Editing Mobile virtual network operator (section)

==History==
MVNO agreements with network operators date back to the 1990s, when the European and Australian telecom markets saw market liberalization, new regulatory frameworks, better [[2G]] network technology, and a subsequent jump in wireless subscriber numbers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Van Thanh|first=Do|date=2001|title=Guest Editorial|url=https://www.telenor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/T01_4.pdf|journal=Telektronikk}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{cite web|url=https://www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/3G/casestudies/GSM-FINAL.pdf |title=GSM Paper |access-date=2017-07-04}}</ref> Though the new [[2G]] networks more efficiently managed the limited [[frequency band]]s allocated to wireless service, new mobile entrants were still limited by their ability to access frequency bands in a restricted [[Radio spectrum|spectrum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.fe.up.pt/~mleitao/CMOV/Tecnico/GSM_Sempere.html |title=An overview of the GSM system by Javier Gozalvez Sempere |publisher=Web.fe.up.pt |access-date=2017-07-04}}</ref>

With European markets newly open to competition and new technology enabling better service and cheaper handsets, there was a massive surge in demand for cellular phones.<ref name=":02" /> In the midst of this swell, Sense Communications fought for access to MNO spectrum in [[Scandinavia]] in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1349075&fileOId=2433717|title=Mobile Virtual Network Operators in Europe. Strategic and Legal Analysis|last=Sasinovskaya|first=Olga}}</ref> Sense was able to establish an MVNO agreement with [[Sonera]] in Finland, but it failed to persuade MNOs in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.<ref>{{cite web|author=Allan T. Rasmussen |url=http://www.yozzo.com/mvno-academy/the-history-of-mvno/ |title=The History of MVNO |date=31 July 2016 |publisher=Yozzo.com |access-date=2017-07-04}}</ref> Sense then appealed to EU regulators, citing provisions that required certain MNOs to allow new entrants interconnection. While Sense's claim was denied, in November 1999, the company signed a service provider agreement with Telia/Telenor Mobile for GSM network capacity access, allowing Sense to offer services to its own customers in Sweden and Norway.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telenor.com/media/press-releases/1999/sense-communications-buys-gsm-network-capacity-from-teliatelenor-mobile/|title=Sense Communications buys GSM network capacity from Telia/Telenor Mobile|date=23 November 1999|publisher= Telenor|access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref>

Despite Sense's initial failure, the regulator in Denmark saw the promise in the MVNO model as a cost-effective route for telecom companies to enter the market and in May 2000, legislation passed that required network operators with significant market power to open up access to their infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/competition/casestudies/denmark/Denmark%20Case%20Study%201101.pdf |title=COMPETITION POLICY IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS: THE CASE OF DENMARK |publisher=International Telecommunication Union |date=2002-11-01 |access-date=2017-07-04}}</ref> By August of that same year, the MNO [[SONOFON]] had solidified the first viable MVNO agreement with [[Tele2]]. This agreement provided Tele2 with access to SONOFON's network for both mobile and roaming services, the latter of which had been requested by (and denied to) Sense Communications. With the new regulations in place, MVNOs in Scandinavia eventually grew to a [[market share]] of above 10%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.analysysmason.com/About-Us/News/Newsletter/Is-there-a-glass-ceiling-for-MVNOs/ |title=Analysys Mason |publisher=Analysys Mason |date=2011-06-28 |access-date=2017-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015003019/http://www.analysysmason.com/About-Us/News/Newsletter/Is-there-a-glass-ceiling-for-MVNOs/ |archive-date=15 October 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By 2008, US wireless subscribers had a choice between around 40 MVNOs. According to the FCC, approximately 7% of all U.S. mobile subscribers were served by resellers, including MVNOs, and analysts found that the 15.1 million wireless subscribers served by resellers by the end of 2006 had increased by 1.6 million over the previous year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-28A1.pdf |title=Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Conditions with Respect to Commercial Mobile Services |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |date=2008-02-01 |access-date=2017-07-04}}</ref>