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Worth Checking out if you are in need of a memorable number!
It looks like Qualcomm is finally getting its MVNO off the ground, according to Wireless Week, which reports that the company has picked a CEO for the operator who will start work next month.
The MVNO, which will go by the name of LifeComm and offer healthcare based services (although no word on specifics) as well as the usual mobile goodies, is set to begin life after it appears Qualcomm found some investors to join it in financing the new operator.
MVNOs haven’t exactly flourished in the US of late but none of them have gone after quite such a niche market as LifeComm. Qualcomm has also got a slightly different buyer in mind – rather than selling to individual users, the company hopes LifeComm phones will be bought by health insurers for their customers. If those insurers promise to knock a few dollars off plans for customers in return for carrying the LifeComm mobile, Qualcomm shouldn’t have too many problems building up a user base.
It looks like the axe is about to fall on US MVNO Helio. According to the Financial Times’s sources, Virgin Mobile USA is to merge with the SK Telecom-owned operator, with a deal to be announced as early as this week.
The FT says Virgin Mobile and Helio will combine, Virgin Mobile will issue new shares and SK Telecom will end up holding 20 percent of the new company. We’ve been expecting some sort of union between the two comanies for a while, after both have struggled in the last few years and a combination could give them the heft they need to make a more substantial impact in the US market. Still, bit of a shame to see Helio go – it always seemed like it had more potential.
If Virgin boss Richard Branson weren’t so rich, he might a bit disheartened right now. According to The Times, the drop in Virgin Mobile USA’s share price have caused Branson a personal loss of over $250 million, with the stock falling by 85 percent since the company floated on the stock exchange.
The share price has fallen by over half in recent trading prompted by worse-than-expected forecase from the MVNO which analysts are putting down to a tough economic climate and fierce competition from rivals in the pre-paid market.
However, it’s not all bad news. The company increased its customer base to 5.1 million, net service revenues were up 20 percent and it cut its quarterly losses. It remains to be seen if this is a blip or the first sign of a mobile industry slowdown. Watch this space…
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