The Federal Trade Commission has given antitrust permission to the proposed merger between Sprint Nextel and Virgin Mobile USA, according to Reuters. Sprint in July initially announced its plans to take over the smaller carrier for $483 million, building upon its current 13.1 percent stake. The deal will merge Virgin's prepaid service with Boost Mobile.
Sprint this morning said it would buy out Virgin Mobile's US division for an equity value of $483 million. The deal cancels out Virgin's $248 million in outstanding debts and is intended to bolster Sprint's efforts in the arena of prepaid phones. Although Sprint already had a 13.1 percent stake in Virgin, the company now says it will use the takeover to unite its entirely self-run Boost Mobile service with Virgin under a single roof.
Samsung on Thursday said its Mantra flip phone is now available at wireless provider Virgin Mobile. The entry-level dual color screen handset is available on both pay-as-you-go and monthly plans. It sports a VGA camera, Bluetooth, a speakerphone and 8MB of user memory. A web browser is built-in, and users can download real music ringtones.
Virgin Mobile USA on Wednesday announced it will soon offer a pre-paid 3G Internet access service called Broadband2Go. Users will need to buy a Novatel MC760 USB modem, which will access the web via Sprint's EV-DO Revisoin A network. The modem plugs into the USB ports on Mac, Windows, or Linux computers and has an internal dual-band diversity antenna with an option for an external antenna for better performance in remote areas. There is also a microSDHC slot in the modem that allows users to add as much as 16GB of storage.
Bell on Thursday said it had bought up the remaining stakes in Virgin Mobile Canada, taking complete control of the prepay-heavy carrier. The takeover is mutual and is labeled by Bell as part of its attempt to take the lead in the Canadian cellphone market. The Virgin label will continue to exist separate from Bell but will reportedly have streamlined operations, including a shared network and the ability to get the same phones as Bell.
Virgin Mobile on Thursday announced a new $50 Totally Unlimited Calling plan that would give subscribers unlimited and roaming-free calling throughout the USA. Virgin spokespeople are confirming the move comes in response to similar offers from competitors, including T-Mobile and Boost Mobile. Other contract-free providers, including MetroPCS and Leap, also offer unlimited plans that range from $35 to $50, though they are only offered in certain specific markets.
Virgin Mobile has without fanfare added a pair of Kyocera phones to its roster. Of the two, the X-tc is the most advanced and has a lateral, slide-out QWERTY keyboard for heavy-duty IM and SMS messaging. It also brings features that are still less common on Virgin phones, like a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth with stereo audio, dedicated music controls and microSD storage. It should be available today and sell for $99 prepaid.
Helio today formalized the launch of the Ocean 2. The handset closely fits its description from an early hands-on and adds 2GB of built-in storage, an optical navigation pad and improved messaging that involves Google Talk and threaded SMS. It continues to offer a 2-megapixel camera and built-in GPS for navigation and location-based social features. It can also serve as a media player with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Helio's long-delayed Ocean 2 is due to ship in just two weeks, MobileCrunch says in a pre-announcement hands-on. Supported in part by Helio parent company Virgin Mobile's own mention of the phone for a concert promo, the slip confirms that the phone will be available on February 12th. The phone continues to share the original's two-way QWERTY and number pad sliders but adds a new optical pad for navigation, 2GB of built-in storage, and improved software that includes a tabbed web browser, threaded SMS and Google Talk messaging.
RIM's BlackBerry Pearl Flip could be available in a version for CDMA networks as early as next month. Alleged sources of BlackBerrySync today claim the previously GSM-only clamshell will be launched on CDMA as the Pearl Flip 8230 and would debut first on Canadian provider Telus as early as February with a "very reasonable" price as well as the same black and pink colors as the phone only available through Rogers in Canada and T-Mobile in the US.
The formerly ailing Virgin Mobile was able to present a profit on its recent financial quarter, mostly thanks due to its acquisition of US wireless carrier Helio, with operating revenues and net service revenues of $323.2 million and $305 million, respectively. CEO Dan Schulman was also happy to point out that, despite a "challenging economic environment," Virgin was able to increase its customer base by 8 percent from last year, while also increasing services.
The purchase of the Helio mobile network provider by Virgin Mobile, which concluded on August 22, has resulted in Helio by Virgin Mobile, and the new company announced some changes on Tuesday. Contrary to previous reports, however, the Helios brand will continue to operate. The integration of the two have resulted in Virgin launching the Shuttle, its first handset that will support Helio's data-intensive services, including the Buddy Beacon that uses the integrated GPS to locate other users via a chat-like program. At the same time, the company announced that existing and new Helio subscriptions to the $80 A La Carte program will be upgraded to include unlimited minutes instead of the current 1,500 minutes.
In the US and Canada, iPhone owners have only one choice for wireless service; as of Monday, Australia now has four. Virgin Mobile Australia has confirmed that it has become the fourth wireless company to offer the iPhone 3G, joining a market already crowded by Vodafone, Optus and Telstra. Virgin is apparently off to a fast start: a check of its website shows both the 8GB and 16GB models are already "out of stock."
SK Telecom isn't interested in a direct takeover of Sprint but is nonetheless interested in gaining a clear stake in the American wireless carrier, according to reports. The Korean company now denies that it has any plans to completely buy out Sprint but is now said by sources of BusinessWeek to be mulling a "major stake" in the cellular provider that would require seats on Sprint's board of directors, handing a significant amount of influence to SK Telecom over larger decisions.
Virgin Mobile's US branch today picked up the TNT!, one of its lowest-cost cellphones but with a handful of additions beyond the very low end. Made by Kyocera, the flip phone has an external display missing on the Aloha and Oystr and is also capable of basic web browsing on a 1xRTT data link.
Virgin Mobile today quietly posted its first phone since its buyout of Helio. The UTStarcom Arc sits slightly above the baseline for most of Virgin's budget lineup and focuses primarily on its inclusion of a VGA camera, Bluetooth, and its two-tone, rounded flip design to stand out from other offerings on the pay-as-you-go carrier.
Virgin Mobile today shook up the American wireless business with news that it would acquire Helio for $39 million in share equity, merging the latter into Virgin's mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business. The deal also has Virgin absorbing some of Helio's debt and also gives the carrier Helio's 170,000 customers in the US, with the latter ending its brand in the US. The deal should be completed during the summer pending US government approval, according to the two companies.
Last reported in May, Virgin Mobile USA is set to absorb SK Telecom-owned Helio in a deal said to approach the former paying the Korean telecommunications firm almost $50 million, leaving SK holding 20-percent of company holdings. The Financial Times writes that the MVNO will dissolve its identity in favor of the more recognizable Virgin Mobile brand, and integrate its 200,000 users into Virgin's customer base of 5.1 million mobile users.
Virgin Mobile today is next up in the US to offer an unlimited calling plan that it promises should beat other, larger carriers. The Totally Unlimited service removes the caps on the number of minutes but also eliminates some of the restrictions that affect rival plans. Subscribers don't need to sign a contract locking them into service or to pay roaming fees when they venture outside of Virgin's official coverage area. Virgin users also don't require a credit or debit card and can pay the bill using the carrier's own Top-Up cards.
The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market in the US may be on the verge of collapse with Helio about to scale back or shut down entirely, according to a rumor circulated by Engadget. The provider is allegedly telling store managers that it will shut down at least some of its retail shops in possible preparation for a takeover by Virgin Mobile. No information has yet appeared to suggest that Helio is withdrawing support for the service itself.
Nokia today quietly unveiled the 1580, a starter candybar phone for CDMA carriers, most of which operate in the US. The phone sits just above Nokia's most basic phones with an FM radio as its most advanced feature; the phone also supports using its micro USB connection both to charge and to supply legacy 1xRTT data access to a computer through tethering. A color display, a 2.5mm headset jack, and basic voice memo recording are its other standout features.
Virgin Mobile today made good on a recent teaser with an official release of the Samsung Slash. The slider is now known to sit slightly above most of Virgin's offerings with a VGA camera and Bluetooth; it also provides MP3 ringtone support as well as preloaded games and an extra-large 499-entry phonebook. Talk time, however, is short at a rated 3.5 hours.
Virgin Mobile USA today confirmed that it was in the early stages of talks with SK Telecom to investigate "strategic opportunities" between the two companies. The revelation partly rebuffs denials by SKT of involvement with Virgin but doesn't provide more details as to the nature of the talks beyond the statement. There are no guarantees that anything will result from negotiations, Virgin claims. The company adds that it has no plans to add more detail unless any deal is struck.
SK Telecom has no plans to merge Helio with Virgin Mobile to create a major new carrier, the Korean company says. SKT spokeswoman Mina Ryu rejects reports of discussions and claims there aren't "any sort of talks" to either merge its Helio brand with Virgin or else buy out Virgin directly. The rumors are "groundless," Ryu says.
SK Telecom may create a new, large carrier in the US by folding Virgin Mobile and Helio together, according to an alleged source for mocoNews. Earthlink's withdrawal from Helio is said to have pushed Helio's Korean parent, SK Telecom, towards a buyout of Helio's larger competitor Virgin Mobile to ensure it has a larger presence in the US. Such a takeover would give SK Telecom enough clout to merge both Helio and Virgin together.
Samsung's new Slash slider phone has shown up on Virgin Mobile's website on Friday with a few details on specs. The mid-level phone will feature a camera, Bluetooth wireless connectivity for headsets and other devices and an integrated web browser. The speakerphone function will also allow for voice dialing, while the full color screen of yet-unspecified resolution will display downloadable graphics and the available library of Virgin's mobile games.
