Tag Archives: MVNO

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The Only Place Amazon Can Go

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By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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It’s nearly a certainty at this point that e-tail giant Amazon.com is preparing to launch a smartphone, which is now casually known as the “Kindle Phone.” This isn’t just unfounded speculation anymore; there’s plenty of evidence that such a device is en route.

CEO Jeff Bezos has all but confirmed his interest in pursuing a smartphone, saying the hardest part will be to remain differentiated and not simply be another “me, too” device. Over the past couple of years Amazon has also been slowing hiring smartphone talent in the form of former Microsoft Windows Phone execs.

Make no mistake: a Kindle Phone is coming. But where is it going?

Where in the world is Amazon’s content?
When it comes to geographical regions, Amazon’s content offerings are strongest in the U.S., with little to nothing in most other parts of the world. Amazon has been expanding recently, most notably and naturally with e-books, but its music, TV shows, movies, and apps availability is focused primarily in the U.S. with a pinch of European offerings.

Amazon will have to launch the Kindle Phone in the U.S. first, since it won’t seek hardware margins and will rely on its content catalog.

The process of elimination
Of the four primary carriers, chances are that Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel won’t be carrier partners since they operate CDMA networks. If Amazon wants to truly be disruptive, it will follow in Google‘s footsteps and try to sell its device unsubsidized, unlocked, and off contract. Unlocked smartphones are typically GSM models because they have easily swappable SIM cards, leaving just AT&T and T-Mobile.

Amazon already has deals with AT&T as the service provider for its cellular-equipped tablets, and Amazon even finagled some incredibly cheap data plans, albeit with small data allowances. However, AT&T has always been predominantly an Apple iPhone carrier — a trend that has intensified over the years.

Source: SEC filings and conference calls.

Last quarter, the iPhone comprised 84% of all smartphones activated on Ma Bell‘s network. Amazon might launch on AT&T, but there’s not a lot to go around outside of Apple’s flagship, especially since AT&T is deeply entrenched in the subsidy model that I’m assuming Amazon is trying to skirt.

Pick a carrier, not any carrier
That leaves the “Uncarrier” as the perfect candidate for Amazon to focus on. T-Mobile is shifting from subsidies to financing programs, while pitching more affordable service plans. At the end of 2012, the No. 4 carrier had 26.1 million banded customers (excluding wholesale and MVNO connections).

While T-Mobile has ditched subsidies, it’s also concentrating very heavily on beefing up its product portfolio. Not only is the carrier now finally getting the iPhone, but it’s also Google’s only official Nexus 4 carrier. T-Mobile will also carry the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, and BlackBerry Z10. These are all devices that Amazon will compete with.

To its Amazon’s credit, T-Mobile’s device pricing is …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

DOODAD launches the world's easiest pay-as-you-go travel data SIM card

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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DOODAD launches the world’s easiest pay-as-you-go travel data SIM card


Keeping international travelers connected, when in roam.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– DOODAD, the data-only MVNO for people who travel internationally, today launched the simple, affordable, headache-free way to get international data around the world. DOODAD works in unlocked GSM smart phones and tablets, snapping out as either a mini or micro SIM (with Nano on the way), and is powered by a simple pay-as-you-go system. Place the DOODAD in your device, add some DOO-DATA, and you’re able to access the Internet in 54 countries around the world with no contracts, no fine print and no nonsense.

Rather than relying on expensive and limited carrier-based data plans, the DOODAD works on a simple tier-based structure. For example, use your DOODAD in australia and you’ll pay just 30 cents/MB, while in the UK it’s 60c/MB. In comparison, a single megabyte of Data Roaming through most carriers sits around $20/MB in either of those countries – easy to push into the hundreds of dollars in a single day.

“We rely upon our data for a lot of things, business, getting directions, finding where to eat, and staying in touch with the people who matter. So we found it odd that when traveling internationally, data was complicated, inconvenient, or just way too expensive,” said Sarah Neill, CEO of DOODAD. “So we launched DOODAD. You control how much you want to spend each day, so you can stay connected, without worrying.”

Over 70% of people turn off Data Roaming while overseas to avoid these outrageous data charges. But people need not go without any longer. Get a DOODAD, load it up with DOO-DATA, and use it each time you travel away. DOO-DATA lasts 365 days, so any you don’t use, is ready for your next trip.

With the data access DOODAD provides, you can look up maps and find your way around, keep in touch with your loved ones, make VoIP calls, check your email, and keep using Facebook without coming home to bill shock.

So don’t drop off the grid when you next travel – get a free DOODAD at GETADOODAD.com

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/getadoodad

TWITTER: @getadoodad

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

More Wireless Competition in China?

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By Dan Radovsky, The Motley Fool

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China‘s three mobile operators, China Mobile , China Telecom , and China Unicom , may not only have to start gearing up for more competition, but also provide the network capacity for their new rivals.

Last January, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information, or MIIT, sought public comments on its plans to encourage more mobile competition by allowing mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, access to the country’s already installed wireless network infrastructure.

The window for that input closed on Feb. 6, and “as soon as in May,” according to media reports repeated by ShanghaiDaily.com, the MIIT will allow MVNO applicants to begin operating.

An MVNO buys network access from an established mobile operator and resells wireless services under its own brand. In the U.S., MVNOs include brands such as Virgin Mobile, which leases service from Sprint Nextel , and TracFone, which gets wireless access from AT&T and Verizon , as well as Sprint.

The government‘s proposal states any private Chinese company with telecom experience and employing over 50 people can apply for the two-year MVNO trial, according to ShanghaiDaily.com. The MIIT plan is for the wireless operators to provide the MVNOs use of their networks at “fair or favorable” prices, according to the draft proposal. The software company Ufida told ShanghaiDaily.com it had applied to become an MVNO.

Rumors of China allowing MVNOs to operate have been swirling around for at least 10 years, according to informa writer Tony Brown. He described an encounter back in October 2003 when a loose-tongued telecom industry executive told him about a done-deal in the strictest of secrecy: “Virgin Mobile is going to launch as an MVNO in Shanghai,” he told Brown.

That sure thing never happened, of course, but the MIIT call for input in January reminded Brown of that encounter and had him speculating on what companies would be likely MVNO candidates — and what that would mean for the actual operators that would have to service them.

If the mobile operators bring in lightweight companies just to meet the two-MVNO per operator mandate from the MIIT, the threat of serious competition is lessened. Those minor MVNOs could include electronics retailers who already sell handsets for the operators. That type of MVNO partner wouldn’t be a threat, but would not offer any — please excuse this overused word — synergy to the relationship.

On the other hand, partnering with a popular over-the-top, or OTT, company that provides broadband content delivery, such as audio and video, outside the control of an Internet service provider, could bring more subscribers to the network — but at some risk, depending on which direction the revenue from that increased traffic would flow.

Popular Chinese messaging service operator Tencent, and Chinese search engine Baidu , according to Brown, would be able to use being an MVNO to their own advantage, as well as providing upside to the mobile network they would use.

The OTTs would gain from not having to …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Sprint Introduces Custom Branded Device Program, Enabling MVNOs to Custom-Brand White-Label Android

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Sprint Introduces Custom Branded Device Program, Enabling MVNOs to Custom-Brand White-Label Android Phones

For the first time, MVNOs have greater access to completely de-branded devices from Sprint

Coupled with white-labeled Mobile ID and Mobile Zone products from Sprint, MVNOs can extend their brand elements to end users more efficiently

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– As the proliferation of smartphones continues to grow, Sprint (NYS: S) Emerging & Wholesale Solutions today introduced the Custom Branded Device Program. Through the program, MVNOs will have greater, and potentially quicker, access to a large selection of completely de-branded marquee Android handsets out of Sprint and Boost Mobile device inventory with volume pricing included.

Select Android devices can be automatically modified through Mobile ID and Mobile Zone, giving MVNOs the ability to extend their own brand directly to end users through over-the-air activation. Currently, Sprint has three devices available for this program – LG Optimus G, LG Mach and Sprint Flash. Several additional devices are expected to be added to the lineup by the end of this month.

Industry analyst firm Strategy Analytics reported in January that 70 percent of the world smartphone market share belonged at the end of 2012 to Android Meanwhile, in early February, research firm comScore released its quarterly U.S. smartphone market share numbers, which showed Android leading in market share with 53.4 percent of the total smartphone market.

“The Android operating system provides such incredible flexibility and supply chain economy of scale that, when coupled with the Sprint Mobile ID and Mobile Zone products, can now extend a value and a new branding opportunity to our wholesale customers,” said Bill Esrey, vice president, Emerging & Wholesale Solutions at Sprint. “The Custom Branded Device Program enables our MVNO customers to extend a personal and direct relationship that transcends outside of the store walls, at Sprint’s volume pricing.”

Sprint continues its commitment to the “open” mobile ecosystem through open platforms Mobile ID and Mobile Zone, which are white-labeled variations of the popular Sprint ID and Sprint Zone applications. These platforms enable Sprint’s international and wholesale customers to replicate Sprint’s success with the retail versions of the same services – driving enhanced customer engagement and revenue growth opportunities for MVNOs.

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Sprint Gives MVNOs an Alternative to Phone Subsidies Through "Bring Your Own Sprint Device" Program

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Sprint Gives MVNOs an Alternative to Phone Subsidies Through “Bring Your Own Sprint Device” Program

Latest program from Emerging Solutions & Global Wholesale enables MVNO customers to activate idle phones on the Sprint network, reducing the number of inactive phones in the market, diverting phones from landfills

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– As the opportunity to reuse or recycle idle mobile devices in the United States continues to grow, Sprint (NYS: S) Emerging Solutions & Global Wholesale today introduced the Bring Your Own Sprint Device (BYOSD) program.

BYOSD is intended to help Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) address the growing number of inactive devices in the marketplace and offset the phone subsidy burden through the reactivation of used and inactive Sprint-branded devices on qualified MVNO price plans.

In the United States alone, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates 135 million cell phones are discarded each year. Reusing or recycling these phones could save enough energy to power more than 24,000 homes for a year. With BYOSD, MVNO customers simply bring a deactivated Sprint device to their MVNO, who must determine the device’s eligibility for the BYOSD program. Upon meeting those specifications, the device is then activated by the MVNO.

“BYOSD is another way that Sprint enables MVNOs to offer flexible, financially sensible and environmentally minded solutions to their end users,” said Matt Carter, president, Emerging Solutions & Global Wholesale at Sprint. “This program not only gives our MVNO customers a chance to make a positive impact on our environment, but also allows them the chance to do so in a way that benefits their bottom line.”

“A program like this can help to remove the subsidy burden off of burgeoning MVNOs, helping them to thrive in the competitive wireless landscape,” said Steve Hilton, principal analyst with Analysys Mason.

Sprint ranks No. 3 on Newsweek‘s 2012 Green Rankings of the nation’s 500 greenest companies and is the only telecommunications company in the top 25.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 55 million customers at the end of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance