Disney embarked on a cellular phone business in the US as early as June 2006 but pulled the plug at the end of last year, citing delays in the spread of 3G networks as the major reason.
Just a month and a half after Virgin Mobile USA Inc.'s announcement to acquire Helio L.L.C., all but one of Helio's five retail stores have already closed. The New York location remains open, for now, while stores in San Diego, Santa Monica and Palo...
Virgin Mobile USA Inc. showed more enthusiasm toward its newer, postpaid offerings in its second-quarter report - not the normal behavior for a company that made its name with prepaid. When asked about average revenue per user (ARPU) results related to its recently launched...
Delta Air Lines announced today that it will begin offering wireless broadband Internet service on domestic flights as early as next month. Delta appears to be the first U.S. airline to commit its entire fleet to technology that allows passengers to surf the Internet...
The French competition authority Conseil de la concurrence (equivalent of the FTC in the US) wants the government to ease regulations governing mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to increase competition in the mobile telephony market, which is dominated by SFR, Orange and Bouygues Telecom.
LISBON -(Dow Jones)- Portuguese telecommunications company ZON Multimedia said Thursday its cable television unit signed a five-year contract with the Portuguese unit of the UK's Vodafone Group for the launch of a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO.
Tracfone Wireless Inc. subsidiary Net10 has jumped into the increasingly popular unlimited-service-plan play with its new Net10 Unlimited Plan, which offers unlimited calling and texting for $80 per month. Per Tracfone's modus operandi, the unlimited offer does not require a contract or credit checks,...
While some mobile virtual network operators are switching off the lights, others seem to be thriving - and globally at that. After seeing success in the United States and Canada, 7-Eleven Inc. is expanding its proprietary prepaid wireless program, 7-Eleven SpeakOut Wireless, to Asia.The...
Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
Prepaid wireless service provider Trumpet Mobile said its products will be available nationwide at Walgreens stores.Customers will be able to purchase Trumpet Mobile airtime and handsets at more than 6,000 Walgreen stores. Mobile virtual network operator Trumpet Mobile offers a prepaid domestic rate plan...
South Korea's SK Telecom Corp. is in talks to buy struggling U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp., business news channel CNBC reported Tuesday An agreement would be at best weeks away, CNBC said, citing people familiar with the talks.
Unlocking a cell phone is something of a Houdini-esque exercise. Sure, it's possible to tweak a handset so it works on a network other than the one for which it was designed. But it requires following a series of steps that the average consumer...
With wireless connectivity becoming ever more common in vehicles, security systems and utility meters, machine-to-machine technology is on the path to transform vending machines, real estate lock boxes and mail drop-boxes. Although the M2M space is still evolving (even the definition of which devices...
Blyk is a UK MVNO which offers no-cost and low-cost mobile phone service with revenue generated from advertising to the customer via the mobile phone. The company has been highly successful , gaining over 100,000 customers in less than a year.
Virgin Mobile USA's purchase of fellow MVNO Helio L.L.C. allows Virgin to evolve beyond its low-ARPU customers to higher-paying subscribers, as well as gain a sophisticated handset portfolio, improve its debt levels and cut a better deal with network operator Sprint Nextel Inc.Virgin Mobile...
A couple years ago, starting your very own mobile virtual network operations company was a sizzling hot idea and everybody was trying to cash in. But now, two years and a slue of MVNO closings later, the idea has fizzled. With the shut downs...
SEOUL (Reuters) - Virgin Mobile USA (VM.N: Quote , Profile , Research , Stock Buzz ) is set to acquire a US mobile arm of South Korea's SK Telecom Co (017670.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's first advertising-funded mobile telecoms operator, Blyk, will enter the highly competitive German, Spanish and Belgian markets next year, the firm said on Wednesday.
"Virtual" wireless carrier Helio could be on its last legs. We hear that it's finally closing its barren retail stores this week, confirming a few earlier reports . And even if a last-ditch sale to rival Virgin Mobile (VM) happens, we doubt Helio has...
Kajeet Inc. last week slashed a "sizable" chunk of its sales force as it shifts from a brick-and-mortar retail strategy to an online model."We did restructure and let go a reasonable number of people," CEO Daniel Neal confirmed, declining to disclose the number of...
