Russian cellco MegaFon has issued a press release on the expansion of its converged fixed/mobile services via Fixed Virtual Network Operator (FVNO) partnerships with local internet providers to complement the group’s own infrastructure. The FVNO business model involves MegaFon paying each partner operator per fixed user connection on a monthly basis (allowing local ISPs to monetise unused port capacity more efficiently) while MegaFon takes responsibility for advertising, taking customer payments, customer services, and selling branded Wi-Fi routers and set-top boxes.
Andrey Batanov, CEO of MegaFon’s fixed network subsidiary NetByNet (also responsible for developing converged services under the MegaFon brand), said: ‘The FVNO project gives MegaFon the opportunity to bring the converged product Unite to new regions. The model we offer is absolutely transparent both for the territorial partner and for subscribers who will be able to pay for a set of services on a single personal account. The conclusion of agreements with several broadband operators is already in the final stage, and we are open to new partnerships in the regions.’
The Unite converged tariff, launched in August 2019, includes wired internet, digital TV, options for voice telephony, and mobile services. The first partner for MegaFon’s FVNO project was the ISP Real Estate, one of the largest operators in the Astrakhan region, with a network connecting more than 180,000 premises.
