Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile is a wireless communications brand used by eight independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Mobile branded wireless communications services are currently available in Australia, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Chile, France, Saudi Arabia, Poland, South Africa, México, and the United States. Virgin Mobile branded services were formerly offered in Singapore, India and Qatar.

Each Virgin Mobile branded entity acts independently from the others, thus the handsets, service plans and network radio interfaces vary from country to country. In a given country, the Virgin Mobile wireless entity is typically a partnership between Richard Branson's Virgin Group and an existing mobile network operator or mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).

Current brand license holders

Virgin Mobile Australia

Virgin Mobile Australia (VMA) is a telecommunications company based in Sydney, Australia. They sell through over 73 retail outlets, including flagship stores in Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as via telesales and online.

Virgin Mobile USA

Virgin Mobile USA is a prepaid wireless voice, messaging, and mobile broadband service provider in the contiguous United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico under the Virgin Mobile, sub brands payLo and Assurance Wireless. Virgin Mobile USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sprint Corporation.

Founded in 2001 as a joint venture between Virgin Group, SingTel and original Sprint Corporation, Virgin Mobile USA commenced operations in June, 2002 as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) providing services via the Sprint 1900 MHz CDMA network. In 2008, Virgin Mobile USA acquired post-paid services provider Helio, Inc. then in 2009, Sprint Nextel bought out joint venture partner Virgin Group, becoming the sole owner of Virgin Mobile USA.

On May 31, 2012, Virgin Mobile USA began offering products and services compatible with the Sprint's 2500 MHz 4G WiMAX network, and on February 25, 2013, Virgin Mobile USA began offering its first 4G LTE device, the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE made available for $299.99 without contract.

Virgin Mobile Canada

Virgin Mobile Canada is a provider of postpaid and prepaid wireless voice, text and data communications services throughout Canada. Launched on March 1, 2005 as a joint venture between Virgin Group and BCE, BCE took sole ownership on July 1, 2009 when it closed a deal to purchase the stake it did not already own. Virgin Mobile calls its customers 'Members' and offers a Member Benefits program, which provides its customers with special offers, discounts, and VIP experiences.

History

Pre-launch (2003-2004)

The VirginMobile.ca domain name was registered by Virgin Enterprises Limited on July 4, 2003 with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. When accessed, it displayed a domain parking page until June 14, 2004, when it was replaced with an announcement. There were also links to information about the company, related news articles, and career opportunities. Virgin Mobile claimed: "we work like maniacs to bring you Canada’s most awesome mobile phone company."

Launch (2005-2007)