There appears to be more evidence that RadioShack will indeed launch a prepaid MVNO powered by Leap Wireless' (NASDAQ:LEAP) Cricket Communications. The MVNO, which was first rumored last week, is supposed to launch Sept. 5 and will be called No Contract Wireless.
According to documents leaked to Engadget, RadioShack will differentiate its service by offering customers an 8 GB SD memory card with all Muve Music phones it sells. No other pricing information was available. Neither Cricket Communications nor RadioShack responded to requests for comment.
Cricket launched Muve Music in early 2011. The all-you-can-eat music service is available on Android smartphones and is part of Cricket's $55 flat-rate monthly service package.
For Cricket, the MVNO might bring in more customers to the struggling prepaid provider. Cricket parent Leap Wireless said earlier this month it would not make its $75 million minimum wholesale purchase commitment of network access from Sprint. Leap reported a net loss of 289,000 customers and a net loss of $41.6 million that was more than analysts expected. The company also plans to narrow its national retail expansion to just 8,000 stores--fewer than its previous expectations.
For RadioShack, the venture is risky because the retailer already sells phones and services from Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S).
For more:
- see this Engadget article
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