> I've always found it strange that an MVNO is able to operate on the T-Mobile network the entire time and undercut their rates so much that they become a threa

> I've always found it strange that an MVNO is able to operate on the T-Mobile network the entire time and undercut their rates so much that they become a threat. Think about it less as a network operating on T-Mobile's network and more of being a customer on T-Mobile's network. It's the same economics dictating wholesaling. The manufacturer or operator (in this case), can give a good deal to a customer with a lot of volume, does not have provide support, brick and mortar locations, or anything with customer server, just a high-level tech support for getting their systems integrated with the network. You touched on a point that reminds of what Amazon does: let independent sellers create or list (and therefore assume all risk of) new products and copy them under the basics brand and undercut the original seller(s).