Subscriptions to mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services will reach 150 million worldwide by 2013, according to new research.

Informa Telecoms & Media estimates that 42 per cent of these new subscriptions will come from western Europe.

Despite its relatively modest share of the global mobile market, the MVNO sector remains robust, according to Paul Merry, senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, and author of the report.

The sector has been buoyed by the development of sophisticated segmentation strategies developed by MVNOs as a mechanism to survive in highly competitive and penetrated markets, according to the analyst.

"Indeed the variety of approaches taken by new entrant providers, which range from loss-leader approaches to using the MVNO model to deliver a full suite of customer telecommunication service options, creates numerous ways of evaluating and defining success beyond the number of subscriptions captured," he said.

The report identified nine major MVNO service approaches: discount, community, mobile network operator emulating, premium value-added services, fixed-mobile convergence, advertising & loyalty, enterprise, location-based services and telematics.

Informa expects that discount and community-orientated approaches will dominate over the forecast period, delivering approximately 55 per cent of total global MVNO subscriptions by 2013.

Part of the reason for this dominance is the fact that many discount MVNOs are pursuing multiple-Sim strategies aimed at capturing market share quickly.

"The challenging environment of advanced cellular markets has seen mobile operators closely following strategies developed by MVNOs to reach particular segments within customer communities," said Merry.

"These 'micro-segments' have become viable targets for operators as mobile penetration has reached saturation, while the wholesale model has begun to be accepted by MNOs as a means to reach the final remnants of audiences in their own highly penetrated markets.

"These factors combine to create a stable future for virtual operator approaches and provide a strong retort to industry doomsayers who claim that the MVNO model has failed after highly publicised failures most notably in North America."

On the contrary, Merry argues, the market has entered a highly developed stage characterised by market stability and devoid of the hype seen in early stages of MVNO service development again most notably seen in the North American market.