Virgin Mobile USA is saying it has 4.6 million customers, which makes it one of the most popular MVNO in the U.S. Last I heard Boost Mobile had 3.6 million customers, and readers point out Tracfone, which has 7 million. It took these companies years to bring in that many users, so it’s going to be a long road for Amp’d, Helio and the rest.
Virgin Mobile USA Reaches 4.6M
5 comments so far
6:34 PM PT
Is it fair to consider Boost an MVNO given that it is woned by the same company that owns its host network? At this point, I think Boost is just another brand of Sprint/Nextel.
5:49 AM PT
With the same logic, why would one consider Virgin an MVNO since they are 50% owned by their MNO as well … and how are either of these organizations larger than Tracfone? Last I noticed, Tracfone had more subscribers.
3:46 PM PT
Rich, yeah, you’re right, for some reason I always forget about them. Thanks. Just checked they have at least 7 million. i updated it.
6:50 PM PT
Rich, that’s kind of my point. All the big MVNOs aren’t really that virtual and that is why it isn’t that fair to compare them directly to Amp’d and Helio. I think the trend seems to be pointing towards a failure, in the US at least, of a true MVNO model. This doesn’t surprise me, given the way our carriers work, but it is disappointing as I thinkit could have been successful.
5:33 PM PT
it’s not fair to associate helio with pre-paid services like virgin or boost. it’s not prepaid and never will be. period. i understand it’s MVNO, but at the same time, it cannot be compared to virgin (which sucked by the way).
Leave a Comment