Apple keeps up the pace with progress, although they are crossing a quite difficult period right now that profits are not way up high into the sky and some of their products failed to satisfy the high pretenses of critics. Sources close to the tech giant say the company is presently in trials with an MVNO service in the US. They plan to expand the service in Europe as well.
MVNO is defined as a virtual carrier network which sees tech companies lease space from established carriers and sells it to customers directly. With this new business plan, Apple aims to tax you directly for data, calls and texts, instead of leaving the money collection on your carrier’s shoulders. But to get the money, they promise to offer you everything you used to get from your carrier. The Apple SIM presently switches between carriers, to get the best service possible.
Although rumor has it that Apple has already embarked on a mission to turn the initiative into reality, an Apple-branded MVNO won’t launch as soon as it is expected. The tech giant has commented for Reuters that it has no plans to launch an MVNO for now. According to their statements, the implementation could take up the next five years until a realistic launch prediction.
Sources say that Apple has been in negotiations with telecom companies for years, debating the further progress of their MVNO plans. It seems to be an “open secret” among carriers that a virtual Apple network is on the way.
On the other hand, the future move could be the next natural step in Apple’s route to everlasting success. They are presently testing a service known as iCloud Voicemail which will automatically transcribe voicemail messages using Siri.
So, if they do that, which could be the opening path to a future MVNO, the signs are clear. For the time being, voicemails are stored with one’s carrier. Once Apple takes money from customers for data and calls, customers will not have direct relationships with carriers. Instead, Apple will do all the work itself. If Apple launches iCloud voicemail, carriers will be out of the question and a future Apple MVNO could be launched. So it’s not just that the rumor has it, all signs point at the fact that Apple is in talks to launch a mobile virtual network operator.
Image Source: ibtimes.com.au