Apple has crushed a rumour from yesterday that said it planned to launch its own mobile virtual network operator (MNVO) in the United States and Europe, which would see it rent capacity from existing incumbents, allowing it to sell services directly to customers.
In a statement sent to numerous media outlets Tuesday morning, including Reuters, an Apple spokesperson said “We have not discussed nor do we have any plans to launch an MVNO.”
In the U.S. and select markets in Europe, the Apple SIM allows iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 users to easily switch networks without the need for a dedicated SIM. A similar solution is rumoured to make its way into the iPhone. Recently, it was also reported Apple is working on iCloud Voicemail, a way for the company to transcribe your voicemail using Siri.
Of course, these MNVO rumours never included Canada, as our incumbents don’t exactly offer the best wholesale rates to wireless startups.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Given Jobs’ usual desire to control absolutely everything to do with his products and charge a premium in the process, I was surprised that an Apple Network wasn’t the next thing he did after creating the iPhone – buying out one of the bigger players in the US, Canada and elsewhere, if not creating his own. I’m still surprised that it hasn’t happened yet.
It’s not possible for Apple to buy a cell carriers for competition reasons. Neither Canada or US would let them. No matter how many times Apple says they’ll allow non-iPhones… MNVO is theoretically possible, but I think to create the experience Apple would want to create, it would end up being a loss leader. Not Apple’s style.
Google’s Project Fi lives on. They only allow the Nexus 6 to be used on the carrier, for now anyways.
What’s the difference, under competitive reasoning being the setback?