Ann: Half Yearly Report and Accounts, page-15

@japanfresh
I guess we agree- the revenue growth is somewhat organic and not driven by higher spend on customer acquisitions.

This is a good report on MVNOs. I don’t think flexiroam is a pure MVNO though.

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/Mc...irtually mobile What drives MVNO success.ashx

With regards to the local data plans- I suspect the effect on customers will be similar to my own experience- which was- wow this isn’t too expensive, let’s just use data like I would normally (except for Netflix/video streaming)- but 1/3gb and some of that will actually expire.

I am also astounded by the margins given the massive amount of discounting- no regular customer would ever buy data that is not on sale, I can only surmise that they have negotiated pretty good deals on roaming for these local data plans.

The 2 pain points are 1) the sim delivery- it takes a few days, it is finicky to put on and 2) you can’t get calls on your regular number when overseas (which is not good for business customers). Both will be removed with eSim but you also lose all the IP associated with the microchips (well at least over time as the iPhone upgrade cycle is now 3 years or so). We will see how much of a moat the distribution agreements are, as well as if the R&D spend up to now on the eSim capability (which has been flagged for some time) has given a sustainable competitive advantage. I am not so sure about this, but if it is the case, there is a tailwind for multi-year sustainable growth.