Phantom Phones

Forbes writes that "content-heavy, lifestyle-focused companies are betting big by acting as mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, to jump into the wireless industry without investing in spectrum licenses, networks or towers." The article cites Yankee Group estimates that "while U.S. MVNO revenue was about $4 billion last year, the market will hit $10.7 billion by 2010 with more than 29 million subscribers."

The article looks at some of the MVNOs and notes "carriers can also use MVNOs to boost revenue without changing their flagship brand's strategy." Yankee Group analyst Marina Amoroso wrote that through partners like Amp'd Mobile, a music-focused virtual operator, "Verizon can adopt a multibranding strategy that targets data-heavy users and the youth market, thereby capturing subscribers who may have otherwise rejected the Verizon brand as too boring or bland."