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Disney Mobile may be looking to quit the MVNO-game, surprise surprise

Categories: Announcements,
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 12:16 PM

Disney Mobile considering exiting MVNO wireless marketThe MVNO business is tough, there’s no doubt about that. These days, it seems that most MVNO startups out there are either folding up or barely staying afloat, and it seems Disney’s own wireless venture, Disney Mobile, is in that same boat.

According to Silicon Alley Insider, Disney CFO Thomas Staggs hinted, at a recent Merrill Lynch Media and Entertainment Conference, that Disney was contemplating its stance in the MVNO market. Apparently, Disney Mobile is having “some challenges” in getting their name out into the mobile-ether. But, in the end, Staggs concluded that “It’s still too early to determine any losses for the MVNO.”

Could Disney Mobile take the same route as Amp’d Mobile and exit stage-left? Or will they follow in Helio’s footsteps and secure hundreds of millions of dollars in extra funding from their parent company? We think it might be a good idea to get out while their loses are still at a minimum, but then again, we aren’t exactly within Disney Mobile’s target demographic.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, MVNOs are largely a passing fad (don’t worry Virgin Mobile, you’re probably still good to go). And it seems that Disney’s CFO has started to realize that very fact – afterall, ESPN Mobile is gone, Amp’d went belly-up, and Helio just can’t stay away from the funding-cookie-jar.

[Via: MocoNews]

About The Author

Will Park

Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...