Why is it a turkey?

The MVNO launched by SK Telecom and Earthlink did not have a pretty year. In January, its founding CEO, Sky Dayton, resigned. [1] Then, at the end of February Helio reported that it had lost $327 million in 2007 [2]. 

In June, after talks between SK Telecom and Virgin Mobile USA seemed to stall, it was reported that Helio would be closing some retail locations and kiosks [3]. A few days later Virgin Mobile confirmed that it would acquire Helio [4] for $39 million. As part of the deal, the Virgin Group and SK Telecom agreed to invest $25 million each of equity capital in the post-merger Virgin Mobile USA. But the damage had been done. All but one of Helio's retail stores were closed [5] by mid-August. The deal was completed at the end of August. [6] 

SK Telecom reported a 57 percent drop in third quarter profit [7] following the Helio sale, and noted a quarter-on-quarter loss because of the deal. Virgin Mobile USA gained from the deal though, and posted better-than-expected third quarter profits [8].