The success story of Virgin Mobile has shown the wireless industry that any company with a strong brand and solid marketing can post impressive subscriber growth and generate real revenues through an MVNO deal. Carriers will continue to market their services to the same portion of the market that they currently control, leaving MVNOs to acquire new segments yet to be pinpointed. This past year saw MVNOs aimed at the youth market, sports fans, the rich, the youth market, and finally, the youth market. Some of the more interesting MVNO offerings this past year include:
The carriers have remained smart, leaving these customers to consumer brands with a strong retail presence while making money from their reseller agreements. Those with the most MVNO deals, like Sprint, are in the best position to cash in on this trend. Cingular and Verizon Wireless have started to open up their networks. Serious questions remain as to how many MVNOs the market can support, and not everyone can be as successful as Virgin Mobile. U.S. MVNOs to date have focused on broader markets such as the prepaid market or the youth "lifestyle" market targeted by Virgin Mobile and Boost. Data strategies like Amp'd's are highly focused compared to the rest of the market. With backers and content providers like MTV Networks, however, Amp'd has a leg-up in terms of youth appeal.