SUOP, the first telecommunications operator based on collaborative economy

Jaime Pla Suop II

The collaborative mobile operator Suop has launched a new service that allows users to contract additional lines at half price. In this sense, users can add extra lines, up to four, with 3 GB and unlimited calls for €3.99 per month, when the usual cost of this plan is €7.99. The discount implemented by the platform is a permanent option as long as the main fiber line associated with is maintained.

Suop is the first telecommunications operator managed by its users, who participate in the management through three areas, which are critical for a telco: R&D, Marketing and Customer Service. In this way, they are not only customers of the service, but also help to build it with their contributions and, in exchange for their collaboration, they get discounts, free credit and money via PayPal.

The operator, founded in March 2013 by Jaime Pla Escudero (CEO of Suop), was launched in December 2013 and the following year was chosen-from among 3,000 applications-at the South Summit.

At the same time, Suop was a finalist in the Dominios.es awards in the “best website” category for entrepreneurs.

According to the founders of the telecommunications operator, “the real award is to still be here 7 years later. In a sector as competitive and difficult as the telecommunications sector, staying alive and growing thanks to the support of Suopers is the real award”.

Suop, is an intentional misspelling of the word “swap”, has developed a mobile telephony and broadband service through fiber optics, with a business philosophy, day-to-day management, team organization and a way of developing the service and treating customers that is “different to all operators on the market“, the founders point out. At the same time, they add, “our starting point based on collaborative consumption and user involvement means that we are very unique compared to other mobile operators beyond the service we offer”.

BUSINESS MODEL

Currently, the operator is present in Spain and its business model is especially focused on price. It is a model focused on collaborative consumption and is based on the community of users. The company has created a community of suopers who get involved in the management of the operator and in day-to-day tasks.

In this way, Suop has managed to optimize resources and the cost of operations in all tasks, from support and recruitment to advertising and innovation.

In exchange for their contributions, the user community receives the aforementioned benefits: discounts on their fiber or mobile phone bills, free prepaid credit, and money via PayPal.

INVESTMENTS

Suop was created with an initial investment of €400,000 raised under a Friends, Family & Fools round. Since then, the startup has launched several investment rounds with the aim of injecting liquidity into the company. Currently, Suop’s founders explain that “it is no longer necessary to carry out more rounds, given that growth is financed with the funds generated by the company’s ordinary operations”.

Apart from the Friends & Family context, Suop has a team of shareholders, including two Venture Capital funds such as Cabiedes & Partners and Pinama Inversiones, which have been key in helping the company to reach the position it is in today.

Suop’s long-term goal is focused on transferring to the residential broadband segment what has been achieved with the mobile-only proposal in order to consolidate the operator’s convergent service as a competitive option in terms of price and competitive intangibles in the market