Mouse trap

So the big mouse has left the wireless house.
Just over a year after unveiling its mobile virtual network operator plans in a fireworks-studded event at the CTIA show in the spring of 2006, the Walt Disney Co. decided to pull the plug on its struggling wireless operation. The move comes just months after the company came to a similar decision for its Mobile ESPN operations, which labored to find an audience who were already not served by a wireless carrier.
Reports put the Disney MVNO’s customer base at fewer than 20,000 subscribers, which failed to even reach the reported 30,000 subscribers Mobile ESPN managed to secure during its brief run.
The departure of Disney from the MVNO space, along with the fantastic explosion of Amp’d Mobile and continued struggles of Helio, seem to be marking the death knell for the MVNO market.
Sure, analysts and vendors that have an interest in this space succeeding will spin the troubles in a “this is healthy for the space” or “it will make the space stronger” whirl, but it’s obvious that the MVNO model, while seemingly sound from some angles, is a bona-fide failure. If a company with the brand recognition, financial backing and content clout of Disney cannot make it, what does that say for other big names eyeing the space-we’re looking at you Mr. Jobs-or those still trying to make it.
I wanted these companies to succeed, not just because they were fun to talk to and write about, but because I thought they might be able to turn the tide of rampant industry consolidation that had already seen the nationwide operators cut by one-third and the regional players gobbled up at an alarming rate.
What went wrong? Well, my guess is that the Big 4 were just too big and had the resources at their disposal to serve any niche that a fledgling MVNO could try to tackle. How can a company as small as Amp’d Mobile or Helio, or a large company not 100% dedicated to its wireless operations like Disney compete?
Sure, a small number of companies have been able to ramp up their customer bases to a level that can support their business models, but it’s only a matter of time before those markets come under the microscope of the nationwide operators.
It was fun while it lasted, but it’s time to remind the last MVNO to hit the lights on the way out.