From 0 to 90K Users: Designing a Digital Mobile Operator App

In 2018, most telecom operators still relied on physical SIM cards and offline activation.

The process was slow, fragmented, and heavily dependent on offline infrastructure.

To understand how people choose and activate mobile services, we conducted 40+ in-depth interviews with users across different age groups.

Design an experience that would make telecom activation feel as simple as installing an app.

izi is a digital-first mobile operator targeting young users in Kazakhstan.

Instead of fixed monthly tariffs, the product used flexible usage-based packages.

Users could buy mobile data or minutes and use them until they were fully consumed.

This removed the complexity of telecom plans and made pricing easier to understand for younger users.

The onboarding flow was designed to minimize manual input.

The information was verified using government databases, allowing the registration process to be completed quickly and securely.

izi introduced one of the first fully digital eSIM onboarding experiences in the market.

The entire process could take around one minute.

For devices without eSIM, a physical SIM card could be delivered within three hours.

Each delivery included two SIM cards so users could share one with a friend and earn additional gigabytes.

The operator continued scaling after the initial launch.