virgin mobile

Virgin Mobile launches in Saudi Arabia

Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa (VMMEA) has begun services in Saudi Arabia. In a shake-up to the kingdom’s mobile market, the Communication and Information Technology Commission of Saudi Arabia (CITC) has ordered each of the country’s three mobile operators to host an MVNO to boost competition.

Numericable in bid for Virgin Mobile as French consolidation gathers pace

Carphone Warehouse, which earlier this week announced plans to merge with UK high street consumer electronics retailer Dixons, has announced that it is in discussions to sell Omer Telecom, the holding company which owns Virgin Mobile France, to French cable player Numericable. In April this year Numericable’s parent Altice struck a deal to acquire French mobile operator SFR, which it intends to merge with Numericable.

African MVNOs should target premium customers, says Cell C

MVNOs in Africa should focus on the premium end of the market rather than offer low-cost ‘no frills’ services, according to Bjorn Florman, chief executive, wholesale business at Cell C. The South African mobile operator is one of the relatively small number of networks in the region that has wholeheartedly opened its network to MVNOs.

Vodafone launches MVNO with Sainsbury’s

Vodafone has launched an MVNO in partnership with UK retailer Sainsbury’s. The 50/50 joint venture, which will operate under the brand ‘Mobile by Sainsbury’s’ will launch later this summer, led my a management team of existing Vodafone and Sainsbury’s executives.

Google moves Wallet to cloud, adds more cards to offering

In an attempt to ignite take up of its m-wallet offering, Google has launched a cloud-based version of its wallet for its US users. As a result, users can now add Visa, American Express and Discover credit and debit cards, as well as MasterCard, to their wallet.

Virgin Mobile to launch Polish MVNO

The Virgin Mobile brand is set to launch in Poland as entrepreneur Richard Branson’s firm eyes growth in the Central and Eastern Europe mobile market. Virgin had formed a holding company, Virgin Mobile Central and Eastern Europe in 2011 and is looking to launch an MVNO initially in Poland, in order to provide a platform to build on in the region.

Google acquires mobile music synch platform PushLife

Rumours that Google is planning to launch an iTunes rival optimised for Android will no doubt be further fuelled by its acquisition of Canadian start-up PushLife. Founded by former Research in Motion employee, Ray Reddy, in 2008, PushLife offers software that allows users to synch non-Apple devices with the iTunes platform.

Virgin launches mobile apps and music stores

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Virgin Mobile has teamed up with independent app store GetJar to push mobile games and applications to its youth focused customer base.

Virgin UK leads in high growth SIM-only market

MVNO Virgin Mobile has announced that it leads the SIM-only sector of the UK  mobile market. Citing research from analyst firm GfK, the carrier claimed a market share for May of 29.5 per cent. SIM-only, where customers provide their own handset in return for lower prices on monthly text and voice bundles and the freedom […]

BT sacrifices Virgin’s mobile TV service

Virgin Mobile customers in the UK are set to lose their mobile TV service after BT announced plans to pull the plug on its Movio platform on Thursday. A spokesman for the UK incumbent told telecoms.com that following a review of its wholesale offerings, BT had decided not to continue with the Movio service. The […]

Virgin USA in $506m IPO

Virgin Mobile USA, Richard Branson’s US MVNO, is gearing up for a $506m IPO, according to a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday. The IPO is being led by Lehman Brothers, with Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bank of America Securities acting as joint book running managers. The MVNO leases its […]

Virgin loses more top brass

The exodus of top brass from telecoms companies continues, with Virgin Mobile announcing a double whammy on Thursday. Alan Gow, managing director of Virgin Mobile and Joe Steel, Virgin Mobile’s deputy managing director and commercial director, have both announced plans to step down. Gow, who will leave Virgin later this year, has only been in […]

Wireless coalition lobbies for open access

A coalition of industry players, including the founders of Virgin Mobile USA, have petitioned the US regulator to open up a swathe of spectrum to give consumers more choice of wireless services. The Wireless Founders Coalition for Innovation sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), calling for open access rules to a single […]

Virgin fancies Indian summer

The big rumour doing the rounds on Friday is that Virgin Mobile is set to enter the burgeoning Indian mobile market via a 50-50 partnership with local operator, Tata TeleServices. Tata is India’s sixth largest mobile operator with 12 million subscribers at the end of April. The operator runs a CDMA network, a technology Virgin […]

Virgin Mobile USA seeks $100m floatation

Virgin Mobile USA, Richard Branson’s US MVNO, said Tuesday that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an Initial public Offering (IPO). The company aims to raise as much as $100m from the floatation. Virgin has not yet revealed the number of shares to be offered or the price […]

Virgin Mobile gives away music

In a bid to stir up some interest in mobile music, Virgin Mobile on Friday started giving away tracks for free. New and existing Virgin Mobile customers with 3G handsets on both contract and prepay can download up to 25 free full tracks between now and May 28. The tunes are available via the full […]

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