Tech Roundup: Brazilian MVNOs ready to surf the 5G wave

You’re reading The Brazilian Report’s weekly tech roundup, a digest of the most important news on technology and innovation in Brazil. This week’s topics: MVNOs and 5G; Embraer’s flying car; and WhatsApp Pay is back to stay.

Brazilian MVNOs ready to surf the 5G wave

A recent report by mobile tech company Upstreams shows that 100 percent of Latin American telecom operators rely on physical channels — such as call centers or brick-and-mortar stores — to obtain revenues. Not only is that far higher than the global average of 70 percent, it also often means slower operations and poor customer experiences. In Brazil, however, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) have spotted that flaw as a money-making opportunity, especially ahead of the country’s 5G auction.

What do they do? MVNOs use big firms’ networks to offer phone plans, often targeting specific niches and providing customers with a fully-digital experience. Data from consultancy firm Teleco shows that MVNOs operated over 1.6 million phone numbers in Brazil by the turn of the year. That is a drop in the ocean when compared to the 235.4 million active numbers in Brazil, but the fully digital model makes MVNOs a promising business prospect.

Success story. MVNO Fluke is an example of the sector’s potential. Founded in 2018 by a group of college friends in the city of São Carlos, in São Paulo state, Fluke began operations in March 2020. Not only was it resilient enough to weather the pandemic, but it also conquered 5,000 new customers and amassed BRL 2 million (USD 350,000) in investment in 2021. Now, it aims to raise another BRL 10 million — half by way of a crowdfunding campaign — to expand services and teams.

• “Our goal is to have 100,000 customers by the end of this year,” CEO Marcos Olivera Jr. tells The Brazilian Report. “Right now, we will invest to grow, so we expect to reach our...