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Lyca Mobile, the virtual cellular network operator (MVNO) introduced in South Africa in 2017, stopped offering to its consumers and announced its closure.
“Unfortunately, it is no longer imaginable that Lyca Mobile would continue to provide a service. Lyca Mobile’s installations in South Africa will be halted on January 9, 2024. You will need to transfer to some other cellular network operator before this date to continue using your cell phone. number,” the company said on its website.
Lyca Mobile is one of the largest MVNOs in the world, with operations in some 60 foreign markets: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain. , Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Lyca Mobile is a subsidiary of Lyca Group, a multinational telecommunications and entertainment company founded and chaired by British-Indian entrepreneur Allirajah Subaskaran. “I built Lycamobile to create a world in which no matter how far people venture, they can always connect with their family and friends,” said Subaskaran on the Lyca Group website.
Like most MVNOs in South Africa, Lyca Mobile had been piggybacking on the network infrastructure of Cell C.
The company withdrew from the Romanian market in December, with a similar announcement to the South African site posted on its Romanian site. South African consumers were asked to port their mobile phone numbers to other networks until January 9 if they wanted to continue. them.
According to Daniel Swart, director of advertising at MVN-X, a network-independent cellular virtual network provider, branded MVNOs like TFG Connect and Capitec Connect, for example, already have a visitor base to which they can market services. Cellular services tend to have more resistance.
“The MVNO market is poised to grow, but MVNOs want to build visitor loyalty. It’s a difficult area to navigate and the market is very competitive,” Swart said. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
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