Virgin Group is planning to begin a mobile virtual network operator service in Chile during the first quarter of next year. “We already have an agreement with one operator,” said Peter Macnee, president and CEO for Virgin Mobile Latin America. Macnee did not reveal carrier’s name, though the company said it plans to operated what is called “full MVNO.”
United Kingdom-based Virgin Group announced in early June plans to launch a Virgin-branded MVNO service in Latin America in partnership with Tribe Mobile.
Macnee noted that the company is also looking at expanding services to other countries in the region. “It is hard to exactly determine the time, because we are negotiations with MNOs, but next countries probably are Colombia and Argentina, then Brazil and Mexico,” explained Macnee.
Virgin may not use the same operator partner in all countries, but did note that it planned to build its operation teams locally. “Our manager teams are able to do local market research and combine experiences. We are hiring management team, and balancing that to local markets,” Macnee said.
Virgin may invest around $200 million across the region, a little less than the previously reported $300 million. “Our goal is to be full MVNO in all the countries, which has been the Virgins’ strategy around the world,” Macnee added.
Virgin seems to be very confident in the Latin American market. “We want to build regional business and operate in major countries. If you look at the region, there are a small number of regional brands. And we are finding, that the major carriers are interested in having a small number of MVNOs on their system, but they are focusing on the major ones,” said Macnee.
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