A mobile phone operator or wireless provider is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone users. The operator gives a SIM card to the customer who inserts it into the mobile phone to gain access to the service.
There are two types of mobile operator:
- a mobile network operator (MNO) which owns the underlying network and spectrum assets required to run the service.
- a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) which buys wholesale service from an MNO and sells on to its own customers.
The world's largest individual mobile operator by subscribers is China Mobile with over 500 million mobile phone subscribers. Over 50 mobile operators have over 10 million subscribers each, and over 150 mobile operators had at least one million subscribers by the end of 2009. In February 2010, there were 4.6 billion mobile phone subscribers, a number that is estimated to grow.Total mobile‐cellular subscriptions reached almost 6 billion by end 2011, corresponding to a global penetration of 86%.
Read more about Mobile Phone Operator: History
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