Consistent, Cost-Effective, Scalable: Driving Cross-Border Enterprise Connectivity with 1GLOBAL

For multinational enterprises and companies with traveling teams, the opportunities of in-person international business must be weighed against the environmental, security, and financial challenges of supporting a mobile workforce.

One particular hurdle is connectivity: in the era of mobile data, supplying teams with a reliable mobile connection is an expectation, not a bonus. Ensuring this connection is reliable, secure, and available internationally is key to success.

Managing cross-border connectivity

Enterprises with international staff often struggle with high roaming costs, fragmented contracts, and complex admin. IT departments in these organizations have four major aims when connecting international team members:

• Cost-effective roaming: Using mobile data outside of the domestic provider’s coverage area can incur hefty international roaming fees, which are often unpredictable and inconsistent across borders. Not only do these immediately impact revenue, the admin workload required to budget for these fees also requires major investment.

• Consistent connection: Advances in mobile data, cloud-based workplace software, and eSIM-enabled tablets and laptops have enabled traveling employees to more efficiently use their time on the road, keeping them on top of work. Now, teams can stay in contact throughout the journey. This is only possible with a mobile internet source that functions across borders and offers global coverage.

• Minimal security risks: In addition to impacting employees’ performance, an unstable data connection raises the temptation for them to connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Unsecured networks are a risk of cyberattack and data breach: a private mobile connection mitigates this risk.

• Flexibility and scalability: Increasing globalization means teams must be prepared to explore new markets and travel to new countries at a moment’s notice. A global enterprise data plan allows organizations to respond to market trends around the world without needing to organize, negotiate, and distribute local connectivity plans every time. It also allows brands to leverage short-term and seasonal business opportunities and events without committing to lengthy regional telecoms contracts.

Supplying truly global connectivity is a notoriously demanding task: most large Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) require separate roaming agreements in every country of operation, hampering organizational agility and increasing the IT workload.

The vast size of many traditional MNOs makes them less responsive to individual client needs, particularly for specific business use cases.

Alternatively, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) can offer a greater degree of customer service, flexibility, and responsiveness. However, they lack the global reach of MNOs and have less control over their pricing, connection quality, and billing.

MVNO speed with an MNO infrastructure

1GLOBAL is a worldwide telecoms supplier that occupies the slim overlap in the MVNO/MNO Venn diagram. 1GLOBAL is a full MVNO, meaning that it owns and operates every aspect of its telecoms infrastructure, outside of the mobile masts themselves. Unlike many lighter MVNOs, 1GLOBAL has a worldwide footprint, with physical infrastructure on five continents, and partnerships with over 600 carriers worldwide.

With full MVNO status in the UK, US, Spain, Poland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Australia, 1GLOBAL provides the foundation for seamless global connectivity across 190+ countries.

10 lessons from 10 markets

Each new MVNO country strengthens the worldwide framework and connectivity expertise of 1GLOBAL, and introduces new mobile possibilities for our clients. Here’s how every MVNO base where we are regulated helps to enhances 1GLOBAL’s capabilities:

• Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France, and Poland: Companies operating in EU member nations are bound to highly secure compliance regulations and stringent data protection laws. Owning full MVNOs in these five separate EU nations allows 1GLOBAL to provide excellent connectivity and coverage to businesses operating in these dynamic continental markets, adhering to the most rigorous wireless security standards. Poland, in particular, is a high-growth market benefiting from scalable enterprise solutions.

• The UK and USA: As two global trade hubs, establishing an MVNO in the USA and the United Kingdom allows 1GLOBAL to cater to millions of business travelers each year, including the provision of local numbers. North America is the global region with the highest rates of eSIM adoption, with huge demand for fast and cost-effective eSIM business plans.

• Brazil: Brazil has one of the world's highest rates of MVNO usage, creating one of the largest MVNO and white-label telco markets in the world. The LATAM region as a whole is experiencing rapid eSIM adoption rates – 1GLOBAL's recently licensed MVNO status and new office in Brazil helps to serve this rising demand.

• Hong Kong: As mainland China continues to relax its restrictions on consumer eSIMs, eSIM adoption across the APAC region is set to surge. A Hong Kong-based MVNO provides customers with a stable, scalable, eSIM enterprise partner for the APAC region.

• Australia: A key Asia-Pacific telecommunications hub with vast geographic coverage needs, achieving full MVNO status in Australia invites 1GLOBAL clients to enjoy enterprise connectivity and local number support in a key Pacific business destination.

Full MVNO status in these 10 strategic markets allows 1GLOBAL to:

• Unify mobile services under one global contract.

• Provide lower roaming rates worldwide.

• Simplify deployment through eSIMs and centralized management.

• Ensure compliance across diverse regulatory environments.

More generally, establishing a physical footprint in a new market allows MVNOs like 1GLOBAL to strengthen our team with the best local knowledge: it’s one thing to offer a service in a country; it's another thing entirely to partner with residents and regional experts to deliver truly localized solutions that leverage the unique telco propositions every country has to offer. The establishment of new 1GLOBAL offices in São Paulo and Amsterdam epitomizes this concept – each new 1GLOBAL hub expands the brand’s specialist knowledge base and brings together localized market insights with a global reach.

Industry recognition

Since 1GLOBAL’s launch as an eSIM-focused telco in 2018, eSIM demand has surged around the globe.

Keeping pace with this market shift, 1GLOBAL’s remote SIM provisioning services have been accredited by the GSMA, the leading mobile industry body. GSMA accreditation is an essential requirement for mobile operators considering eSIM suppliers, as it denotes a global industry standard for eSIM security, regularly audited and re-accredited by independent verifiers and the GSMA.

Every new country of operation brings new voices, insights, and local expertise into the 1GLOBAL offering. For international teams, this ensures compliance and industry-standard data protection, regardless of country. With regulatory requirements differing from region to region, joining a global network with local knowledge bases allows businesses to ensure their telecommunications adhere to local security obligations, without needing to negotiate and engineer new roaming agreements and cybersecurity measures for every country they operate in. The result is unparalleled flexibility for global teams, built on a stringent security foundation.

MVNOs and MNOs: 1GLOBAL's unique position

Another chief concern with selecting an international mobile supplier is scalability. Demand for wireless data is rapidly growing year on year, and on-the-go connectivity has evolved from a perk to a requirement. Organizations need a partner that can deliver cross-border connectivity plans that grow with their ambitions.

In this regard, legacy MNOs can appear a sensible choice: their infrastructure ownership provides them with extensive control over their pricing and coverage, while isolating them to some extent from market fluctuations. This same stability and size, however, can prevent them from delivering the flexible, customized mobile solutions that agile businesses require.

The MNO capabilities that make them attractive to enterprise clients – a core network, global numbers, in-house billing, and dedicated customer care – are also available through 1GLOBAL, due to our worldwide footprint and end-to-end control of the eSIM ecosystem. As a digital-first brand with a worldwide team, we can also tailor the length, reach, and volume of these plans to suit the most exacting organizational needs. 1GLOBAL Postpaid Enterprise plans are fully customizable, delivering the reach of an MNO with the agility of an MVNO.

An international future

Despite a global pandemic and the rapid adoption of videoconferencing tools that followed, international business travel is still a priority for many organizations. In some cases, the personal touch remains essential. While rising environmental concerns and increasing IT sophistication may reduce this need in the future, business travel is currently on the rise. Scalable enterprise connectivity agreements are key to addressing this demand and equipping teams for the future of business travel.

1GLOBAL’s MVNO presence in 10 countries delivers more than local service. It enables enterprises to cut roaming costs, simplify IT operations, and keep staff connected efficiently in 190+ destinations worldwide.

Find out more about 1GLOBAL Enterprise plans and discover personalized solutions for your organization by speaking to our team.