Virgin Mobile USA Reaches 4.6M
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).