In 2015, Hawaii-based MVNO Mobi decided to give up managing the radio components of its network in favor of focusing on creating awesome services for subscribers. To accomplish this, it needed to become a thick MVNO with its own mobile core, so it started working with Working Group Two to implement a public-cloud-native, mobile core running on AWS.

For this episode, Mobi CEO Justen Burdette joins me to talk about why the MVNO chose this path, the benefits it gained by teaming with Working Group Two, and why it’s so great to work with the public cloud. 

Click play to hear our conversation about: 

• What makes Mobi different than a traditional MVNO [02:50]; 
• How it benefits from having its own mobile core [07:06]; 
• The advantages of working with cloud-first solutions [10:47]; and
• How Working Group Two’s APIs bring value to the business [13:04]. 

Listen now by clicking play above or subscribe through your favorite podcast platform—see the links in the right column above. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Links and Resources

• Visit the Mobi website
• Learn more about Mobi’s work with Working Group Two
• Read about Mobi’s deal with with T-Mobile US to expand into the continental US 5G market
• Justen talked about the beauty of APIs—learn more about Totogi’s Churn Prediction Service, instantly available via an API call, and Totogi’s Charging as a Service, too!
• Brokerage founder Charles Schwab is as enchanted with the Big Island as I am. He and billionaire investor George Roberts founded their own golf course, Nanea, on the slopes of Mount Hualalai in 2003. Rumor has it that its creation was a billion-dollar way to thumb his nose at the Four Seasons. 

Wanna talk public cloud? Telco execs, set up a meeting with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring.

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This week’s guest
About Justen Burdette

Justen Burdette serves as the chief executive officer for Mobi, the regional wireless provider for Hawaiʻi. He previously served as vice president for product at Tucows, where he helped lead the growth of its Ting Mobile wireless brand to over $90 million in annual revenue before its acquisition by Dish (Nasdaq: DISH), at the time making it the fifth largest independent MVNO in the country including its Ting IoT business. He also led the launch of its Ting Internet fiber-to-the-home ISP in several regional markets, and helped manage the development of its in-house CRM, BSS, and OSS platform, which has since become a standalone SaaS startup, Wavelo.

Podcast Credits

• Executive Producer and Host: Danielle Royston, TelcoDR
• Senior Producer: Lindsay Grubb, TillCo Media
• Editor/Marketing: Alisa Jenkins, Springboard Marketing
• Editing: Andrew Condell
• Associate Producer: Kriselda Dionisio
• Music: Dyami Wilson