When Do We Stop calling Tracfone, Metro, Boost, etc. MVNOs and Start Referring to them as Brands?

When one talks about the MVNO business, today’s landscape looks a whole lot different than it did just a few years ago. Robust MVNOs like Tracfone, Boost Mobile, Cricket, etc. dominated new subscribers and their growth trajectories were very impressive. So impressive that the major carriers took notice and decided to acquire them. The MNOs let them operate, for a short period, as they currently did; fast, nimble, and most of the time exciting. Even when Sprint owned Boost Mobile, the entrepreneurial spirit existed, and Boost was pretty much left alone to operate as normal.

But something happened. The jury is still out on whether the carriers acquired the MVNOs that for the most part, operated on their network (or multiple networks in the case of Tracfone and a few others) to capitalize on this growth or to stifle competition, as a few vocal friends of our have claimed.

Let’s review:

• Metro PCS was acquired by T-Mobile in April 2013 and is now Metro by T-Mobile
• Cricket (Leap Wireless) was acquired by AT&T in March 2014
• Boost Mobile became part of DISH in July 2020 as part of the FCC decree when T-Mobile acquired Sprint
• In November 2021, Verizon completed its purchase of America Movil’s Tracfone brands
• T-Mobile announced in May 2024 that it had closed on its purchase of Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile

And The Winner Is……

We are not really sure who the winners are in these transactions. It should be the subscribers due to increased competition, but it doesn’t always happen that way.

Peter Adderton, Founder of Boost Mobile and MobileX told me that there isn’t really an MVNO market anymore since “it’s been bought up by the carriers.”

“After Verizon bought Tracfone and T-Mobile acquired Mint Mobile and Ultra, the other MVNOs are quite small and really can’t compete (with the exception of Consumer Cellular who doesn’t target the “value” market). If you remember why MVNOs were created, it was to serve the underserved so that they could get connected. Well, that market has dried up and we need new players.”

Peter makes a good point and it was for those reasons (and a few more) that he decided to launch MobileX with the hope of bringing value and a lower cost to MVNO customers.

Adam Wolf, President of the National Wireless Independent Dealers Association,( NWIDA – an advocacy group that fights hard for independent dealers) sees it another way:

“I feel these are more “brands” today and our concern is what happens to the indirect distribution that was in place when they WERE MVNOs. These dealers will now fall under more scrutiny as “economies of scale” as the carriers call it. Will they need all the dealers that were in place when they were separate companies, or will the carriers consolidate brands into one store? It’s a big concern for us and obviously the dealers”

Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research has not seen any discernible difference in either Mint Mobile or Ultra’s advertising since their acquisition by T-Mobile, leading me to surmise that they don’t want to “rock the boat” by saying to the consumers that they are now part of T-Mobile.

With the heavy Holiday Advertising right around the corner, it will be interesting to see if we start seeing ads stating, “Mint Mobile, Powered by T-Mobile” or “now part of the T-Mobile family,” for example.

Looking to the Future

Finally, Jeff Moore added, “the Big Three, plus DISH, now have strong portfolios of prepaid “brands” with Cricket, Metro, Boost, Ultra, Mint, Straight Talk, Simple and everything else in Version’s Value channel, Including the recently re-branded Total Wireless.

With new entrants on the horizon, there is hope that the true MVNO landscape can recover. But with the household brands mentioned above, now backed by billions of advertising and marketing budgets, it is my belief that getting scale like a Consumer Cellular or what were stand-alone MVNOs will be an uphill battle. Still, thank you to the wireless entrepreneurs who are tying to keep the independent spirit alive!

Some Housekeeping

I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends and making new contacts at The All Wireless & Prepaid Show on August 27-28th at Caesar’s in Las Vegas. Here is the link to everything you need to know. All Wireless & Prepaid Expo 2024 (allwirelessexpo.com)

We’ll see you there!

The Boon of Wireless Podcast, which I host, had the opportunity to speak with David Kim (or DK), Verizon’s new Chief Revenue Officer for their Value Channel. The episode drops August 8th and David is very candid about his channel’s growth and plans for the future. DK will also be at the AWPE “in a big way.”

Please view all of The Boon of Wireless Podcasts on YouTube, Spotify, Google, Apple, etc. or visit theboonofwireless.com

Enjoy the rest of your Summer and

Good Selling!

Jon