16 January 2024 Niet-gecategoriseerd0 COMMENTS
Public Mobility and PM Factory recently moved to a new office in Almere, providing the perfect occasion for a conversation with co-founder Victor La Bree and partner manager Johan Pols. The activities and new mobile services of Public Mobility take center stage in an insightful discussion.
It has now been more than twelve years since CEO Victor La Bree (left) and CTO Stefan Tobe (right) founded both companies. However, both the company names and the names of the founders appear remarkably little in the press. Modesty plays a role in this, Victor indicates.
“But there is something more important at play, namely that Public Mobility does not deliver end products. Our MVNO and ISP partners do that. Underlying this, as a supplier, we are a technical and operational processor based on Product-as-a-Service. We therefore believe that the focus should be on our partners, while we operate in the background.”
Public Mobility as an MVNE
Public Mobility is a Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE) and has a wholesale agreement with Odido. The technical processing between Odido and Public Mobility’s partners is handled by the PM Factory mobile platform. Public Mobility provides mobile telephony, SMS, and data services to MVNOs and ISPs.
According to Johan and Victor, Public Mobility’s partners need a complete mobile service as well as mobile building blocks to further expand their own portfolios with telephony, SMS, and data services. Public Mobility partners targeting the consumer market also require a complete mobile delivery chain. The implementation of this varies per partner, but Public Mobility can fully equip the delivery chain with a complete OSS/BSS solution.
According to Victor, business-oriented partners have a greater need for features such as Fixed-Mobile Convergence, SMS integration, and data integration. “In all cases, partners use our services for both the business and consumer markets and deliver under their own label.” As an example, he mentions service providers who already offer ICT services and integrate multiple Public Mobility mobile building blocks to complete their own portfolio.
“Our partner’s end customer will never encounter our name.”
VoLTE and Calling over Wi-Fi
Mobile services are not static, and that is the second reason for this conversation. Johan explains their upcoming plans.
“We all know that 3G networks have had their day. 4G is now the standard, and that will shift to 5G in the future. The introduction of VoLTE makes it possible to use voice and data simultaneously, and also includes improvements in speed and quality. After an intensive phase of development and testing, we are now ready to phase in VoLTE during the first quarter of next year.”
Simultaneously with VoLTE, Public Mobility is also introducing Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi). This gives the user the ability to make calls via the local Wi-Fi network. This results in better indoor coverage and availability.
Mobile Porting
Public Mobility has built a new mobile Porting API that is directly linked to COIN. Porting numbers can be done via the API or GUI, which simplifies the process. Additionally, an external link has been removed from the chain. This makes the porting process not only simpler but also faster and more cost-effective.
Better Wholesale Rates
Since the beginning of this year, Public Mobility has been offering its partners better wholesale rates for mobile data. This gives partners the opportunity to compete based on lower rates and the added value of their own services. This brings the conversation to the final question: what do Victor and Johan expect for 2024? Victor is aiming for a doubling of revenue with existing partners based on existing and new functionalities, building blocks, and higher retention. Johan nods in agreement. “Together with our partners, we must ensure healthy competition, with a focus on distinctive service delivery and the right price.”
Want to know more about Public Mobility’s mobile solutions? Contact sales@publicmobility.nl or call 088 3033 030.
Source: This article previously appeared in ITChannelPRO magazine 2023-06
