concluded.
Editor's note: This story was updated with T-Mobile's statement on Plum and the new MVNO service.