How to establish a new mobile operator in a few days?

Author

Gergo Toth
October 11, 2023

Gigs is to phone plans what Stripe is to online payments, pioneering a new era of telecom-as-a-service. A new startup in the telecommunications industry that is aiming to change the game for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs).

Gigs is backed by prominent business angels and investors, including the likes of Dara Khosrowshahi (CEO of Uber), Tony Xu (Co-founder & CEO of DoorDash), and Fidji Simo (CEO of Instacart).

From Years to Days: The Gigs Advantage

Traditionally, becoming an MVNO has been a complicated journey that consumes not only time but also significant financial and technical resources. Negotiating terms with telecom giants like AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon can be a costly ordeal. Moreover, the complexity of network integrations and software development for managing user subscriptions cause challenges. But Gigs has disrupted this status quo.

Imagine launching your MVNO in just 2 to 14 days, instead of waiting for more than a year. This is the reality that Gigs offers to aspiring businesses. It streamlines the entire process, removing barriers and allowing corporates to pay attention to what truly matters - focusing on their core business.

Unlocking New Revenue Streams with Branded Phone Plans

Gigs empowers businesses to tap into a brand-new revenue stream: branded phone plans. With Gigs, any company can sell phone plans (with voice, SMS, and data) while maintaining control over branding and pricing. This level of flexibility allows companies to build up new business verticals relevant to their customers.

Real-World Success: Grover and Gigs

One live example of Gigs is its partnership with Grover, an electronics rental marketplace. Grover now sells phone devices bundled with Gigs' mobile subscription plans in the U.S.

The plans, powered by Gigs' technical partnerships with AT&T and T-Mobile, are reasonable add-ons. Gigs takes a commission fee from each mobile subscription plan at Grover.

Neobanks Embrace Gigs for Growth

Gigs isn't just attracting traditional businesses; it's also gaining traction among neobanks, such as Zolve.

These forward-thinking financial institutions see Gigs as a means to enhance their offerings by launching mobile plans alongside their debit and credit cards. This strategy not only increases revenue per user but also enhances customer stickiness by providing a one-stop solution for banking and phone plans within a single app.

Seamless Integration

Gigs' success is not just about its innovative approach but also its commitment to simplicity. The platform offers solutions for checkout, activation, subscription management, subscriber management dashboards, analytics, and even customer care chatbots. It caters to both physical SIM and eSIM needs, with eSIM activation as easy as scanning a QR code. Integration with Gigs is a breeze, thanks to its user-friendly APIs and Gigs Connect, a straightforward link that directs to a hosted checkout page – a no-code solution for businesses looking to get started quickly.

Global Expansion on the Horizon

Founded in 2020 in Germany, Gigs has already made waves on both sides of the Atlantic. With offices in the U.S. and the EU and a growing team of 60 dedicated professionals, Gigs is now gearing up for global expansion. In the future, you can expect to see Gigs' services rolling out in more European countries, Canada, Australia, and Japan, making it an international telecom-as-a-service provider.

My perspective is that the primary obstacle to the success of Gigs services lies in the complexity faced by telecom operators when it comes to enabling fulfillment and cross-organizational assurance. This demands a significant amount of effort and may not yield a satisfactory return on investment for the operator when serving a small number of Gigs subscribers.

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This is a personal post. The author is not affiliated with any of the named companies. The views and opinions expressed here are only those of the author and do not represent those of any organization or any individual with whom the author may be associated, professionally or personally.