China Mobile eyes European MVNO

Wow. It seems China Mobile is not content with adding 7.3 million new customers in its latest set of quarterly results – a record gain – it’s got its eyes on European expansion too. The Financial Times says the operator has opened a London office and its now planning to sell services to Chinese users overseas.

The paper goes on to say China Mobile may well open an MVNO, but gives no hint on whose network it may use, or in which geographies the virtual operation might appear in. The article also says that the operator plans to put more effort into ‘the short-term visiting market” – travelling business customers and the growing number of Chinese tourists.

In retrospect, given the strength – or at least the sheer size – of China Mobile, it’s a surprise it hasn’t considered investing in EMEA before. It will be fascinating to see how this one plays out, and how the entrenched operators like Vodafone react.