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IF 2006 WAS THE YEAR OF THE LAUNCH for mobile virtual network operators, then 2007 has so far been the Year of the Crash.
The last few months have brought a screeching halt to the MVNO hype that dominated 2005 and most of 2006, when new players were gearing up, looking for investors and entering the market with commercial launches. Since late last year, the casualties have included Mobile ESPN, Amp’d Mobile Inc.-and now Disney Mobile.
“We are in a correction phase,” said Alex Besen, founder of the Besen Group. “We need to have this kind of correction before you move into the next phase.”
Besen said he expected to see “a few more” MVNOs withdraw from the market or declare bankruptcy in the course of the correction.
In a d
