Fresh off its public launch at this year’s CTIA event, soon-to-launch mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. reported several content and marketing sponsorship deals with a number of action sport athletes.
The sponsored athletes include surfers Andy Irons, Bruce Irons and Sunny Garcia; skateboarders Paul Rodriguez and Ryan Sheckler; snowboarders Travis Rice and Hana Beaman; and motocross riders Jeremy McGrath and Chad Reed.
Amp’d has noted that it plans to use Verizon Wireless’ CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network to stream content to handsets once the service launches later this year.
“We’re excited to be working with this superior group of athletes as they help bring the exclusive, cutting-edge sports action that will be unlike anything mobile users have seen on their phones before,” said Peter Adderton, Amp’d founder and chief executive officer, who also founded Boost Mobile L.L.C., which has since been acquired by Nextel Communications Inc. “This will be the first of many best-of-breed deals with a wide variety of sport and entertainment companies.”
Adderton made similar sponsorship arrangements at Boost Mobile in an attempt to garner interest for the company’s prepaid service targeting the youth market. Nextel recently reported that Boost served more than 1.3 million subscribers at the end of last year.
