Frequently asked questions

An MVNO is a company that sells wireless services under its own brand without owning the underlying network infrastructure. MVNOs lease network capacity wholesale from carriers like AT&T or T-Mobile, then repackage and resell connectivity to end customers, enabling brands, retailers, and device makers to offer mobile services without building cell towers.

An MVNO sells wireless services to end customers. An MVNE (Enabler) provides the backend technology platform (billing, provisioning, SIM management) that powers MVNOs. An MVNA (Aggregator) negotiates wholesale network access in bulk and resells capacity. Spenza operates as an MVNE, providing the complete tech stack so any brand can launch an MVNO without telecom expertise.

An eSIM (embedded SIM) is a reprogrammable chip soldered directly into a device that can receive carrier profiles over the air, with no physical card swap needed. Unlike removable SIMs, eSIMs support multiple carrier profiles, enable remote provisioning, reduce device size, and allow one global hardware SKU instead of country-specific SIM variants.

MVNO-in-a-Box is a turnkey platform packaging everything needed to launch and operate a mobile virtual network: carrier integrations, billing, SIM/eSIM provisioning, subscriber management, compliance, and branded portals. Instead of assembling 8 to 12 different vendors, you get one platform, one integration, and one vendor relationship.

CaaS is a cloud-based model that lets businesses procure, manage, and scale cellular connectivity through a single software platform instead of negotiating directly with carriers. Think of it as the “Stripe for connectivity” – abstracting telecom complexity behind simple APIs and dashboards, shifting heavy CapEx into flexible, pay-as-you-grow OpEx.

TEM is the process of managing, auditing, and optimizing an organization’s telecom spending across mobile plans, data circuits, and IoT connectivity. TEM software automates invoice processing, identifies billing errors (found in 7 to 12% of invoices), and provides visibility into total spend, typically delivering 15 to 30% cost reduction.

Five steps: choose your MVNO model (reseller vs. light vs. full), select an MVNE partner like Spenza for the technology platform, configure plans and branded portals, handle FCC/state regulatory compliance, and go to market with SIM/eSIM distribution. Using a modern MVNE compresses this from 12 to 15 months and $2M+ to under 7 days with per-line pricing.

Costs range widely: branded resellers can launch for $10K to $100K using a turnkey MVNE, light MVNOs cost $100K to $400K, and full MVNOs require $2M to $10M+. Modern platforms like Spenza use per-line pricing with no large upfront fees, converting the traditionally CapEx-heavy launch into a pay-as-you-grow model.

Three components needed: a SIM/eSIM embedded in your hardware, a data plan from a connectivity provider, and a management platform for provisioning, monitoring, and billing. Choose your cellular technology (LTE-M, NB-IoT, Cat-1, LTE) based on bandwidth needs, then partner with a platform like Spenza that offers multi-operator access and lifecycle management.

For most new deployments, eSIM is recommended. It enables remote over-the-air provisioning, carrier switching without physical access, smaller device form factors, and a single global SKU. Replacing 10,000 physical SIMs in the field costs $500K to $5M while the same eSIM operation costs $10K to $20K. Spenza supports both, with full eSIM lifecycle management.

A CMP is centralized software for managing cellular connectivity across devices, carriers, and geographies. Core capabilities include real-time usage monitoring, remote activation/deactivation, automated alerts, carrier switching, bulk fleet operations, and API access. Spenza’s platform functions as a CMP with added MVNO enablement and consumer billing that pure CMPs lack.

SGP.32 is the GSMA’s latest IoT eSIM specification (finalized 2023) that allows device-initiated profile downloads without the complex SM-SR infrastructure of the older M2M standard. It democratizes IoT eSIM by enabling carrier switching as simply as choosing a provider from a marketplace, making multi-carrier eSIM management accessible to any device company.

Three models: bundle data plans with hardware at point of sale (recurring subscriptions), launch a branded MVNO for your customer base (new revenue stream), or resell white-label connectivity to your business clients (channel revenue). Spenza supports all three from one platform, enabling brands to start with any model and expand over time.

Yes. Spenza integrates natively with Shopify, letting you sell connectivity plans alongside physical products. Customers purchase plans at checkout, SIMs/eSIMs are provisioned automatically, and recurring billing is managed through the platform. Angel Watch uses this exact model to sell kids’ smartwatches with bundled mobile plans on Shopify.

RESTful APIs are available across all three hubs: Telecom Hub APIs for SIM/eSIM provisioning, carrier activation, and network selection; Control Hub APIs for usage data, analytics, and alerting; and UX Hub APIs for subscriber management and billing. All endpoints use JSON payloads, OAuth authentication, and webhook support for event-driven architectures. Learn more: https://api.spenza.com/