Helio, the MVNO joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, has asked Samsung for handsets. The first two handsets for Helio's launch, which is expected in a few months, were unveiled as the Pantech Hero and the Vk 650c and will include WiFi radios. Helio has indicated that it will take advantage of WiFi. In addition, with the forward-looking thinking of SK Telecom and the vast amounts of money the partners have thrown at Helio, we will probably see some pretty creative services come from the MVNO. Helio can actually demand what features it wants in handsets because SK Telecom has so much buying power. It also has the expertise to allow Helio to target more than one customer segment, including the largely untapped Korean-American consumer segment, which is very familiar with SK Telecom and EarthLink's own subscribers.
For more about Helio's MVNO plans:
- read this article from Telecoms Korea