New telco adds 53 retail resellers for Telstra service

Recently formed virtual network operator, iVNO, has signed Telstra Wholesale as a supplier and partnered with an education retailer to launch its first white label offering.

University retail chain the Co-op becomes iVNO's first reseller, with their CoMobile brand of prepaid mobile service unleashed on the youth market.

"CoMobile has soft launched – the website is already there where customers can sign up. The full launch will be completed in a phased manner over the next couple of weeks," said Thomas Derum, CEO of iVNO's parent company iVNX Group.

CoMobile will eventually be available through the Co-op's 53 bricks-and-mortar stores in and around tertiary campuses throughout the country.

"It's aimed at the student market but you don't need to be a member of the Co-op – the public can come into any of the stores and sign up [to CoMobile]," Derum told CRN.

The partnership with the Co-op is the first of three retail mobile brands in the pipeline, according to Derum.

"The three brands will have a combined distribution network of over 150 retail stores and a customer base of over 3 million," said Derum. "Each brand has its own distinct market segment and niche."

The CEO told CRN that the other two brands will be revealed in the coming weeks.

The fledgling virtual telco will use Telstra's 3G mobile network for its white label products.

"Our customers and brand partnerships demand quality, reliability and dependability and we are pleased to be able to deliver these services using parts of Telstra's 3G network," said Derum.

Telstra Wholesale executive Stuart Lee said: "We’re supporting mobile virtual network operators like iVNO to enable the launch of their mobile services to targeted segments in the Australian market."

A statement from iVNX said that in the coming weeks the current 7.2Mbps speed cap on Telstra Wholesale's 3G service will be removed.

"We recently added post-paid capability and in the coming weeks we will make available higher speeds and better coverage on our wholesale product," said Lee.

Derum said iVNX Group's predecessor and now iVNO's sister subsidiary – iTelecom – was the first reseller to offer 3G through Telstra in March 2012. He said another subsidiary, iVNE, will release its cloud as-a-service catalogue later this month.

The privately owned iVNX group employs about 60 people in Melbourne, Sydney, Manila, Hyderabad and Dalian.