Carriers are going to have to embrace the mobile virtual network operator model whether they like it or not. At least that's the conclusion of a new Yankee Group study about the growth of the virtual operator market. According to Yankee analyst Marina Amoroso, the effective price per minute on voice is dropping at an ever-quickening rate. Already at 8¢ a minute last year, bigger and bigger buckets of minutes will eventually drop the effective price per minute below 5¢. “At that point, they'll have competed away their profit margin,” Amoroso said. Carriers need to find another way to differentiate themselves besides price. While they may succeed in diversifying their overall brands with wireless data or other enhanced services, the majority of customers will need to start rethinking their brands. And this means MVNOs, which can distinguish themselves as specific lifestyle brands in ways a huge carrier that targets all segments can't, Amoroso said. Consequently, Yankee expects huge growth in the MVNO market with the carriers' blessing in the next five years.

Source: The Yankee Group

Source: The Yankee Group

Source: The Yankee Group

Source: The Yankee Group

Source: The Yankee Group