BROWSING: MVNO

Although consolidation continues to thin out the carrier crowd, the actual number of companies offering wireless services soon could increase. At least, that's what Matt Johnson is hoping. Johnson is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Visage Mobile, a mobile virtual network enabler....

In addition to strengthening its position as the nation's third-largest wireless operator, Sprint Corp.'s planned merger with Nextel Communications Inc. will bring together the industry's two most aggressive targeters of young subscribers. Sprint, through its Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. mobile virtual network operator partnership...

SAN FRANCISCO-MVNO supplier Visage Mobile announced it scored $22.8 million in its third round of funding. The company said the round brings its total venture capital war chest to around $50 million.Visage sells technology to brands that are looking to become mobile virtual network...

Even as the wireless industry consolidates to four national carriers and as more regional consolidation is predicted, wireless customers are getting more choices-not fewer-as to which companies will provide their services. It's a characteristic that has played out time and time again in wireless....

Time Warner Cable is in discussions with Sprint PCS to test a wireless offering that would be bundled with the media giant's TV, landline phone and Internet services. However, it is unclear whether Time Warner Cable will offer the services under its own brand...

Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc.'s "merger of equals" announcement last week could have an unequal impact on each operator's respective affiliate partners. At one time those affiliates were integral to each carrier's expansion plans, but with the merger announcement, they could become hurdles....

Sprint PCS' largest affiliate Alamosa Holdings Inc. made good on previous comments that it was interested in acquiring a fellow affiliate by signing a deal last week to purchase AirGate PCS Inc. for $630 million. The deal, which is expected to close during the...

Following months of speculation, sports entertainment company ESPN Inc. reported a deal with Sprint Corp. to begin offering ESPN-branded wireless services using Sprint PCS' network. The mobile virtual network operator agreement is expected to be similar to Sprint PCS' existing agreement with Virgin Mobile...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.-SmartServ Online Inc. will offer prepaid mobile phone service and handsets on Sprint PCS' nationwide network, the company announced Wednesday.SmartServ will launch the mobile virtual network operator service under the company's Uphonia brand on Sprint's network in the first quarter of 2005....

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.-Looking to explore strategic growth options, content provider SmartServ Online Inc. announced that it has retained investment banking firm Jefferies & Co. Inc.Jefferies will advise the company's management on financing and capital resources, as well as significant merger and acquisition possibilities, the...

Consolidation in the wireless distribution arena is under way with two acquisitions announced this week. Wireless Channels, parent of Advantage Wireless, acquired American Connections, a wholesale distributor of wireless services and equipment. Advantage Wireless is also a distributor.Wireless Channels said the acquisition would boost...

Regional telecommunications provider CenturyTel Inc. said it has entered into a reseller relationship with Cingular Wireless L.L.C. that will allow CenturyTel to provide wireless voice and text-messaging services as part of a bundled service offering. CenturyTel said it will be responsible for all marketing,...

Who is your wireless carrier?A question that used to be answered easily is becoming more complicated as mobile virtual network operators gain traction in today's market. It's good to be an MVNO as Virgin Mobile USA is showing, signing up more than 1 million...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark-TDC, a Danish telecom carrier, said it will launch a mobile virtual network operator service in the United Kingdom in cooperation with U.K. company EasyGroup. The U.K. service will launch under the "easy" brand in the third quarter and is eventually planned for...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark-TDC, a Danish telecom carrier, said it will launch a mobile virtual network operator service in the United Kingdom in cooperation with U.K. company EasyGroup. The U.K. service will launch under the "easy" brand in the third quarter and is eventually planned for...

The rush of companies joining the ranks of pseudo-wireless providers continued last week as mobile content and application provider SmartServ Online Inc. announced plans to begin offering its prepaid Uphonia wireless services using a yet-to-be named wireless operator's network. Unlike a number of companies...

Qwest Communications International Inc. unveiled nationwide wireless voice services to residential and small-business customers in eight Oregon cities as part of its mobile virtual network operator agreement signed last year with Sprint PCS. The agreement allows Qwest to offer wireless service in markets where...

TelePlus Enterprises Inc.'s TelePlus Wireless Corp. subsidiary announced it will launch the TelePlus mobile virtual network operator to run on AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s network via an agreement with Oregon-based Consumer Cellular Inc., an aggregator of AWS.TelePlus said it will sell TelePlus-branded wireless phones...

TelePlus Enterprises Inc.'s TelePlus Wireless Corp. subsidiary announced it will launch the TelePlus mobile virtual network operator to run on AT&T Wireless Services Inc.'s network via an agreement with Oregon-based Consumer Cellular Inc., an aggregator of AWS.TelePlus said it will sell TelePlus-branded wireless phones...

The high-speed wireless data field is filling up with contestants as most of the country's larger operators have announced plans to deploy services that in some cases will open up the door to additional competition from companies that either have resale agreements for wireless...

Government approval of Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s proposed $41 billion purchase of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. has never really been in doubt, predictable consumer-group opposition notwithstanding.Now it is a near certainty. A veritable cakewalk. A done deal. The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission can...

Mobile virtual network operator agreements sprung up on both sides of the Atlantic this morning, with two wireline providers overlooking their former wireless subsidiaries for the partnerships. AT&T Corp. reported a deal with Sprint Corp. to sell AT&T-branded wireless service during the next five...

The next stop in the evolution of the wireless industry is customization. And it's expected to hit with all the subtlety of a tornado.This is not your father's faceplate. Not only will your ring tone and ring-back tone identify you, so will your preloaded...

LONDON-Virgin Mobile U.K., a mobile virtual network operator, said it added more than half a million new customers in the fourth quarter of 2003. The quarter's 506,448 new clients, a 37-percent rise from quarter-fourth 2002 figures, brings the company's subscriber figures to more than...