Simyo App

Simyo is a Spanish MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) — a carrier that uses the infrastructure of a larger network (KPN/E-Plus in their case) to offer SIM-only mobile plans directly to consumers. In the Spanish market, Simyo positioned as a straightforward, no-frills prepaid and contract option: transparent pricing, online-only management, no physical stores.

The mobile app was the primary self-service channel for Simyo customers in Spain. The webview architecture — where a native app shell wraps web content rendered in a WebView — was the technical decision that allowed a single web codebase to serve both iOS and Android users at a time when native cross-platform development was more expensive and less mature than it is today.

What the App Covered

The interface covered the full customer self-service surface:

Account management: SIM registration and activation flows, personal data updates, contract information, plan changes. These flows had to be airtight — a customer who can’t activate their SIM or change their plan calls customer support, which has a direct cost.

Data usage tracking: Real-time data consumption display against the plan allowance, roaming status, and usage history by period. Prepaid customers in particular check this frequently, and the display had to be clear without requiring the user to understand the technical details of data accounting.

Customer support flows: Issue reporting, FAQ navigation, and escalation paths to human support. Structured so that the most common issues (SIM not working, forgot PIN, billing question) could be resolved self-service without agent involvement.

Recharge and billing: Prepaid top-up flows with card payment integration, invoice download for contract customers, and payment history.

Technical Constraints

Building for WebView means building for a constrained browser environment embedded inside a native wrapper. The interface communicates with the native layer via JavaScript bridges — the web code calls native functions for things like storing credentials securely, accessing device-level information (carrier status, ICCID), and handling biometric authentication. These bridges have to be maintained carefully across iOS and Android WebView engine updates, which change without warning and can break specific CSS or JavaScript behaviours.

Mobile-first was not a constraint added later — it was the starting point. Every layout, every tap target, every form field was designed for a 5-6 inch screen with one hand, which meant rethinking standard web patterns (multi-column forms, hover states, dense navigation menus) entirely.

Why This Project Matters

Telecommunications self-service interfaces have extremely low tolerance for errors. A customer locked out of their account during international roaming, a failed SIM activation on a new phone, a billing error that isn’t correctable in-app — these aren’t minor UX issues, they’re churn events. Building this kind of interface requires understanding the operational stakes behind every user flow, not just the interaction design.