Transatel
Encyclopedia
Transatel is a pan-European company founded in August 2000, with headquarters in Paris
and offices in London
, Brussels
, Luxembourg
, and in the Netherlands
. On top of managing several MVNOs, the company has positioned itself on the MVNE market in Europe, for all kinds of MVNOs (postpaid, prepaid, B2C, B2B, with SIP
services...).
offers in Belgium
, in France
, in Luxembourg
and in the Netherlands
:
As an MVNE, Transatel works with companies wanting to launch a mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) under their own brand, may it be prepaid or postpaid
. The MVNE activity is divided into two categories:
In 2011, Transatel entered the M2M (Machine-to-Machine) market, based on cloud-based services, reusing its MVNE infrastructure across Europe to provide M2M services with similar business models.
Transatel also developed tools like unified voicemails for several numbers and convergent services.
Connection to MNO
Transatel is technically connected to 8 European MNO
s:
In 2011 Transatel was selected with 10 other IT companies for a program designed to help medium-sized companies improve their innovation policies through subventions by the Paris region.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and offices in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, and in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. On top of managing several MVNOs, the company has positioned itself on the MVNE market in Europe, for all kinds of MVNOs (postpaid, prepaid, B2C, B2B, with SIP
Session Initiation Protocol
The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...
services...).
Activity
As an MVNO, Transatel proposes different mobile telephonyMobile telephony
Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Mobile phones connect to a terrestrial cellular network of base stations , whereas satellite phones connect to orbiting satellites...
offers in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
:
- The multi-country offers are dedicated to frequent travelers and inhabitants of the border area in France, Switzerland and Benelux.
- Eurokeitai is an offer for the Japanese community in France, with services, documentation and customer service in Japanese.
- LeFrenchMobile is a mobile phone service for foreign visitors coming to France for a short period of time, from 6 to 24 months.
- Phonethic is a charity mobile phone offer available in Belgium, born from a partnership between 4 NGOs and Transatel.
As an MVNE, Transatel works with companies wanting to launch a mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) under their own brand, may it be prepaid or postpaid
Postpaid mobile phone
The post-paid mobile phone is a mobile phone for which service is provided by a prior arrangement with a carriage service provider . The user in this situation is billed after the fact according to their use of mobile services at the end of each month...
. The MVNE activity is divided into two categories:
- MVNE ASP (Application Service ProviderApplication service providerAn application service provider is a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. Software offered using an ASP model is also sometimes called On-demand software or software as a service ....
): the MVNO signs a contract for purchasing airtime with the MNO. Transatel is the technical service provider of either the MNO or the MVNO. MVNOs can be connected by Transatel to virtually any MNO in the world. - MVNA (Aggregator) : the MVNA purchases mobile airtime in bulk form the partner mobile operator, adds its service platform and wholesales this airtime to multiple MVNOs, who each in turn sells the mobile service to end users. As an MVNA, Transatel provides provisionning services, rated billing and voice/data services. The MVNA activity is focused in Europe, particularily France, the UK, Belgium and Switzerland.
In 2011, Transatel entered the M2M (Machine-to-Machine) market, based on cloud-based services, reusing its MVNE infrastructure across Europe to provide M2M services with similar business models.
Technology
The multi-country offer uses an innovative technology that implements two different phone numbers on one SIM card. This patent technology, developed internally by Transatel, allows an automatic change of both phone number and mobile network upon the crossing of boarders, reducing roaming charges as calls are made domestically, no matter the country.Transatel also developed tools like unified voicemails for several numbers and convergent services.
Connection to MNOMnomno is a file extension created by some web designing software like UltraDev or Dreamweaver. It often goes after the existing extension of the webpage , in effect creating a double extension, for instance, filename.html.mno....
s
Transatel is technically connected to 8 European MNOMno
mno is a file extension created by some web designing software like UltraDev or Dreamweaver. It often goes after the existing extension of the webpage , in effect creating a double extension, for instance, filename.html.mno....
s:
- Base (Belgium)
- Bouygues TelecomBouygues TelecomBouygues Telecom is a French mobile phone and Internet service provider company, part of the Bouygues group. Its headquarters, designed by Arquitectonica, are located at the border of Paris and Issy-les-Moulineaux near the River Seine....
(France) - Everything EverywhereEverything EverywhereEverything Everywhere Limited is a mobile network operator and internet service provider company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest mobile network operator in the UK, with around 28 million customers...
(formerly Orange UK) (United Kingdom) - MobistarMobistarMobistar is the second largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications operators. It competes with Proximus, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom, and Base, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN.-History:...
(Orange) (Belgium) - Orange CH (Switzerland)
- Orange France (France)
- TangoTango (telecom)Tango Services SA, a luxembourgian subsidiary of the belgian telco Belgacom Group, provides fixed and mobile voice services and DSL services in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. As the second mobile operator in Luxembourg, the company markets its mobile offers under the "Tango" brand.Launched in 1998,...
(Luxemburg) - TelfortTelfortTelfort B.V. is a Dutch mobile telecommunication company, and a subsidiary of KPN.It operates GSM mobile telecommunications service in the Netherlands...
(Netherlands)
Timeline for some MVNO launches
- 2006 : Launch of Ten Mobile on the Orange France network ;
- 2006 : Launch of Telenet Mobile on Belgian network Mobistar, and Calao Mobile and BelSim prepaid offers on Base ;
- 2007 : Launch of prepaid offer IDT Mobile on the Orange UK network ;
- 2007 : Start of wholesale packaged offers sold to medium-size MVNO targeting French companies ;
- 2007 and 2008 : Launch of ethnic prepaid offers on French Bouygues TelecomBouygues TelecomBouygues Telecom is a French mobile phone and Internet service provider company, part of the Bouygues group. Its headquarters, designed by Arquitectonica, are located at the border of Paris and Issy-les-Moulineaux near the River Seine....
network : Mobiho, Budget Mobile / Phenix Mobile, Mankono, Horizon Mobile, ZeMobile, Avantaje ; - 2008 : Launch of GlobalCell on the Orange UK network ;
- 2010 : Launch of EcoNet WirelessEconet WirelessEconet Wireless is Zimbabwe's principal mobile or cell phone company and was established by the Zimbabwean businessman, Strive Masiyiwa. It is now the nation's largest cell phone network having captured 73.3% of the market share...
(prepaid) on the Orange UK network
Awards
Transatel won several prizes in France, including the OSEO-DeloitteTechnology Fast 50 for the Paris region in 2007, which awards the innovation policy of IT companies.In 2011 Transatel was selected with 10 other IT companies for a program designed to help medium-sized companies improve their innovation policies through subventions by the Paris region.