A London-based UK mobile company offering SIM-only and pay-as-you-go plans with a focus on cheap international calls, running on the Vodafone network.
Lebara is a British mobile company that sells pay-as-you-go and contract SIM cards, with a focus on international calling and SIM-only plans. It is a mobile virtual network operator, which means it does not build its own masts but buys wireless capacity from a big network. In the UK it uses the Vodafone network. Many of its customers are people who call family and friends abroad, so good value on international calls is central to what it offers.
Lebara was founded in September 2001 by Ratheesan Yoganathan, Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Baskaran Kandiah. According to Wikipedia, the name comes from the first two letters of each founder's first name. The company was owned by private-equity investors in later years, and its present parent is a Dutch holding company. The pages we read give no mission statement or list of values, so we do not state one. What is clear from its offer is the focus on migrant communities and customers who want affordable calls home.
Wikipedia gives Lebara's UK office as Broadway House, 5 Appold Street, in London's EC2A area, close to Liverpool Street and Shoreditch. The company works across several European countries, but this entry covers its UK business, where it has staff in London. A small company in this part of the market tends to have teams for marketing, product and pricing, customer care, finance and fraud prevention, and technology partnerships with its network supplier.
Wikipedia gives a headcount of 400 for 2016, which is an old figure and should not be read as current. There is not enough in the pages we read to describe the culture in any detail. Because the business serves communities that speak many languages, language skills and an understanding of different cultures are likely to be valuable in customer-facing and marketing roles. This is our reasoning rather than a company statement.
We have not researched entry routes. Lebara is smaller than the big operators, so it is worth checking its website and professional networks for roles in London. If you want to learn how mobile virtual network operators work, studying how they buy capacity from the big networks, price their plans and market to specific communities is a good place to start.
Website: www.lebara.co.uk
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