LOS ANGELES—Voce, the luxury mobile virtual network operator, has begun offering its services on a small scale in the L.A. area.
Steve Stanford, Voce’s chief executive officer, described the quiet start as an invitation-only market trial, with participation capped at around 500 people. Stanford said that Voce plans to launch this fall in its other two targeted markets, New York and San Francisco.
Voce’s service runs on Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s GSM network; since Cingular does not offer data services to its MVNOs, Voce does not offer a data service component and therefore is not targeting data users. However, Stanford said that the MVNO would like to offer data services and is exploring moving into the CDMA arena for that component, and that Voce would like to eventually offer both CDMA phones and GSM phones.
Stanford said the company’s target demographic is between 40 to 60 years old—and obviously affluent, since the service involves a one-time membership fee of $1,000 and $400 recurring fee each month. According to Voce’s recently revamped Web site, the service has no contract and unlimited voice service; the only additional charges are for international calls and international roaming.
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“We recognize that this is not going to be a service for everyone,” Stanford said. In fact, he added, Voce never wants to be a large-scale service provider and plans to keep a cap on its number of customers even after it makes a full launch. “Voce is very, very niche,” Stanford said.
Concierge services, at-home visits for phone set-up, access to private jets and an airport welcome service are some of the features currently included in Voce’s offering.
As for handsets, Voce offers three Motorola Inc. Razr V3s—with black, white or camel-colored leather exteriors—and a Nokia Corp. 8801. The cost of a handset is included in the carrier’s price, and Voce offers annual device upgrades.
