Two Ways to Become an IQ Mobile Partner: Start-Up vs Integrated
Becoming a network isn't usually cheap
Go direct to a Tier 1 operator for an MVNO agreement — the route Tesco Mobile or Lebara took — and you're typically looking at a six-figure entry cost, often quoted around £250,000, plus multi-year volume commitments before you've onboarded a single customer.
IQ Mobile gives partners access to the same underlying network capability without that barrier. There are two ways in, and which one's right depends entirely on where your business actually is.
Start-Up · £500
For selling SIMs without the FMC investment. A local IT company adding mobile to what they offer, or anyone who isn't yet sure how big their audience is and doesn't want to over-commit before they know.
- Setup fee: £500
- Wholesale costs: cost + £3 per SIM
- Commitment: 50 SIMs
- Included: portal access, API access, partner SharePoint
No FMC, no custom Service Provider Name (SPN), no IQ Billing or webhooks — this level is deliberately lean. It's the level to prove the model before committing further.
Integrated · £4,000
For building serious FMC infrastructure. This level assumes a clear sales and marketing plan, a team to support that commitment, and ideally your own VoIP platform underneath it.
- Setup fee: £4,000
- Wholesale costs: pass-through, no markup
- Commitment: 500 SIMs
- Included: everything in Start-Up, plus your own Service Provider Name, FMC, IQ Billing, webhooks, Travel SIMs, and priority support
Additional Service Provider Names for Sub Partners are £1,000 setup plus £100/month.
Which one should you pick?
If you're not sure how big your book of customers is going to be, or you want to test the model before committing a team and a marketing plan to it, start with Start-Up. Plenty of partners do exactly that, then move up to Integrated once the numbers justify it — there's no penalty for starting smaller.
If you already have the sales motion, the team, and ideally your own VoIP platform ready to plug in, Integrated unlocks the full platform from day one: FMC, IQ Billing, webhooks, Travel SIMs, priority support.
All prices exclude VAT. The full partner levels comparison breaks down every line item side by side.
Not building infrastructure? There's a lighter way in
Partner Levels are for businesses building on our network directly — a setup fee, a SIM commitment, your own API access. If that's more infrastructure than you need, and what you actually have is a network of contacts who'd benefit from a mobile recommendation, our dealer programme has no setup fee at all — just recurring commission for referring real, paying customers.
Either way, get in touch and we'll talk through which one actually fits.