Boosting Mobile Virtual Network Operator

Recent years have witnessed the rapid growth of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), which operate on top of the existing cellular infrastructures of base carriers, while offering cheaper or more flexible data plans compared to those of the base carriers. In this chapter, we present a nearly two-year measurement study toward understanding various key aspects of todays MVNO ecosystem, including its architecture, performance, economics, customers, and the complex interplay with the base carrier. Our study focuses on a large commercial MVNO with about 1 million customers, operating atop a nationwide base carrier. Our measurements clarify several key concerns raised by MVNO customers, such as inaccurate billing and potential performance discrimination with the base carrier. We also leverage big data analytics and machine learning to optimize an MVNOs key businesses such as data plan reselling and customer churn mitigation. Our proposed techniques can help achieve higher revenues and improved services for commercial MVNOs.