In a temporary office high above the construction taking place below in Dubai's Marina district, the executive team of newly named Friendi Mobile, a start-up mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), are hard at work, literally creating the next stage in the Middle East and North Africa's telecoms market.
In much the same way that the architects and engineers are building the Marina district below from nothing but desert, Friendi Mobile's management is creating a business model, which, in the absence of their combined vision, would still be some way from commercial introduction in this geography given the regulatory and competitive environments.
"The opportunity exists to evolve to this kind of model in this market at this stage because in many cases the maximum number of operating licences have been awarded, and the market is generally opening towards service provision licences," says Phil Reynolds, a seasoned telecoms lawyer who is Friendi Mobile's chief legal officer.
"This shift in regulatory framework is happening in other places in the world, for example in Malaysia, where one of the pre-conditions for bidding for the last mobile licence awarded was that the operator would open its network to permit virtual operator access," he adds.
The MVNO model has been most successfully implemented by the Virgin Group, through its Virgin Mobile brand, which in November 1999 became the first virtual operator and fifth mobile service provider in the UK. The MVNO went on to rack up around 4 million subscribers before being acquired by NTL Telewest in July last year, and being incorporated into a wider media company.
Following its launch in the UK, Virgin Mobile subsequently exported the model to the US, Singapore, Australia and South Africa, with all but the Singaporean operation continuing to be operational. Interestingly, Mikkel Vinter, Friendi Mobile's chief executive officer, was formerly chief commercial officer of Oman mobile operator Nawras, which is headed by Ross Cormack, the former CEO of Virgin Mobile's ill-fated Singapore operation. "What we are looking to establish is a pan-MENA MVNO operating under one brand," states Vinter.
"We are currently working in 12 countries across the region and would be looking to announce a commercial launch before the end of the year," he adds.
In Western Europe there are around 75 operators and twice as many MVNOs in operation, a situation that Atte Miettinen, Friendi's strategy and business development officer believes highlights the extent of the opportunity in the MENA region, where to date not a single MVNO is in commercial activity.
A number of overlapping circumstances thus make the timing of the introduction of virtual services timely at this point in the regional market's development.
Reynolds describes the liberalisation taking place across the Middle East in particular as the "second phase of liberalisation", with numerous national regulators looking to widen the nature of competition in their respective telecoms markets. "Jordan is one country actively consulting on the introduction of MVNOs, for example," highlights Reynolds.
Friendi Mobile management have been pro-active in working with operators and regulators in various countries in the region, and CEO Vinter says the response they have so far received has been positive and encouraging.
"One of our main messages to operators is for them not to see us as an additional competitive threat. In fact, MVNOs help drive the maximum utilisation and benefit of the network, from which the network operator gains an advantage," Vinter explains.
Friendi Mobile believes its proposition appeals to market leaders and new entrants alike, given that market leaders would look to secure a larger number of potential subscribers as a defensive play, while new entrants by their nature are looking to grow their market share and appeal to various segments in the market. Thus the introduction of an MVNO business model can be used as either an offensive tool or a defensive one.
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