Subscription technology company Bango has signed an agreement with Ooredoo Group to expand subscription bundling across the telecommunications company’s operations in the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) and Southeast Asia.
The partnership gives Ooredoo’s operating companies access to Bango‘s Digital Vending Machine (DVM) platform, which allows telecommunications providers to distribute and manage third-party subscriptions through their existing customer billing relationships.
Ooredoo operates in nine markets and serves nearly 150 million customers through its mobile, fixed broadband and other telecommunications businesses. The announcement came while Bango was participating in the Mobile World Conference in Doha, Qatar, where Ooredoo is headquartered.
Under the agreement, Ooredoo’s operating companies will be able to offer subscription services as part of existing telecommunications packages, optional add-ons or promotional bundles. The platform also allows individual operating companies to tailor subscription offerings to their respective markets without developing separate technology systems.
Bango’s DVM manages the subscription lifecycle, including content provider onboarding, customer activations, plan upgrades, downgrades, cancellations and promotional offers. The technology also provides analytics that allow operators to monitor subscription performance, evaluate customer demand and adjust their offerings.
The companies said the arrangement is intended to help Ooredoo attract and retain subscribers while creating opportunities to increase average revenue per user (ARPU). Neither company identified which subscription services will be offered through the new arrangement or provide a timeline for individual market launches, and financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
“Our partnership with Bango adds another scalable capability that will enable our operating companies to further expand their subscription bundling propositions, bringing greater choice and value to customers across our markets,” said René Werner, the Group Chief Commercial Officer at Ooredoo Group.
The agreement expands Bango’s relationships with telecommunications and distribution companies that use subscription aggregation technology to package streaming and other digital services with their existing products. Bango’s other clients include Verizon, Comcast, Charter Communications, T-Mobile and South Korea’s LG Uplus, according to company marketing materials and sources familiar with those arrangements. The company also has a white-label version of its Digital Vending Machine that any business can use to offer subscription services and unique bundles.
Bango works with major technology and digital service providers to offer their products through the Digital Vending Machine, including household names like Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Skydance (Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery), Google’s YouTube, Apple and Fox Corporation.
Subscription bundling has become an increasingly important distribution strategy for telecommunications companies seeking to retain broadband and wireless subscribers while expanding revenue from streaming entertainment and other digital services. For content providers, arrangements with telecommunications companies can create additional distribution opportunities by allowing subscriptions to be offered directly through existing customer accounts.
Bango’s deal with Ooredoo helps fill in a missing piece of the regional bundle: Over the past few years, the company has focused on offering its Digital Vending Machine in mature subscription markets like the Unietd States, Europe and Latin America, where consumers have shown a strong interest in subscription bundles offered through third-party providers like banks and telecoms.
MENA and Southeast Asia is a growing market for subscriptions, particularly those offering artificial intelligence tools and subscription video, making the region the next natural place for Bango to extend its business.
