Launching a mobile brand in the United States has never been easier to start or harder to finish. The three national carriers all sell wholesale access, a new class of enablers will get a brand live in weeks, and the cable industry has proven that a virtual operator can add more than 400,000 lines in a single quarter. It is also a market where a Hawaii MVNO with roughly 55,000 subscribers collapsed in November 2025 and left customers scrambling to port out. This guide walks through the routes to market, what they cost, what the FCC expects from you, and where new entrants tend to break.
Three ways onto a network
Direct wholesale. Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T each run a wholesale program, and each looks different from the outside. Verizon Wholesale offers network access through APIs and a GUI, plus an optional turnkey “Platform Solutions” layer covering sales, servicing, customer management and the device ecosystem, with prepaid and postpaid wholesale pricing. There are no published minimums; entry is a contact form and an “initial overview discussion.” T-Mobile, which says it hosts more than 200 MVNO brands, launched a managed program called Your Name, Our Wireless in August 2024 that bundles backend setup, website and app, SIM fulfillment, billing, payments and care. AT&T’s most visible recent route is indirect: in 2025 it struck a deal with the enabler Gigs, which holds the wholesale agreement and handles licensing, tax and provisioning on behalf of brands such as Klarna.
An MVNE. A mobile virtual network enabler holds the carrier relationship and supplies the operational stack: provisioning, SIM and eSIM management, rating and billing, CRM, tax and much of the compliance burden. You bring the brand, pricing and customers. US MVNEs include Reach (which powers Astound Mobile), Ztar Mobile, Telgoo5, Gigs and Plintron; the directory lists each with its network partners.
An MVNA. An aggregator buys airtime in bulk and resells it to many small MVNOs. The clearest US example is NCTC, which acts as an aggregator on AT&T’s network for independent cable operators and lets members choose between Reach and, since March 2026, Telgoo5 as the enabler. Allo, Breezeline, Omni Fiber, Schurz, TDS Telecom and TVS Cable all launched mobile this way. PWG Network Solutions and Plintron Americas play the same role on T-Mobile.
The rule of thumb is that direct wholesale buys you margin and control at the price of capital and time, an MVNE buys you speed at the price of margin, and an MVNA sits in between with volume commitments attached. Our companion piece, MVNE vs MVNA vs wholesale carrier, goes deeper on the trade-offs.
What it costs and how long it takes
No carrier publishes per-gigabyte wholesale rates, so every cost figure in circulation comes from consultancies and enablers with a product to sell. Read them as ranges, not quotes, but they agree on the shape of the curve.
| Model | One-time cost | Time to launch | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branded reseller / embedded plan via enabler | Low five figures | 2–8 weeks | Gigs, Spenza |
| “Lite” MVNO on an MVNE | $100k–$400k, plus $15k–$60k/month early opex | 90–180 days (2–4 months) | Cardella, Spenza |
| Full MVNO with direct wholesale and own BSS | $2M–$12M+, incl. $2M–$5M carrier commitment | 9–24 months | Cardella, Gigs, Spenza |
Two numbers matter more than the launch budget. The first is network cost as a share of revenue: Cardella Consulting puts wholesale COGS at “typically 30–60% of ARPU,” which is why a $25 plan on a $15 wholesale base is a business and a $25 plan on a $22 base is a hobby. The second is working capital after launch. Atomic Mobile’s guidance is $50,000 to $500,000 or more, and its blunt assessment of why MVNOs fail is that they “underestimate the amount of working capital needed after launch” and run out before reaching scale. Early customer acquisition costs of $50 to $150 per line, on plans that take a year or more to pay back, are what drain the account.
The regulatory checklist
An MVNO is a telecommunications carrier in the eyes of the FCC, even if a carrier or enabler runs the network. If you contract with an MVNE that is itself the regulated carrier of record, some of these shift to them; confirm which in writing before you launch.
- FCC Form 499 registration and filings. All providers of interstate telecommunications, including resellers, register before providing service, name a DC agent for service of process, and file Form 499-A by April 1 each year (plus quarterly 499-Qs). Universal Service Fund contributions follow; the proposed factor for Q3 2026 is 38.8% of interstate and international end-user revenue. Providers whose annual contribution would be under $10,000 qualify for de minimis treatment.
- CPNI. Customer proprietary network information rules apply to every carrier with “no exemption for small companies.” The annual certification is due March 1, and forfeitures run up to $251,322 per violation per day.
- Robocall Mitigation Database and STIR/SHAKEN. Every voice provider must be listed; since September 2021, other providers may not accept traffic from a provider that is not.
- 911. Wireless carriers must deliver dispatchable location where feasible and, from April 3, 2026 for non-nationwide CMRS providers, vertical (z-axis) location within 3 meters for 80% of calls. If you sell multi-line business service, Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’s Act apply too.
- State and local. State PUC registrations, state USF and 911 fees, and sales and telecom taxes that push the average US wireless bill’s tax load above 25%. You will want a tax engine before you want a marketing team.
- Everything else. An Operating Company Number, CALEA lawful-intercept capability, Section 214 authority if you offer international calling, 10DLC registration for A2P texting, and PCI DSS for payments.
Devices and eSIM
The United States is an eSIM-only iPhone market, which changes the launch checklist in two ways. Activation is now a software flow rather than a plastic-card logistics problem, so your enabler’s eSIM provisioning and Apple entitlement support matters more than its warehouse. And the benchmark customers will judge you by is a transfer that takes a few taps and under a minute. Enablers that can turn on new eSIM use cases in weeks rather than quarters are worth paying for.
Who launched recently, and who did not make it
The last two years show the range of what works. Klarna Mobile went live on AT&T through Gigs with a $40 unlimited 5G plan aimed at Klarna’s 25 million-plus US users, with the fintech never touching a wholesale contract. Astound Mobile launched on T-Mobile using Reach’s platform to reach about four million homes in 12 states. Trump Mobile announced in June 2025 on T-Mobile through Liberty Mobile Wireless, then spent nearly a year delivering its promised handset amid billing and data-exposure complaints. And Mobi, a long-running Hawaii MVNO on T-Mobile, collapsed in November 2025 amid a control dispute and a lawsuit over unpaid wages, stranding roughly 55,000 customers.
The pattern in the successes is a captive audience and someone else’s telecom stack. The pattern in the failures is governance and cash. If you have the first two and a plan for the last two, the network part is the easy bit.
Ready to talk to enablers and carriers? Tell us what you’re building and we’ll introduce you to providers that fit: Get matched.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to start an MVNO in the United States?
Published estimates from enablers and consultancies range from roughly $100,000 to $400,000 in one-time costs for a light MVNO launched on an MVNE platform (plus $15,000 to $60,000 a month in early operating costs), to $2 million to $12 million or more for a full MVNO with a direct carrier wholesale agreement and its own billing stack. Working capital after launch, typically $50,000 to $500,000 or more, is the number most first-time operators underestimate.
How long does it take to launch an MVNO?
A branded reseller or embedded plan through an enabler such as Gigs can go live in two to eight weeks. A light MVNO on an MVNE typically takes two to six months. A full MVNO negotiating directly with AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon and building its own BSS usually takes nine to twenty-four months.
Do I need an FCC license to run an MVNO?
There is no spectrum license, but an MVNO is a telecommunications carrier under FCC rules. You must register and file FCC Form 499-A (due April 1 each year), contribute to the Universal Service Fund unless you qualify for the under-$10,000 de minimis exemption, certify CPNI compliance by March 1, be listed in the Robocall Mitigation Database if you offer voice, and meet E911 location requirements. State registrations and telecom taxes apply on top. If your MVNE is the carrier of record, some obligations shift to them; confirm which in writing.
Which US carriers sell wholesale access to MVNOs?
All three national carriers do. Verizon Wholesale offers API and GUI access plus an optional turnkey platform; T-Mobile hosts more than 200 MVNO brands and runs a managed launch program called Your Name, Our Wireless; AT&T increasingly works with new brands through the enabler Gigs, which holds the wholesale agreement. None of the three publishes rates or subscriber minimums.
What is the difference between an MVNE and an MVNA?
An MVNE (mobile virtual network enabler) provides the operational stack an MVNO needs: provisioning, SIM and eSIM management, billing, CRM, tax and often regulatory compliance. An MVNA (mobile virtual network aggregator) buys airtime in bulk from a carrier and resells it to multiple small MVNOs, usually with volume commitments. Many US providers do both.
Sources
Verizon Wholesale · The Fast Mode on T-Mobile’s MVNO platform · Benton: Gigs and AT&T · Fierce: Klarna Mobile · Light Reading: NCTC adds Telgoo5 · Cardella Consulting cost guide · Gigs launch checklist · Spenza US launch guide · Atomic Mobile on costs · USAC Form 499-A instructions (2026) · FCC DA 26-546 (Q3 2026 contribution factor) · FCC DA 26-139 (CPNI certification) · FCC Robocall Mitigation Database · FCC MLTS 911 requirements · Fierce: Astound Mobile · Wireless Dealer Group: Mobi collapse