After entering the mobile virtual network operator space with naked ambition, a $500 Sanyo Corp. handset (the "MVP") and a take-the-world-by-storm marketing spend, Walt Disney Co.-owned Mobile ESPN L.L.C. has regrouped. Results have not met expectations for the lucrative sports news franchise-gone-mobile, or in...
WASHINGTON—Online retailer InPhonic Inc. announced a deal to sell phones and services from mobile virtual network operator Amp’d Mobile Inc. InPhonic will sell Amp’d Mobile’s wares through its Internet storefront www.wirefly.com, which also carries offerings from the four Tier 1 operators. Terms of the...
Mobile virtual network operator Xero Mobile has yet to launch, but the company already is facing an investigation of its business by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Los Angeles-based MVNO recently announced that it had been notified by a local office of the...
NEW YORK—The Yankee Group once again pulled together a quality list of speakers for its Wireless Leadership Summit, including executives from Sprint Nextel Corp., Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Verizon Wireless, as well as representatives from a handful infrastructure vendors and wireless content providers. Notable...
NEW YORK—MTV Networks said it is in no hurry to join the mobile virtual network operator ranks in the near term, and instead it is looking to continue supplying access to its vast array of content to as many network operators as possible. Greg...
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. revamped its pricing and messaging plans and added options that look much more like postpaid offerings than its traditional prepaid route. The mobile virtual network operator has replaced its old Month2Month plans with five monthly, no-contract plans that range from...
LOS ANGELES—Mobile virtual network operator Xero Mobile has yet to launch, but the company already is facing an investigation of its business by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The MVNO announced late Friday that it had been notified by a local office of the...
LOS ANGELES—For Helio L.L.C. users who have multiple electronic devices sitting in drawers at home, the mobile virtual network operator is offering a one-time shot to trade in those devices for cash. Helio’s Trade Up program started today, and new Helio customers have 30...
Disney Mobile may be causing a spate of copy-catting of its family-oriented services, but the mobile virtual network operator is far from bucking industry trends when it comes to its newly unveiled calling plans and packages. In general, the MVNO's offerings are in line...
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Disney Mobile has begun selling phones and service through its Web site and by phone, officially launching the mobile virtual network operator service that promises parents a high degree of control over how much and when their children can use their wireless...
The latest scuttlebutt surrounding Steve Jobs' much-anticipated jump into wireless sounds more like a breakfast treat than a music-friendly phone-but it could produce a tasty mobile device. Tech bloggers and industry analysts are abuzz over the thought of an "AppleBerry," the imaginary fruit of...
Amp'd Mobile Inc. has rounded out its service offering with a prepaid play that began selling last week, touting its new pay-as-you-go service as "the first and only pay-as-you-go 3G wireless phone service." Amp'd Mobile's prepaid offering charge customers 10 cents per minute for...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. will sell Mobile ESPN L.L.C. service in hundreds of its retail stores, a move that adds weight to the sports-focused MVNO's distribution network. Sprint Nextel originally committed to provide Mobile ESPN space in at least 500 of its stores...
Consumer-side mobile virtual network operators that still want to get in on the game could be out of luck, but there are opportunities ahead on the business side and in serving the machine-to-machine space. John Caddell, vice president and general manager of mobile virtual...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. will sell Mobile ESPN L.L.C. service in hundreds of its retail stores, a move that adds weight to the sports-focused MVNO’s distribution network. According to the two companies, Sprint Nextel had originally committed to provide Mobile ESPN space in...
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Amp’d Mobile Inc. has begun offering a prepaid service that charges 10 cents per minute for voice calling, $1 per day for unlimited push-to-talk service, plus access to a variety of the content services that are at the heart of the mobile...
A colleague of mine recently announced plans to launch his own mobile virtual network operator service. Without rehashing the scheme, which appears foolproof (at least to me), he noted that since everyone is jumping on the MVNO bandwagon, why not a poor wireless newspaper...
HOUSTON-Dexa Wireless, a Mexican-owned mobile virtual network operator, threw its hat into the MVNO ring, announcing it launched commercial operations in Los Angeles. The company said it is targeting the Hispanic population with prepaid service under its Va Contigo commercial brand. Alejandro Bosque, chief...
It seems there's a new mobile virtual network operator for just about every interest, age and ethnic group in the United States. And each operator has a different strategy about how to reach its target. Retailing strategies were simpler when the first couple of...
SAN MATEO, Calif.-Digital Chocolate Inc. scored dual MVNO agreements, announcing deals to offer its games from the decks of mobile virtual network operators Amp'd Mobile Inc. and Helio L.L.C. Each operator plans to carry about two dozen titles from the publisher, which specializes in...
PISCATAWAY, N.J.-So you've been thinking about launching a mobile virtual network operator service for multi-cultural ethnic groups in the United States that features prepaid and postpaid plans, and affordable international calling? After all, America is a melting pot of immigrants who maintain fond ties,...
PISCATAWAY, N.J.—So you’ve been thinking about launching a mobile virtual network operator service for multi-cultural ethnic groups in the United States that features prepaid and postpaid plans, and affordable international calling? After all, America is a melting pot of immigrants who maintain fond ties,...
HOUSTON—Dexa Wireless, a Mexican-owned mobile virtual network operator, threw its hat into the MVNO ring, announcing it launched commercial operations last week in Los Angeles. The company said it is targeting the Hispanic population with prepaid service under its Va Contigo commercial brand. Alejandro...
SAN MATEO, Calif.—Digital Chocolate Inc. scored dual MVNO agreements, announcing deals to offer its games from the decks of mobile virtual network operators Amp’d Mobile Inc. and Helio L.L.C. Each operator plans to carry about two dozen titles from the publisher, which specializes in...