up-down
15 years ago
$49.99 all-you-can eat
April 9, 2009, 12:59 pm
Virgin Mobile Sets $49.99 Voice Plan; Sprint Deal Revised
Virgin Movile (VM) disclosed in an SEC filing that it signed a revised agreement with Sprint Nextel (S) that reduces the rate Virgin pays Sprint for domestic network usage above a specified base amount. The new deal went into effect April 1. Virgin also said that starting January 1, it will pay a fixed rate to Sprint for text messages, regardless of volume, but will no loner get a discount based on aggregate usage. Figuring the financial imapct of the revised deal is pretty much impossible; the actual rates have been redacted from the copy of the agreement that was attached to the filing. But certainly, lower rates would seem like good thing.
Meanwhile, Virgin announced a new $49.99 all-you-can eat voice plan that includes a “pink slip protection” proivision which waives up to three months of service fees in the event a subscriber becomes unemployed. The $49.99 plan does not include any data services, unlike, say, the similarly priced plan from Sprint’s own Boost Mobile unit.
Virgin today is up 15 cents, or 9.8%, to $1.68.
Aufan 1983
17 years ago
This dropped because they reduced their outlook on revenue and the number of people they were able to sign up as new customers.
This company isn't in bad shape. Check this out
Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. (NYSE: VM), a leading national provider of wireless communications services and plans without annual contracts, reported on Wednesday March 12, 2008 its financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2007. "2007 was a year of substantial growth for Virgin Mobile USA," said Dan Schulman, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile USA. "We grew our customer base to nearly 5.1 million, net service revenues 20% to over $1.2 billion, and Adjusted EBITDA over 100% to $99.2 million
Aufan 1983
17 years ago
Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. (NYSE: VM), a leading national provider of wireless communications services and plans without annual contracts, recently reported its financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2007. "2007 was a year of substantial growth for Virgin Mobile USA," said Dan Schulman, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile USA. "We grew our customer base to nearly 5.1 million, net service revenues 20% to over $1.2 billion, and Adjusted EBITDA over 100% to $99.2 million.
expat7
17 years ago
We Are Smarter Than Me: How the Wisdom of Crowds Can Help Businesses Succeed
Published: December 06, 2007
Virgin Mobile USA
The cell phone company uses 2,000 carefully selected online customers -- "Insiders," as Virgin calls them -- to keep it abreast of trends and promising opportunities. Virgin describes the group as "a team of elite, young, and active customers," and it rewards them with free calling minutes and phone upgrades.
A joint venture of Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel, the company goes to its Insider community -- think: very hip focus group -- for help on everything from designing phones to coming up with names for service plans. As one officer of the company put it, "Ultimately, what we want to do is put young consumers backstage."
But this is not high school, and being accepted as part of the in-crowd is not the only way to be heard and earn rewards at Virgin Mobile USA. The company, whose pay-as-you-go, no-contract service has attracted 4.6 million phone users, offers all of its mostly young Chatty Cathys and Texter Thomases the chance to earn free phone minutes simply by paying attention and giving feedback on a corporate sponsor's advertisement. Any Virgin Mobile customer who watches 30-second commercials on his or her computer screen, reads text messages on a cell phone, or fills out brand survey questionnaires can earn up to 75 minutes a month of free airtime. Called Sugar Mama, the program gives a notoriously voluble group the chance to stay one step ahead of a dead cell phone by voicing their opinions.
But more to the point, Sugar Mama enables sponsoring partners to tap into the thoughts and opinions of a coveted marketing segment, and they're happy to pay for the privilege. As one corporate media director pointed out, knowing that the kids don't get paid unless they watch an ad and answer questions helps assure advertisers that they are getting honest feedback.
Catering to the crowd has also delivered an unexpected benefit to Virgin Mobile: buzz marketing. The kids are talking about the company, even those who use another network. When the company kicked off a clever text-messaging marketing program called Adopt-A-Mime that featured silent mimics in whiteface, the word spread fast, both in and out of the Virgin Mobile network. The buzz caused a notable number of non-Virgin customers to inquire about adopting a mime.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1855
expat7
17 years ago
Virgin Mobile Gets Wild
In the market for a new cell phone and don’t want to be tied to a long term contract? Consider the Wild Card from Virgin Mobile. It features a dual-screen, QWERTY keypad handset, is Bluetooth enabled, and comes with Yahoo! and AOL Instant Messaging and email already loaded.
Other features include Virgin Mobile USA’s streaming music application, Headliner, a 1.3 Megapixel Camera, “real-music” ringtones and preloaded demo games like Tetris, Need for Speed, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Block Breaker Deluxe.
With Virgin Mobile wireless service you have the flexibility to choose whether to pay by the month or by the minute, and can select the best text and talk options to fit your budget – so you don’t have to worry about overage charges. Sound good?
Wild Card is now available online at www.virginmobileusa.com and at over 35,000 retail locations nationwide such as Best Buy, Target and Walmart for only $99.99.
http://www.beststuff.com/categories/audiovideo/cell-phones/virgin-mobile-gets-wild.html
Trade like a pro: Leverage real-time discussions and market-moving ideas to outperform.
MWM
17 years ago
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