TL;DR
- 1Global (formerly Truphone) is an operator with its own core network in 10 countries: the USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Australia, Hong Kong, and Brazil. That depth enables heavy, telco-grade capabilities like compliance call recording and deep MDM/provisioning integration — but outside those countries, there is no local service, and the footprint is deliberately spread across continents rather than dense in any region.
- Telgea is the broad, fast option: local plans in 50 countries, with denser coverage across Europe, the Americas, and Asia — delivered as a modern product with smooth user journeys, built around automation and employee self-service rather than admin-heavy configuration. New countries can be stood up in roughly four weeks.
- The practical question: do you need an operator with its own core network in exactly 1Global's 10 countries, or broad local coverage that matches where your team actually sits?
The Two Models
Own core network in few countries (1Global)
1Global has spent roughly two decades building and operating its own core network. In its 10 countries, that enables the deepest telco capabilities on the market — regulatory-grade call recording for financial institutions, advanced MDM and provisioning integration, and operator-level control. The trade-offs are structural: it is an expensive, heavy machine to run, expansion is slow, and if your workforce sits outside those 10 spread-out countries, there is nothing local to buy. Your footprint has to match theirs. The product experience also shows its age: 1Global is an older solution with user experience from the last decade, oriented around settings an admin team configures and maintains.
Leading local networks, broad and fast (Telgea)
Telgea builds on leading local networks instead of running a heavy core network of its own: local plans in 50 countries, with better coverage across Europe, the Americas, and Asia than 1Global's footprint provides. Everything is unified: one agreement, one invoice, one dashboard, pooled team data, an API, a dedicated Key Account Manager, and 24/7 human support (4.9 CSAT). And it is built like a modern product, not a telco portal: smooth user journeys designed for the modern enterprise, where automation and employee empowerment do the work — employees activate eSIMs, travel, and resolve issues themselves — instead of an admin team fiddling with settings. Because the machine is lighter, Telgea also moves faster: new countries stood up in about four weeks depending on volume.
Who Should Pick Which
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Financial institution or large enterprise with hard regulatory needs (compliance call recording, operator-level control) whose markets match 1Global's 10 countries | 1Global |
| International team spread across Europe, the Americas, and Asia that wants local plans in the countries it operates in | Telgea |
| You need a market that neither covers today | Telgea — new countries in ~4 weeks depending on volume |
| You want a modern, self-service experience for employees and minimal admin overhead | Telgea — automation-first, smooth user journeys |
| You value speed and an accommodating partner over maximum telco depth | Telgea |
Bottom Line
1Global is the right tool for a narrow, heavy use case in a fixed set of countries. For everyone else — international companies that want genuinely local service across their markets, from a partner that moves at their speed — Telgea is the stronger choice, recognized as MVNO of the Year at the MVNO Nation Global Awards in 2025 and 2026. Details at telgea.com.