Helio

Tom Wheeler - Top U.S. Wireless Innovators of All Time

Sue Marek — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:21:40 -0500

As the former CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, Wheeler is credited with evolving CTIA into the multi-million dollar trade association it is today. While at the CTIA, Wheeler became skilled at navigating between regulators, wireless carriers and technology vendors.

Wheeler, who served at the CTIA for 12 years before he left in 2004, is still very involved in the wireless industry, heading up Core Capital, a wireless investment firm. He is also a member of the board of several wireless firms. He represents Core on the board of Roundbox, UpdateLogic, LimeLife, Jacked and Twisted Pair Solutions. He is also on the boards of Earthlink and Helio.

SK Telecom's net profit drops 57 percent in wake of Helio deal

Phil Goldstein — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:47:20 -0400

SK Telecom saw its third quarter net profit drop by 57 percent, as it faced steeper marketing costs.

South Korea's leading mobile operator saw its net profit plunge to $228.5 million, down from $547.4 million last year. Sales increased 3 percent to $1.992 billion, up from $1.938 billion, but its operating profit dropped 6.1 percent.

The carrier also saw a quarter-on-quarter loss from its sale of flagging MVNO Helio to Virgin Mobile USA, which ocurred in late June. The deal closed at the end August.

As part of that deal, SK Telecom and Earthlink, which were the major shareholders of Helio, got 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile USA common stock, valued at $39 million. SK Telecom also invested $25 million, along with the Virgin Group, directly into Virgin Mobile USA, as part of the deal.

In their official earnings release, SK Telecom said, "The QoQ decrease in equity in losses of affiliates was mainly due to decreased losses from the affiliates such as HELIO."

For more:
- see this article (sub. req.)

Related Articles:
Virgin Mobile USA completes Helio acquisition
EarthLink loses $111.3M on Helio in 2007

22. Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA

Phil Goldstein — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:26:50 -0400

What makes him powerful: Dan Schulman has the distinction of heading up Virgin Mobile USA, one of the first major MVNOs to launch in the U.S. back in 2002 and one of the few MVNOs to survive in today's tumultuous wireless marketplace. While the U.S. market has not been a particularly friendly place for virtual operators, Schulman has managed to keep Virgin Mobile USA alive and growing.

Virgin, which started as a joint venture with Sprint, initially targeted the youth market--a demographic group that Schulman has said was underserved by traditional wireless carriers. That early focus was critical to Virgin's initial success and the reason the MVNO grew so quickly, attaining 3 million-plus customers by early 2005.

Under Schulman's direction, the company also has been an innovative leader in the advertising area. The company launched the Sugar Mama mobile advertising service in 2006. The program gives customers free airtime in return for viewing mobile ads. A year after the program's launch, Virgin said more than 330,000 of its 5 million subscribers had signed onto the plan.

But Virgin has come under increasing pressure since Schulman and his executive team took the company public in the fall of 2007, generating about $412 million for the firm. In fact, during the most recent quarter, Virgin earned just $3.5 million in net income, down from $7.1 million in the same period in 2007. Revenue was down to $317.4 million from 327.6 million and the company lost about 111,000 subscribers bringing its total subscriber base to just under 5 million.

Yet Schulman has ushered in some bright spots for the company. Virgin completed its acquisition of rival MVNO Helio at the end of August. Although Virgin continues to consider the youth demographic its core customer base, the Helio acquisition will increase Virgin's reach to other demographic groups, including Korean-Americans. As part of the Helio deal, Korean wireless player SK Telekom invested $25 million in cash in Virgin, which it badly needed.

Virgin Mobile USA CFO steps down

Phil Goldstein — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:15:56 -0400

Virgin Mobile USA's Chief Financial Officer, John Feehan, announced he would be stepping down to become the CFO of Lifelock, an identity theft protection company.

Feehan joined Virgin Mobile USA in 2001 as one of its first employees and became CFO in 2006. The move comes as Virgin Mobile USA announced that it was appointing Richard Chin and Sungwon Suh from SK Telecom to its board of directors in the wake of Virgin's acquisition of Helio and SK Telecom's related investment in Virgin.

For more:
-see these press releases

Related Articles:
Virgin Mobile USA completes Helio acquisition
It's official: Virgin Mobile USA is in talks with Helio

Virgin launches for EVDO phone

Sue Marek — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:32:48 -0400

Virgin Mobile USA launched its first EVDO handset, the Shuttle, from Personal Communications Devices. The handset, which retails for $100, is going to be sold exclusively from Best Buy beginning Sept. 28.

Just a couple weeks after closing on its acquisition of Helio, Virgin's new Shuttle phone will be the first to integrate Helio features such as the improved access to social networking communities. In addition, it will be the first to offer LBS services from uLocate. The Shuttle features a 1.3 megapixel camera, video capture and playback and has an integrated media player that supports streaming music and video.

To get subscribers to use the new higher-speed phone, the company also launched three new data plans to accompany a voice package. Prepaid users can pay $5 per month for 5 MB of data; $10 per month for 20 Mb of data and $20 per month for 50 MB of data.

For more:
- click for a picture of the Shuttle
- See this press release

Related stories:
Virgin Mobile loses 111,273 customers in Q2
Intercasting signs on with Virgin Mobile USA

Virgin closes Helio deal

Sue Marek — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:50:53 -0400

Virgin Mobile USA completed its planned acquisition of Helio. Helio shareholders SK Telecom and Earthlink have received shares and limited partnership units equivalent to 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile stock valued at $38 million. In addition SK Telecom and Virgin Group will each invest $25 million in Virgin Mobile USA. SK will have a 17 percent investment in Virgin Mobile and two seats on the Virgin Mobile board of directors.

The deal, first announced in late June, was contingent upon certain requirements--mainly that Helio had to cut its sales and distribution costs prior to acquisition. Virgin said all terms and conditions had been met and necessary regulatory approvals obtained.

For more:
- Read this release

Related stories:
Virgin buys Helio for $39 million
Helio closes all but one retail store

Helio closes all but one retail store

Lynnette Luna — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:41:05 -0400

Not surprisingly, all but one of Helio's five retail stores have closed following Virgin Mobile's declared intention to purchase the company. The New York store is the only location open, while stores in California and Denver have closed. Virgin should close the deal on Helio in the third quarter. More big changes will likely happen as Helio is contractually required to reduce its costs by some 70 percent before the deal with Virgin can go through. Article

Mark Lowenstein: The Emergence of MVNO 2.0

Mark Lowenstein — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:39:30 -0400

Over the past couple of years, we have witnessed the failure of many high profile MVNOs--Disney Mobile, Mobile ESPN, AMP'd, Helio--and the ongoing struggles of many others. Analysts and the press have declared the MVNO market all but dead. I think this proclamation is premature. In fact, we are witnessing the rebirth of the MVNO concept, but in a different form. My prediction: we will see a number of MVNOs be quite successful over the next few of years. Call it MVNO Version 2.0. Who might they be? What will they look like? And how will they impact the market?

Cutting right to the chase, we are seeing the birth of the first major 2.0 MVNO right before our eyes: Apple. We have conventionally defined the MVNO as an entity that purchases capacity on a carrier's network on a wholesale basis, uses a third party (MVNE) for back-end for OSS, and offers its own branded service, device, application suite, and markets directly to consumers. It is successful as an MVNO because the overall experience--device, applications, user interface--is compelling. The model is different from traditional MVNOs in that Apple is making most of its money from devices rather than services, and has a cooperative model with its host operators from the standpoint of distribution.

Another, far less sexy, MVNO that has traction is Jitterbug--the service from Great Call focused on the senior market. They have created a sufficiently different overall experience, from pricing to device to UI, that demonstrates their understanding of a market segment that has been under-addressed by the major operators.

To understand how MVNOs might be successful in this new clothing, we should understand why so many Version 1.0 MVNOs struggled. First, as retail wireless prices declined, the "spread" between wholesale and retail disappeared, leaving little margin on voice. Second, the relationship between the host operator and the MVNO has often been strained. Virgin USA, Boost Mobile and TracFone have been MVNO success stories because the operators were happy to "outsource" their prepaid business. In many other cases, MVNOs were treated as second-class citizens with respect to the latest devices, data network availability, or advanced features such as GPS. Clearly, many made significant errors themselves. They were naive about the capital involved and mis-spent what they had in some cases; misread their segments; and faltered on execution. Finally, I would say that their value proposition was not differentiated enough. Again, look at Apple. In nearly all aspects, the customer experience is significantly different, which we can see in the way people are using their iPhones.

But the stars are aligning to create MVNO Version 2.0, and it will be about more than Apple. One key element that is enabling the "rebirth" of the MVNO is a less monolithic mindset among the major operators. In AT&T's case with Apple, it is willing to be that dreaded "dumb pipe" in return for ARPU that is 50 percent above the industry average, thank you very much. In Verizon's case, the Open Development Initiative allows for the possibility of a third party offering a relatively complete service to subscribers, using Verizon's network and some components of its back-end infrastructure. ODI is in many respects the reincarnation of Verizon Wireless' wholesale business--2008 style.

Another key factor is a burgeoning application development environment. Yes, it is still frustratingly fragmented, but there is tremendous energy--and, now, real capital--behind developing applications for the Apple, Blackberry, Windows and Symbian operating systems.

We are also entering an era where there is greater abundance of network capacity. With consolidation, and the significant amount of additional spectrum that is coming online, operators might be more anxious to have additional major tenants. The definition of "service provider" will evolve as 4G networks are build, and we see a new class of data-centric devices.

We will have to broaden our definition of what constitutes an MVNO. Some will be at the vanguard of business model experimentation and will make money in different ways. For example, I believe there will be some MVNOs that rely on advertiser support of various flavors. For example, an MVNO in the U.K called Blyk, which is focused on the 16-year-old to 24-year-old segment is offering a bucket of free texts and voice minutes in return for users' willingness to view ads.

There also is significant opportunity for the provider who can effectively combine search, LBS and advertising. Targeted advertising enables the type of market segmentation that has been an integral component of the original MVNO concept, and the technologies are there to measure the effectiveness of this approach.

Who might some of these new MVNOs be? Here are some of my predictions:

Google. The much-anticipated Google device will feature a host of Google applications optimized for mobile, third-party apps based on the Android development platform, and over time, a business model more dependent on advertising than a traditional operator model.
International. Someone is going to come along and take a serious whack at exorbitant international roaming rates. We will see numerous approaches, from cellular VoIP to local HLRs to dual SIMs and SIM farms.
Auto-centric services. OnStar is one of the unsung success stories of the MVNO market, with more than 5 million subscribers. Ford has launched a competitive service called Sync that is being well received. Between auto companies' needs for additional sources of revenue, the steady spread of legislation concerning the talking/texting while driving issue, and the availability of applications that would be attractive in a vehicle, we should see a lot of innovation coming out of this sector.
M2M. This is an area that has been growing quietly but steadily. It doesn't have the buzz of the Apples and the Disneys, but operators see this as an untapped area and have been more willing to host third parties creating M2M apps.
Enterprise. There have been few success stories in the enterprise beyond email and mobile broadband. I do believe that over the next couple of years there will be some good application-specific plays, or perhaps an MVNO that develops a common platform offering a suite of enterprise applications (just don't call it middleware). Top candidates are in the sales force automation area and medical sectors. I also believe major operators will be more open to working with third party entities who really know these markets well.
Device-centric MVNOs. We are at the beginning of a new phase of device form factor and user experience evolution. Of course there will be numerous attempts to copy the Apple model. We will also see a host of devices optimized for particular applications, such as email, multimedia, games, and so on, employing a diversity of business models, from traditional operator to MVNO-esque like the iPhone.

The success of MVNO 2.0 is not assured. A challenging economy and a bad quarter or two could cause the operators to retreat like turtles back into their shell. One concern, in the U.S. at least, is where the MVNO "subscribers" will come from, as the major operators have been very effective at reducing churn and getting customers into "sticky" arrangements such as family plans.

So for those who thought they wrote the last chapter on MVNOs, we've already begun the sequel.

Mark Lowenstein is Managing Director of Mobile Ecosystem. Click here to subscribe to his Lens on Wireless newsletter, and to find out more about an exciting event planned for October, the New England Mobile Summit.

2008 Wireless Predictions: Mid-year checkup

Sue Marek — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:03:16 -0400

As we approach the 4th of July holiday weekend, I decided perhaps it was a good time to reflect on the first six months of 2008 and, more specifically, on how FierceWireless is faring with its annual 2008 predictions.

Every year FierceWireless editors compile our list of the top 5 things we think will happen in the coming year. Just to reiterate, these are our predictions and they come from careful analysis of the daily news cycle. We are not privy to any actual deals or inside information. If you want to check back and see the justification for our choices, click here.

So at the mid-year point, here's how we are doing so far:

Prediction No. 1: Helio will go bust.

Mid-year checkup: On June 27, Virgin Mobile USA acquired Helio for $39 million from EarthLink and SK Telecom for 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile stock. Helio shuttered its five stores and closed its kiosks. The deal is set to close this quarter.

Prediction No. 2: Leap and MetroPCS will merge.

Mid-year checkup: This prediction has not occurred and we haven't heard any more buzz about the possibility of these two merging.

Prediction No. 3: Motorola to spin-off its units.

Mid-year checkup: In February Motorola confirmed speculation that it was considering selling off its handset unit or possibly separating it from the rest of the company. However, the company is having difficulty doing this because of the massive amount of debt that Motorola or the new independent company may have to incur since the mobile-phone business is losing so much money. In addition, Motorola can't seem to find someone to run the handset unit.

Prediction No. 4: Sprint, Clearwire will merge their WiMAX networks.

Mid-year checkup: In May, Sprint and Clearwire announced that they would combine their WiMAX businesses and create a new company, called Clearwire, that would include a $3.2 billion investment from Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Trilogy Equity Partners.

Prediction No. 5: Verizon Wireless' Open Access to prove toothless

Mid-year checkup: In late 2007, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said that the carrier would "allow customers to connect any device that meets our minimum technical standards and be activated on our network." In our 2008 prediction, we questioned whether Verizon would be able to meet their customers' and the industry's expectations regarding "opening" its network to any device or application. In June the operator announced that a device has passed the operator's ODI certification process but Verizon has not launched an apps certification effort. Instead it is relying on OEMs to determine whether or not certification is necessary for apps written for their devices.

By my tally, we were correct with predictions No. 1 (Helio) and No. 4 (Sprint and Clearwire) and we were close with prediction No. 3. Of course, this is only a mid-year checkup so we still have six months to see whether the rest of our prognostications prove true. -Sue

Will Virgin Mobile really benefit from Helio?

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:59:11 -0400

Struggling MVNO Helio was able to avoid the humiliation of going out of business by finding a savior in Virgin Mobile, which announced its intention to purchase the company for a mere $39 million from EarthLink and SK Telecom for 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile stock. Moreover, the deal was even sweeter for Virgin because both EarthLink and SK Telecom agreed to invest $25 million in equity capital in Virgin.

But you have to wonder how much of a difference such an acquisition will make on Virgin's competitive position in the long-run.

Virgin launched in the U.S. with a razor-sharp focus on the prepaid youth market, a strategy that CEO Dan Schulman himself in the past has said is a critical factor to the success of the MVNO because it differentiated the company from wireless competitors. Now Schulman says it is necessary to compete with a postpaid product with the help of the Helio acquisition because 20 percent of the firm's disconnects come from customers going to postpaid products.

But this move into the postpaid market, and it's recent launch of an unlimited minutes plan for $80, puts Virgin competing head-to-head with national operators for the higher class of consumers--a segment where the stakes are higher and competitors are even more fierce for these lucrative customers than in the prepaid market. Moreover, what if we see an all-out price war break out among the nation's operators? Can Virgin negotiate even better wholesale terms on Sprint's network? Plus, pushing into the postpaid market requires a better market presence, which translates into higher marketing costs.

These days, Virgin seems to be losing its differentiation by pitting itself against national operators. What happened to the edgy company that launched in 2002 with a half-naked Sir Richard Branson sliding into Times Square promising cool content and no BS pricing to the youth market? The Helio acquisition does bring 3G capability to Virgin, giving it the ability to differentiate itself once again with cool content such as video and music. But it has to tread carefully. Other MVNOs such as Amp'd Mobile that have tried to take on national carriers by differentiating themselves with content services have all gone out of business.

If Virgin doesn't keep its original business plan in mind as it uses Helio's assets, the acquisition will have little impact on Virgin's competitive position. --Lynnette

Virgin buys Helio for $39 million

Sue Marek — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:58:10 -0400

The rumored VirginMobile/Helio deal is now a reality. Virgin Mobile USA will acquire Helio from SK Telecom and Earthlink for an equivalent of 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile stock with a value of $39 million. Virgin Group and SK Telecom each will invest $25 million in equity capital in the company. SK will have a 17 percent investment in Virgin Mobile and two seats on the Virgin Mobile board of directors. The deal is supposed to close in the third quarter.

Virgin says that the Helio deal will be good for the MVNO because it will allow the company to offer differentiated data applications and enter the postpaid market. Helio has approximately 170,000 subscribers with an ARPU of about $80 and a handset inventory of 85,000 devices valued at $17 million. By acquiring Helio, Virgin expects to increase its volume of minutes and therefore drive down the company's cost per minute network usage deal that it has with Sprint. On a conference call this morning with investors, Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA, said that Virgin's agreement with Sprint is no longer tied to Sprint's costs but instead is based on total revenues that Virgin delivers via airtime minutes and megabytes of data. Schulman says he expects a minimum 8 percent discount on network costs in 2009 with further reductions in subsequent years. "This reduces our third-party risks...and allows us more margin," Schulman said.

Virgin also will acquire Helio's postpaid platform, which Schulman estimated would cost the firm between $20 million and $25 million to build if Virgin wanted to try to replicate it from scratch. Schulman says that this platform is strategically beneficial to the firm because 20 percent of the firm's disconnects come from customers going to postpaid products so he believes that offering postpaid service will be a retention tool for Virgin.

Nevertheless, Schulman asserts that Virgin doesn't want to attack postpaid incumbents with a postpaid offering. Instead he believes that the integration with Helio will allow Virgin to reduce its churn and appeal to higher spending customers "We will focus on the quality of our base, rather than growing aggressively," he said. "We have modest postpaid expectations."

Schulman added that Helio will cut its sales and distribution costs before the acquisition closes. That means the company will shut down its five retail stores and kiosks. Yesterday FierceWireless reported that Helio's store in Denver had closed. Here's a photo of the sign on Helio's store.

Virgin will use the investments from SK Telecom and Virgin Group to pay down its debt. Both SK and Virgin also will provide an additional $35 million and $25 million respectively to increase Virgin Mobile's revolving debt facility to support ongoing growth.

For more:
- See this press release

Related stories:
Virgin Mobile USA poised to acquire Helio
Helio troubles continue; Kajeet changes focus

Photos: Helio Stores Close Up Shop

Mike Dolan — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:30:43 -0400

A Helio store in the pricey Cherry Creek shopping district of Denver, CO has a closed sign up today. This appears to be validation that the MVNO is closing its stores as reported by FierceWireless Monday.

As we reported earlier this week, the MVNO space continues to be plagued by problems. Gizmodo reported that embattled MVNO Helio is on life support after merger negotiations between parent firm SK Telecom and Virgin Mobile USA stalled. According to reports, Virgin's interest hinges on either a bankruptcy declaration or massive liquidation. In the meantime, Helio is planning to begin closing its retail locations and kiosks. Even if an official merger fails, reports suggest that remaining Helio subscribers will be migrated to the Virgin Mobile network.

Click here to see our photos of the Helio store closed and the signs on the doors...

Related story: Helio troubles continue

Helio troubles continue; Kajeet changes focus

Sue Marek — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:20:15 -0400

The MVNO space continues to be plagued by problems. Gizmodo is reporting that embattled MVNO Helio is on life support after merger negotiations between parent firm SK Telecom and Virgin Mobile USA stalled. According to reports, Virgin's interest hinges on either a bankruptcy declaration or massive liquidation. In the meantime, Helio is planning to begin closing its retail locations and kiosks. Even if an official merger fails, reports suggest that remaining Helio subscribers will be migrated to the Virgin Mobile network.

In related news, tween-focused pay-as-you-go MVNO kajeet has laid off some of its sales force. According to CEO Dan Neal, the MVNO laid off an unspecified number of sales reps as it shifts its focus to acquiring customers online. In an interview with FierceWireless, Neal said that the company made some "strategic adjustments" because it has learned that its best customers are Web-savvy. "You will see us have more emphasis online. That's where we can engage the best customers for us."

For more on the Helio rumors:
- read this Gizmodo article

Related stories:
2008 Predictions: Helio goes bust.
It's official: Virgin Mobile USA is in talks with Helio
Helio CEO Sky Dayton steps down

No surprise here: Helio and Virgin Mobile talks fall apart

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:35:13 -0400

It's not surprising to hear that merger talks between Virgin Mobile and SK Telecom's Helio have fallen apart and that Helio stores will shut down soon. Back in May, the two MVNOs announced they were in preliminary talks. The two companies, however, have little synergy.

Helio was heavy on content and 3G while targeting higher spending consumers--those willing to pay about $70 per month, while Virgin Mobile has remained focused on the prepaid, credit-challenged youth market, not getting caught up in complex user interfaces and applications. And CEO Dan Schulman has been quite clear that he doesn't want to deviate from this focus.

Moreover, both companies aren't fairing well financially. The last we heard about Helio's financial position was from 2007, when Helio reported it lost $327 million on $171 million of revenue. Meanwhile, Virgin made $4.2 million of profit on $1.3 billion of revenue in 2007, but this year it is struggling with a sagging economy and its stock price. Financial analysts expect the company to lose customers throughout 2008 and face more intense competition in the prepaid arena from large operators. Virgin is in no financial position to buy a money-bleeding MVNO whose business model has no comparison to its own.

What does this all mean? Helio, if it does shut down soon (and I have no doubts that it will), will mark the end of an era. Its demise will be the last of the content-heavy class of MVNOs that included Mobile ESPN, Disney Mobile and Amp'd Mobile. And Virgin will remain the MVNO anomaly that will be a little worse for wear in 2008. --Lynnette

It's official: Virgin Mobile USA is in talks with Helio

Brian Dolan — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:21:25 -0400

After a week of speculation and rumors about a possible tie-up between Virgin Mobile USA and SK Telecom's MVNO Helio, Virgin Mobile has finally come forward and announced that the two are in preliminary talks. Virgin Mobile's brief statement characterizes the talks as "in early stages" and cautions that no transaction may result. The MVNO said it will have no further comment on the talks unless a definitive agreement takes place. Just yesterday, SK Telecom denied reports that it was in talks with Virgin Mobile USA about a possible tie-up.

If Virgin Mobile USA were to acquire Helio, it would mark the end of an era: Now that Mobile ESPN, Disney Mobile and Amp'd Mobile have ceased MVNO operations, Helio is the last big MVNO in operation from the content-heavy class of virtual operators.

For more:
- read Virgin Mobile's statement about Helio talks

uLocate - Top Wireless Company 2008: FierceWireless, Fierce 15

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:06:19 -0400

uLocate

Where it's located: Boston, MA
When it was founded: 2003
Website: www.ulocate.com

Why it's Fierce: While no one in the wireless industry would deny that the mobile location-based services sector is perhaps the most hyped of mobile services today, the value provided by location coupled with pertinent applications is undeniably going to change the way we use our mobile phones. The proud owner of www.where.com. uLocate, looks to be one start-up that will continue to innovate and shape the mobile LBS landscape. uLocate already has carrier dealsÃ‚Â with Boost Mobile, Helio, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, Alltel and MetroPCS as well as partnerships with Autodesk, Navteq, TeleAtlas, MapQuest and iDEN GPS company Trackem. Content providers like Eventful, EveryTrail, Zipcar, Twitter and Yelp have also inked deals with uLocate to mobilize and localize their offerings for the mobile phone. Recent wins for uLocate include a strategic partnership with Navteq as well as the acquisition of predictive web-based technologies company Zync, which provides users with recommendations for events and activities. The strategic deals, key partnerships and recent acquisition notwithstanding, uLocate has a developer program that allows application developers to leverage their GPS platform for the mobile phone. Did we mention they own www.where.com?

What to look for: Watch for uLocate to continue to leverage the BuddyBeacon brand, which it acquired rights to from Helio. We also expect it to ink deals with more carriers and additional application developers and ramp up the Where portfolio thanks to the company's developer contests and programs.

Earthlink lost $111.3M on Helio last year

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Because Earthlink reduced its investment in Helio, which it co-owns with SK Telecom, to zero during the third quarter of last year, the company will no longer record its share of the MVNO's net loss. For all of 2007, EarthLink's share of Helio's net loss amounted to $111.3 million.

In general, the fourth quarter included $32.1 million in losses related to muni WiFi, while the full year included $80.3 million in losses related to the discontinued operations related to the municipal WiFi assets. That compares to the $6.9 million and $20.0 million, respectively, during the fourth quarter and full year 2006.

For more on Earthlink's losses:
- read this press release

ALSO NOTED: KPN unmoved by iPhone; Cricket EZ; and much more...

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> U.S. consumers are getting better are recycling phones. Article

> Japan report: Mobiles don't cause brain cancer. Article

> KPN unmoved by iPhone. Article

> Cricket adds a new phone to its lineup: the Cricket EZ. Release

> CBS Mobile, Loopt team for location-based ads. Article

> Helio gets Buzzd. Article

> Wall Street Journal goes mobile. Article

> a la Mobile scores $6.75 million in Series B. Article

And Finally... Turn your Symbian S60 into a hotspot. Article

Helio drops price of unlimited plan to $99

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:59:56 -0500

MVNO Helio has dropped the price of its unlimited plan from $145-a-month to $99-a-month. The change comes a mere week after Sky Dayton stepped down as CEO of the MVNO to let parent company SK Telecom's vet Wonhee Sull take over. Helio's unlimited offer includes voice minutes, texts and on-device data usage. Helio has offered the $99 unlimited plan in the past, and this is another limited time offer. Interestingly, the fine print notes that the $99 monthly fee only includes "membership fees" and does not apply to any other charges.

For more on Helio's $99 unlimited plan:
- check out the Helio site here

Helio CEO Sky Dayton steps down

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Mobile virtual network operator Helio announced that founding CEO Sky Dayton has resigned his post, with president and COO Wonhee Sull named as his replacement. Dayton was appointed non-executive Chairman of Helio's Board of Directors--the company said he will remain actively involved in shaping its strategy and initiatives. "Helio has reached a point in its development where I feel the timing is right for this change," Dayton said in a statement.

Dayton's move will no doubt further speculation that EarthLink (the ISP he founded in 1994) is planning to sell its stake in Helio, which it launched in association with Korean operator SK Telecom. Last fall EarthLink president and CEO Rolla Huff reiterated the company's commitment to Helio: "I think that the investment that we've made there absolutely has value," Huff insisted at the time. "We have no plans to go out and sell it. It's a growing business. It's a business that we support."

In announcing Dayton's resignation, Helio also reported usage statistics for its nearly 200,000 subscribers, claiming an ARPU of $85 and a 2007 revenue run rate of over $240 million based on December actuals. Helio also reported:

An average of over 550 text messages per member per month
95 percent of subscribers access the web via mobile device
Each month, 60 percent of subscribers access MySpace via Helio and average nearly 500 page views
In December, subscribers uploaded photos from their device to the web at a rate of five times the industry average
57 percent of Ocean users downloaded Helio's exclusive YouTube application within two weeks of its launch -Jason

For more on Dayton's resignation:
-read this release

Related articles:
SK Telecom pumps another $270M into Helio
Helio squashes rumors of massive layoffs
Helio to succeed where Mobile ESPN failed?
Helio adds online content, feels the Heat
Helio reveals plans, partners for mobile gamingÃ‚Â Ã‚Â