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New York Mobile, a new mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), formally launched yesterday, following months of preparation dating back to late 2023. The provider announced it has entered a multi-year agreement with T-Mobile to offer wireless service on their network.
How is New York Mobile Different?
New York Mobile hopes to differentiate itself in a crowded market by offering customers the ability to chose their own personalized phone numbers. They offer exclusive, never before used numbers in New York and nationwide including memorable "Double-Doubles," such as "212-212-CALL" and "917-917-MIKE."
“Our subscribers can now secure many highly sought-after numbers while enjoying the speed and reliability of thenation’s fastest 5G network,” said Gio Perone, a principal and co-founder of New York Mobile. “This initiative allows individual and enterprise customers to connect with their identity, location, and brand like never before.”
“New York Mobile is making an impactful entrance into the space,” said Dan Thygesen, SVP T-Mobile Product, Partnerships & Growth and head of Wholesale & Innovation. “We’re excited and committed to supporting their innovative approach, which emphasizes personalization and flexibility in a market looking for fresh takes on wireless.”
New York Mobile is being advised by Jon Horovitz who founded Atrium Unlimited Consulting, the Boon of Wireless podcast, and who is a contributor at BestMVNO.
Horovitz has often written that MVNOs must differentiate themselves by finding a niche to serve in the market. He commented: "The MVNO space is all about companies looking to differentiate themselves in underserved segments of the market and New York Mobile is doing that in a big way. The ability for customization with access to numbers like Double-Doubles, is a game-changer. Businesses and individuals having the ability to select numbers that are not only easy to remember, but also connect them to industries, areas, and key words is something that is as unique and exciting in the space as I can remember."
Selecting your own personalized number with New York Mobile comes at a price.
A quick look at their vanity number selection and it appears the most premium numbers will cost you up to $30,000 to obtain payable in up to 24 monthly installments. You also have the option to license the numbers at up to $500/month. There are much cheaper options available starting at about $5/month to license or $200 to own. Bringing your own number to the network is an option too.
Available Phone Plans
New York Mobile offers two categories of plans; bundled and create your own plans.
Bundled Plans
All bundled plans include:
- Unlimited talk and text with calling to over 85 countries
- Device protection for both new and BYOD phones
- Nationwide roaming
- High-speed data top-ups
Pricing for the bundled plans is as follows:
| 3GB | 10GB | Unlimited (30GB) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $25 | $45 | $60 |
| Hotspot | No | Add-On | 10GB |
New York Mobile advertises their prices as including an optional an auto pay discount on the primary line or multi-line discount pricing on additional lines. The auto pay/multi-line discount is $5/month. They support up to 100 lines of service per account.
Create Your Own Plans
| 1GB | 5GB | Unlimited (50GB) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $13 | $33 | $93 |
| Hotspot | Top-Up | Top-Up | 20GB |
The create your own plan options have two add-ons you can add to each. One is $8/month and give you unlimited calling to over 85 countries. The other is $10/month for device protection.
All plans include unlimited talk and text with a hotspot top-up available with 180 day rollover.
Editor's Take
From the looks of it, their website still seems under development in places. It's missing information like what the hotspot top-up costs are. It also has an FAQs page with no actual FAQs on it.
New York Mobile's choose choose your own personalized phone number option is an interesting new idea for the MVNO and wireless space. Unfortunately, claiming some premium vanity numbers will be a bit too expensive for every day consumers and may appeal more to businesses. The plans themselves are priced higher than average MVNO plan, but the inclusion of nationwide roaming provides added value that most MVNOs don't offer.