Anyone remember Easy Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), the very same company that shut down after being in business for barely nine months. Well it’s going to be back, this time with Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the maverick behind the low cost airline EasyJet in charge.
In its previous version, Haji-Ioannou had licensed the brand name “Easy” to Danish mobile company, TDC, which got sold and decided led to a change in strategy. Haji-Ioannou didn’t care much for the new strategy, and took the name back. And now he plans to bring it back – as an ad-supported free calling service.
Markus Göbel caught up with Haji-Ioannou at the launch of EasyHotel.com, and got the whole lowdown.
The MVNOs brought the cell phone costs down but until now nobody offers completely free phone calls … People are used to paying for mobile communication and still cannot imagine that it could be free like television.
Easy Mobile won’t be the first MVNO to try out the free-ad-supported mobile calls model. London-based MVNO Blyk that plans to launch service in the summer.
4 comments so far
2:09 AM PT
Entrepeneurship these days has turned on its head. I thought business was about making money. Seems thats no more the case, more money than brains … the saying goes.
7:17 PM PT
Back to the good old days of 1999. Give it away for free and make it up on volume.
11:17 AM PT
There is always room for ad-supported models. This will never be the dominant MVNO model but it can be done successfully. Perhaps an ad-supported MVNO phone will be a second line for many people.
Check out the Ad-Supported Music Blog at: http://ad-supported-music.blogspot.com/
2:12 PM PT
Ad-supported phone service? For some reason I’m uneasy with the idea of my phone number being given out to spammers. Sorry, ‘valued advertisers’.
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