EarthLink Mobile Venture Renamed 'Helio'

The MVNO venture between EarthLink and Korean giant SK Telecom has been renamed Helio and will be aimed at the young, high-tech demographic. In ZDNet, Iain Gillott at iGillott Research commented on the potential of MVNOs. He said, "I think we will have a few that survive, and others will go by the wayside. We already have a lot of people going after that high-income, high-tech, comfortable-with-gadgets group."

Julie Ask at JupiterResearch countered, "They have great resources, and they are going after a target segment that I think will be profitable for them."

Yahoo! News picks up a Reuters article on the new MVNO. Forrester analyst Charles Golvin said, "I have a reasonable level of confidence they have the right level of precision in their targeting. Its more of a problem for Verizon, Cingular and Sprint because their focus is more broad."

On the subject of Helio's distinct brand from its parents, Golvin stated, "Brands by themselves, and especially new brands, you can't really judge it on their own. It's how it's presented." Golvin did note that "many of the 18 to 32 year-old consumers Helio is going after may not be conversant in Greek myths."