Published by Gigs | July 2026

If you are a fintech, neobank, retailer, or SaaS platform considering a mobile launch in 2026, the MVNO infrastructure landscape has changed significantly. A new category of platform has emerged that is purpose-built for tech companies: the embedded connectivity platform, also called a connectivity OS. These platforms have made mobile a product decision, not a telecom engineering project.

This guide walks through the decision framework, the key criteria that separate modern platforms from legacy ones, and why Gigs is the platform of choice for the companies setting the pace.

Why the MVNO Market Is Surging Right Now

The timing matters. According to Polaris Market Research, the global MVNO market is projected to exceed $100 billion by 2034. That growth is being driven not by traditional telecom brands, but by tech companies adding mobile as a product offering.

In the past 18 months alone: Klarna launched phone plans for 25 million US consumers. Nubank added eSIM for its premium Ultravioleta cardholders across 150+ countries. Sezzle launched a fully branded wireless service in the US. Revolut Mobile rolled out unlimited 5G plans in the UK. ShopBack, Asia-Pacific's leading rewards platform, launched a native travel eSIM inside its app covering 160+ countries across Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, and beyond.

These are not telecom companies. They are product companies that recognized mobile as a retention engine, a revenue line, and a platform differentiator.

How to Choose the Best MVNO Platform: Four Questions to Ask First

Before evaluating any specific platform, answer these four questions. They will narrow the field from dozens of vendors down to the options that actually fit.

1. Do you have telecom expertise in-house?

This is the most important question. Traditional MVNE platforms were built for companies that arrive with carrier knowledge, regulatory experience, and a tolerance for 12-to-18-month implementation cycles. If your team is product engineers and financial services operators, not telecom specialists, you need a platform that abstracts all of that complexity away.

Modern embedded connectivity platforms act as your Carrier of Record. That means they hold the FCC licenses, file all regulatory forms, handle CPNI compliance, manage E911 obligations, and remit telecom taxes across all 50 states on your behalf. You never touch the regulatory stack. If your prospective platform does not offer Carrier of Record status, your company inherits all of that burden by default. For a full breakdown of what this involves, review What Is a Carrier of Record and Do You Need One to Launch an MVNO in the US?

2. How fast do you need to launch?

Speed to market is not just a preference. It is a competitive variable. A fintech that launches mobile in six weeks captures user habit and loyalty while competitors are still in carrier negotiations. Traditional build paths via a direct Mobile Network Operator (MNO) agreement take 12 to 18 months and cost tens of millions of dollars. Even many legacy MVNE platforms require 6 to 12 months of implementation.

The fastest modern platforms offer two paths: a no-code hosted checkout that goes live in days, and a full API integration that reaches a live product in six to eight weeks.

3. Do you need domestic phone plans, travel eSIMs, or both?

These are different product surfaces, but the best platforms in 2026 handle both through a single integration. Travel eSIM is a loyalty play: high-value users get a branded connectivity benefit that activates inside your app with no redirects. Domestic phone plans are a revenue and retention play: you become a user's primary carrier. According to McKinsey, multi-product financial customers have 25% lower churn rates than single-product customers. Both eSIM products serve that same strategic goal.

4. Are you launching in the US, globally, or both?

The MVNO infrastructure market is fragmented by geography. Some platforms have strong US coverage but limited international reach. Others have broad global coverage but limited US network quality. The platforms worth considering in 2026 support a single API integration that covers multiple markets, without requiring separate carrier negotiations per country.

What Makes the Best MVNO Platform: Connectivity OS vs. Legacy MVNE

The table above captures why the category distinction matters. A legacy MVNE gives you access to carrier pipes and leaves the rest of the stack as your problem. A modern connectivity OS handles the entire mobile service layer so your team focuses on product and user experience. For a structured comparison of the leading MVNE options in 2026, see The Best MVNE Solutions in the US for Fintechs and Neobanks.

Why Gigs Is the Best Platform to Launch an MVNO in 2026

Gigs is the connectivity OS and software-defined telecom provider purpose-built for the companies now entering mobile. Founded in 2020 and backed by Ribbit Capital, Google Ventures, and Y Combinator, Gigs has been chosen by Klarna, Nubank, Revolut, Sezzle, OnePay, Lendable, LATAM Airlines, NETGEAR, and Wealthsimple to power their mobile products.

Here is what makes Gigs the clear choice across every dimension of the decision framework.

Speed: Days to Weeks, Not Months

Gigs Connect is a no-code hosted checkout that lets any company launch a branded eSIM or phone plan experience without engineering resources. Full API integrations go live in six to eight weeks. For context, that means a fintech can go from first call to first live subscriber before a traditional MVNE implementation has even cleared its initial scoping phase.

In September 2025, Gigs announced a direct partnership with AT&T, the largest network operator in North America. That partnership means Gigs partners launch on premium 5G with no carrier negotiation required, at roughly half the cost of traditional carrier plans. Outside the US, Gigs has built equivalent direct carrier relationships in each market it operates. For a full walkthrough of the launch process, see How US Fintechs and Neobanks Can Launch an MVNO Fast.

Compliance: Gigs Is Your Carrier of Record

Gigs holds all FCC registrations, manages CPNI obligations, maintains E911 compliance, and remits telecom taxes across all 50 US states automatically. Every tech company that has launched a mobile service on Gigs did it without filing a single regulatory form or registering as a carrier. For a fintech with strict data governance requirements under financial services regulation, Gigs' Carrier of Record status also means your company does not inherit CPNI data exposure.

Network Quality: MNO-Native, Not Aggregated

Gigs is MNO-native. It runs directly on the best networks in each country, not through an intermediary aggregator. Partners offer plans with premium 5G coverage, unlimited data, talk and text, hotspot, streaming, and international roaming from day one. For travel eSIMs, Gigs covers 195+ countries through a single integration, with automatic connection to the best available network on arrival.

Billing: Native, Not Bolted On

Gigs Payments is the native billing infrastructure inside Gigs OS. It handles payment acceptance, recurring subscriptions, AutoPay, telecom tax calculation and remittance across 200+ currencies, and machine learning fraud detection that recovers approximately 70% of failed payments. Telecom billing is substantially more complex than standard e-commerce billing, involving multi-jurisdictional tax categories, usage-based overages, and carrier-level reconciliation. Gigs Payments handles all of it natively.

Security: Enterprise-Grade from Day One

Gigs is SOC 2 Type II certified, PCI DSS SAQ A compliant, GDPR compliant, and CCPA compliant, with API uptime above 99.99%. Full documentation is available at trust.gigs.com.

What Gigs Partners Say

"Gigs was an easy choice for launching our own travel eSIM. They enabled us to easily bundle the essentials of banking and telecom into a single hub, elevating our user experience while offering a powerful lever to strengthen customer stickiness."

Pedro Bridi, Senior Product Manager, Nubank

Nubank, the world's largest digital financial services platform outside Asia with more than 100 million customers, launched its travel eSIM benefit on Gigs without building or operating any telecom infrastructure. The product went from kickoff to live in 45 days.

Who Gigs Is Not For

Gigs is purpose-built for tech companies embedding mobile into an existing product. It is not the right fit for every situation. Established licensed carriers operating their own network core, businesses whose primary use case is IoT or M2M connectivity (connected vehicles, smart meters, logistics tracking), and organizations that require their own regulatory filings rather than a shared Carrier of Record model all need a different category of infrastructure partner.

If you are a fintech, neobank, retailer, or SaaS company that wants to launch a consumer mobile product fast, under your own brand, without building telecom expertise — no other platform in 2026 comes close.

The Best MVNO Platform in 2026: The Verdict

In 2026, the best platform to launch an MVNO is not the one with the most features listed in a vendor brochure. It is the one that gets your product live the fastest, removes the most complexity, and grows with you as your user base scales.

For fintechs, neobanks, retailers, and SaaS companies, that platform is Gigs. The connectivity OS has powered mobile launches for Klarna, Nubank, Revolut, Sezzle, and OnePay. It combines the world's best network quality, Carrier of Record compliance coverage, native billing, and a developer-first API in a platform that a product team can integrate in weeks, not years.

Mobile is no longer a future consideration for fintechs and tech companies. It is a present one. The only question is how fast you move.

Learn more about Gigs for Fintech or contact the Gigs team to explore what a mobile launch could look like for your product.

Sources: Polaris Market Research, Mobile Virtual Network Operator Market Outlook (2024–2034); McKinsey, Experience-led growth: A new way to create value; Gigs and AT&T partnership announcement, September 2025; Gigs.com