A
mobile network operator (
MNO), also known as
mobile phone operator (or simply
mobile operator or
mobo),
carrier service provider (
CSP),
wireless service provider,
wireless carrier, or
cellular company, or
mobile network carrier is a
telephone companyA telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
that provides
servicesGSM services are a standard collection of applications and features available to mobile phone subscribers all over the world. The GSM standards are defined by the 3GPP collaboration and implemented in hardware and software by equipment manufacturers and mobile phone operators...
for mobile phone subscribers.
One essential characteristic that defines a mobile network operator is that they must have acquired a
radio spectrum licenseUse of radio frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum is regulated by governments in most countries, in a Spectrum management process known as frequency allocation or spectrum allocation. Radio propagation does not stop at national boundaries...
from the government before they can clear cell phone service within a country. The precise
spectrumRadio spectrum refers to the part of the electromagnetic spectrum corresponding to radio frequencies – that is, frequencies lower than around 300 GHz ....
obtained does depend on the type of
mobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
technology the operator intends to deploy. For example, a
Global System for Mobile CommunicationsGSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...
(GSM) network operator will require a
GSM frequency rangeGSM frequency bands or frequency ranges are the cellular frequencies designated by the ITU for the operation of GSM mobile phones.- GSM frequency bands :There are fourteen bands defined in 3GPP TS 45.005, which succeeded 3GPP TS 05.05:...
. The government allocates spectrum using whichever method it chooses, although the most common method is an
auctionAn auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
. Recent allocation of
3G3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
and
WiMaxWiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
licenses in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(only 3G in India) have been auctioned.
However the operator must also deploy essential equipment in order to offer the services, most notably the
radio transmitter networkThe base station subsystem is the section of a traditional cellular telephone network which is responsible for handling traffic and signaling between a mobile phone and the network switching subsystem...
and the
core networkNetwork switching subsystem is the component of a GSM system that carries out call switching and mobility management functions for mobile phones roaming on the network of base stations...
. In addition, other service platforms such as
voicemailVoicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
and
short message service centerA short message service center is a network element in the mobile telephone network which delivers SMS messages.-Operation:When a user sends a text message to another user, the message gets stored in the SMSC which delivers it to the destination user when they are available...
will be deployed as well as
billingA Call Accounting System is a telecommunications software or hardware application that captures, records, and costs telephone usage events. Internationally call accounting systems may be referred to as call logging systems...
and
customer relationship managementCustomer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
(CRM) systems.
See also