Mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) Transatel has branched out into embedding SIM cards in con sumer devices and on Thursday revealed plans to launch a trial in the U.S. in November involving 50,000 tablets.
In terms of getting access to mobile networks, "we’ve done deals with the big guys you all know," said Jacques Bonifay, CEO of Transatel, without naming any specific operators.
Transatel unveiled its SIM-901 offer a year ago and has carried out some early soft launches with a couple of major device makers, Bonifay said during a presentation at Total Telecom’s IPX Summit in London.
The service is designed to help device owners stay connected at all times, without the complexity of signing up to WiFi networks. Fewer than 5% of laptops and 10% of tablets currently have SIM cards, Bonifay said, presenting a sizeable potential market. The key to driving uptake is to make it as easy as possible for consumers to connect to the mobile network.
Transatel’s reprogrammable embedded global SIM can be used all over the world. The SIM is embedded at the point of manufacture and configured it to work on an operator’s network once the device has been purchased.
It is also important to tempt customers with a free trial, "because when people try it, they love it," Bonifay said.
Customers get three months of free data usage, but there is a potential revenue stream for the mobile network operator.
"Professionals are willing to pay quite a high price," Bonifay said, suggesting a business user might sign up for a tariff costing £20-£30 (€27-€41) per month. For consumers the price would be closer to the £5 mark though.
"There is no cannibalisation," for the network operator, since the service effectively competes against WiFi, Bonifay noted.
As a result of its various soft launches, Transatel has some customers already using the service, although there are fewer than 10,000 at present, Bonifay said. Those users consume an average of 380 MB of data per month.
"[If] you give them a SIM card, the user is too lazy to bother trying to get on the WiFi," Bonifay said.
The firm is keen to extend the availability of SIM-901. It is working on bringing the product to market in the U.K. and France, as well as in the U.S., and "the next countries will be sometime in May [and] June," Bonifay said.
"We have discussions with plenty of mobile operators," and other players in the value chain, Bonifay said, with a couple of notable exceptions. Transatel is not working with Apple or Google on the project. "Those guys are a bit difficult," Bonifay admitted.
