The IO Executive Board promotes eSIM education and MNO Inclusivity

14th March 2023

The Innovative Operators (IO) Executive Board gathered for their fourth face to face meeting on March 2nd in Paris, hosted by Orange Group in Paris. The Executive Board welcomed Najib Khan from Ooredoo as the new member and assessed the development of the new programmes implemented. The Executive Board’s objectives were two-fold:

  • Dedicating time to understanding eSIM initiatives and understanding the eSIM ecosystem. The board members agreed on further education for the operator community to understand the opportunities on eSIM and raise awareness on challenges and regulations.
  • Dedicating time to addressing several initiatives to support smaller MNOs. Being a major concern for the Executive Board members, they discussed different strategies to support smaller operators to participate in IO Labs.

IO Mobilize, the first online community for wholesale Roaming, was launched with full support of the Executive Board in mid-February. The community had provided positive feedback on the benefits of the tool and new interest groups were created to have conversations on the future of billing, RCS, and roaming automation.

The Executive Board approved a new programme in line with the Roaming Development Goals (RDGs) previously established, IO.20 Inter-Operator Secondment Programme. This Secondment Programme aims to provide valuable learning and development opportunities allowing employees of one Mobile Operator to work for a period of time in a different country and different mobile operator. This initiative offers benefits to both the company and the employees, including professional development, cross-cultural learning, and networking opportunities, potentially being a very cost-effective way to learn the trade of Wholesale Roaming.

With an aim of getting a broad view of the opportunities for roaming development, the formation of the IO Advisory Board had been completed and approved by the Executive Board. Christopher Spitler (Meta), Geok Chwee Ong (Bridge Alliance), John Wick (Syniverse), Kirit Ruparelia (Nextgen Clearing), Matteo Gatta (BICS), and Mehdi Triki (RoamSmart) were appointed as the new Advisory Board members. The Advisory Board had their first face to face session co-located with the Executive Board meeting, which gave both boards the opportunity to meet and network while exchanging ideas.

IO will soon celebrate its second anniversary, and with it, some of the Labs leadership members complete their term as Chair and Deputy Chairs. During the meeting, the Executive Board members reviewed the nominations submitted by the IO community to appoint the new members of the Labs leadership teams.

The IO Executive Board was pleased with the outcomes and the progress made by IO, its Labs and Plenaries. The next meeting will be hosted in June in Edinburgh, co-located with IO Plenary #04.

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