March 26, 2015 at 16:30

How to create and make money on SaaS | Part 16 | Own mobile WIFI network

  • Tutorial
Creating technologies and being in a technological paradigm is always more profitable. On the basis of platforms, in turn, you can easily create - products and services b2b, b2c, version 2.0, the next, conceptually new technology in the segment. Although, from a business point of view, this is not always beneficial. According to the textbooks, one should start with sales of “stools” (MVP), and if successful, build “Shuttles” and develop them. But we are engineers and are not always rational - we will first make a hat that not everyone needs, and then we will make 7 of it, but small and in demand. So, today there are cases on how to create services (products) based on a technological platform - your local MVNO based on the ComfortWay platform .

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ComfortWay Platform

ComfortWay platform is a technological solution for Internet access. Client platform 3G-Wi-Fi router, the platform itself with the functions (billing +):
  • device activation, deactivation
  • setting traffic consumption limits by users
  • tariffs for users.
  • partner's personal account
  • API for connecting third-party services
  • calls sending SMS sending

So far, a line of products for tourists traveling around the world is being created on the basis of the platform, and I already wrote about these solutions .

We create our own mobile WIFI network (b2b product)

We have a platform. How can I apply it to a business? The limitation is that the platform is built using the channel of GSM operators, and they have a) fairly cheap corporate rates b) have specialized solutions for companies - BYOD, VPN. The answer is obvious - in roaming, and yes, no one has canceled it in Russia yet. Potential partners of the solution are hotels, taxis oriented to work with tourists, car rental services - renters, international carriers. All options are focused on tourism - moving a client to a roaming zone. It is not advisable to build such networks in the home network due to competition with GSM operators, but if you see a niche, then why not? In fact, we remain in the same niche in which we worked, but at the same time, we repack the platform’s capabilities for consumers, who will be able to earn on the resale of services for visitors. At the beginning of the development of the project - this was not obvious - everything, including architecture, was focused on the creation of the device. Functionality for partners was not taken into account.

Hotel Chain

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Why
  • Providing additional services to guests
  • Reducing the cost of building a hotel Internet access network
  • Consumption of services not only in the hotel
  • Operational and zero deployment cost
  • Launch throughout the day
  • No need for a license for communication services. Hotels hosting in Sochi or Crimea are simply vendor agents
  • Result - a happy guest

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Connecting a new device
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MVNO management

From the point of view of improvements, the creation of an affiliate service consisted in the refinement of the billing system - the functionality of the partner’s LC.

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Mobile network client.

We are building an internal corporate Internet access network.

It is possible for companies to build MVNOs based not on cost issues, but from a control position - in the ComfortWay platform, all control is transferred to the partner (client) side.
Advantages of the corporate access network on the platform

  • Access to mobile Internet from your smartphone / tablet / laptop worldwide without roaming charges. Basic offer: monthly fee of $ 19 per month, included 1 GB worldwide, additional traffic for $ 19 per GB.
  • Built-in VPN for secure access to the corporate network with traffic compression algorithm.
  • Built-in encrypted storage of important data with remote management by the system administrator. This is required so that users do not save documents on their smartphone / laptop.
  • Built-in traffic scan for viruses.
  • Restricting access to entertainment resources with the ability to remotely configure black and white lists6. Hardwired authorization on key resources (analogue of a HASP key).
  • New features are easily added “over the air”, as the device is a mini-computer on Linux.
  • An external battery for recharging smartphones and tablets is very convenient when traveling.


Those. The main goal of the technology is to provide secure access to the corporate network and the Internet as a whole without roaming margins on employees' mobile devices.

Access to SaaS solution

Another “tasty” case that can be implemented on the basis of the platform is connecting a cloud service client through the platform. Case - one service - customer service. We are implementing such a case with DentalCloudand I’ll definitely tell you what happens in the end. In general, today I tried to show an example of how you can build (from a business point of view and with minimal modifications) new services on a technological platform that was originally positioned exclusively on b2c - the tourism segment. It was a device for tourists (platform client). Steel - service for partners and corporate clients.
And, importantly, the development of technology in products is not a pivot, but a logical, painless development that does not require large expenditures (note for a startup).

Alexey Kalachnikov

Materials of the series "How to create and make money on SaaS"
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