Podcast: Do MVNOs perform as well as MNOs?

The white paper, released last week, compares Britain’s four mobile network operators (MNOs) to one of their virtual mobile network operators (MVNOs) – the companies that lease the MNOs’ network infrastructure to provide services.

The report found that MNOs offer a marginally better experience in terms of download speeds. However, this is mostly due to their stability, rather than a major difference in speed.

The paper is based on more than 40,000 tests performed with the free SignalTracker app across three different geographic zones on various handsets.

The report also reflects on the cheaper and shorter phone contracts offered by MVNOs, which can be very attractive to consumers. These benefits can be offset by MNOs’ insistence on keeping 5G standalone (SA) to themselves. So far, no MVNO has negotiated access to 5G SA, which offers speeds in excess of 100 Mbps.

Hill says the differences between MNO and MVNO download speeds only amount to around 10 to 20 Mbps in most cases. The user is unlikely to notice this difference, as long as speeds are maintained over 20 Mbps.

As such, the fact that MNOs failed less often in our testing – defined as the SignalTracker app not being able to complete a download test – than MVNOs takes on greater importance, as this would affect user experience.

Richard asks Cameron why Giffgaff, operated by O2, is performing worse than its parent network despite being owned by it. Hill suggests could be due to the increased control exercised by O2 over network prioritisation.

The pair also discuss the rise of MVNOs, as organisations ranging from football clubs to fintech firms look to launch their own mobile offerings. What does that mean for parent networks that use 5G standalone to differentiate themselves?

Listen to the full episode for free below, or find us on your favourite podcast platform – just search for “PolicyTracker”.

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