“Sources close to Apple say the company is privately trialling an MVNO service in the US but is also in talks with telecoms companies in Europe about bringing the service there too”, says the report.
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Apple is in talks to launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service in the US and Europe, Business Insider has learned. Instead of paying your current carrier for service each month, you would pay Apple. However BI reports that Apple won’t launch the service any time soon and consumer might not see it until five or more years down the line. In 2006 it was reported that Apple filled a patent for an MVNO service. But is Apple trying to be its own carrier?
Sticking with Apple, a second Business Insider report claims that Apple is testing a new feature that would allow Siri to transcribe your voicemails and then use iCloud to send you the text of the message. This is actually a big clue revealing Apple’s intentions to start an MVNO.
With Apple and Google already competing in smartphone market, it’s endlessly intriguing to imagine a scenario where the two tech giants begin competing as rival carriers.
It makes sense that Apple wants to take control of voicemail before it launches an MVNO. In fact, the company first filed a patent for an MVNO before the original iPhone arrived in 2007.
Apple already signalled its intent to become the gateway to carriers when it launched the Apple SIM in 2014. The carriers will auction off spectrum for Apple to use.
The Apple SIM is available for the Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.
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But not every MVNO is successful. Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile are examples of MVNOs in the US, as they both run on Sprint’s network but offer their own branded plans and devices.
