Here Come The MVNOs

from the watch-out dept

Mon, Jun 17th 2002 1:01pm — Mike Masnick

While Virgin's mobile phone offering in the UK has been somewhat popular, there really hasn't been a big attempt in the US to create a similar "mobile virtual network operator". Virgin has been trying to set up shop in the US for a while, but now it looks like plenty of other big brand names are getting ready to launch their own mobile phone services. Soon, instead of getting your mobile phone service from SprintPCS or Cingular, you may be using your WalMart, American Express or (my favorite) AARP mobile phone service.

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prashant, 18 Jun 2002 @ 6:50am

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That article is a tad misleading. While many branded players are interested in the MVNO concept,especially the company that services MVNOs, it's unclear where US operators stand on the issue. It took Virgin Mobile USA two years to get a deal with a carrier. So while the brands might be ready to go, I'm not sure the operators are quite as ready. In fact I'd venture to guess until the US wireless market matures and wireless penetration hits 60%-70% carriers won't be too intereted in MVNO deals. It will make much more sense when carriers believe that they can't grow the market anymore and that branded players will have a better shot at attracting and retaining subs. We're not there yet and probably won't get there until we see some carrier consolidation next year.
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