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Apple Denies Rumors of Plans to Launch MVNO Carrier Services

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Apple this morning directly responded to a recent rumor that the company would begin planning to launch its own MVNO service in both the United States and Europe, stating that it has "not discussed and is not planning" to become its own cellular carrier in the future.

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The MVNO service would allow Apple to become its own carrier, leasing space from existing network carriers and building SIM cards that switch from network-to-network as need be. Rumors about such a service have been around for a while now, and today marks the first time that Apple has directly denied the existence of any such feature being built by the company.

Apple rarely responds directly to rumors, but the company apparently feels the MVNO claims are important enough and far enough off base that they warrant an official response to prevent unwarranted expectations regarding the company's future plans.

Update 8:31 AM: Reuters shares the exact statement from an Apple spokeswoman: "We have not discussed nor do we have any plans to launch an MVNO."

Top Rated Comments

smithrh Avatar
smithrh
139 months ago
Rumors concerning consumers are one thing, rumors considering your partners in an on-going multi-billion dollar business enterprise are something else entirely.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sputnikv Avatar
sputnikv
139 months ago
Since when does Apple respond to rumors?
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Corrode Avatar
Corrode
139 months ago
Since when does Apple respond to rumors?
When the rumor could hurt their existing relationships with carriers. Nip this one in the bud early so they don't have to do damage control later.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
AngerDanger
139 months ago
I'll bet the people scrambling to work on Samsung's "S Network" just let out a collective groan.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rkieru Avatar
rkieru
139 months ago
Honestly I cannot imagine why Apple would want to become its own cellular network. There is no tangible benefit to their trying to compete against established service provides like Verizon or AT&T, especially in a system where they leased tower access from those same companies.

Leasing the towers wouldn't afford them any more granular control of the iPhone ecosystem than they have now. It would not provide greater call or cellular data stability (likely the opposite). There is just no net benefit... only costs associated with leasing towers, processing customer billing, transitioning customers off existing company accounts over to Apple.

For what? Creating an even further walled-garden for the iPhone? I don't see it happening any time soon.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoEw Avatar
JoEw
139 months ago
Responded because: Analysts were already expecting 10-20 million subscribers on Apple Cellular by the end of Q3.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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