Virgin Mobile Joins In On The Mobile Broadband Market
Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), Virgin Mobile has not disclosed a whole lot, but it is expected that they will be launching mobile broadband dongles in the UK. This was revealed in their last financial reporting, The actual launching is supposed to occur in the last quarter of 2008, subsequent to an agreement between them and T-Mobile UK. As Virgin Mobile joins the mobile broadband internet market, the competition is likely to get more intense, and will compel operators to work even harder. There will be more pressure on operators to improve on data allowance and network speed, so as to keep pace with competitors. It is anticipated that Virgin Mobile will follow the example of other operators like Vodafone, O2, Orange and 3, in offering bundles with a laptop. The main objective of mobile operators is to increase the number of subscribers on who are on contract. Virgin Mobile already boasts of over 90 percent of prepaid subscribers. They plan to use this new service to push hard for prepaid subscriptions to be converted to contracts. Virgin Media, the parent company of Virgin Mobile already offers TV, broadband, and fixed telephone. This gives MVNO an added advantage, and they are also using the quadruple service to increase contract sales. In general, Mobile wholesale agreements are limited to voice services. It has become evident that, Virgin Mobile is the first MVNO that will be offering mobile broadband in the UK.