AH Tech Talk: Apple Working On An MVNO?

There has been a plethora of MVNOs over the years as the cellphone has become a necessity in people’s lives. Heck, if you go back to 2006, even Disney launched its own MVNO at one point. Needless to say, it seems as though everybody is doing it, even one of the biggest players in technology may be getting ready to dive in: Apple. The latest reports from sources close to Apple are stating that Apple has been secretly working on their very own MVNO. If you don’t know what an MVNO is, it’s a virtual carrier network that uses other established carriers networks to deliver cellular service to customers. It sounds a little unlike Apple, simply because the company is well known for having to be in control of every aspect of their products. Although, at the same time it would make sense for Apple to launch their MVNO and have it take advantage of the companies Apple SIM.

If this Apple MVNO were to launch, it will supposedly work just as any other regular MVNO would work. If you use the service you will be getting a monthly bill from Apple as opposed from one of the carriers. This monthly bill will include your data, calls, and of course, texting. The big question here is which carriers Apple will be working with to offer service. Google recently launched Project Fi, their very own MVNO which rides on both Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks as well as WiFi hotspots around the nation. Apple may have the clout and money to get all four of the major carriers in the U.S. on their side.

Which carriers will be a part of Apple’s MVNO is certainly a big question, but there are a couple other big questions surrounding the service as well. For instance, when will it be launching? The sources close to Apple have said that Apple has been working on this MVNO for years and even testing it out secretly for a while as well. At the same time, the sources say that there is no guarantee that Apple will ever launch the MVNO to the public, it may just die in the testing phase that it is currently in. If it does ever come to market though, it will apparently not be anytime soon. The Apple MVNO is said to launch in the U.S. and Europe if it actually ever does come to fruition. The mobile carriers already know about this giant looming in the distance according to the sources, saying that Apple’s upcoming MVNO is an “open secret” among the carriers. Now, only time can tell what Apple’s next move is.