Former Motricity CEO Ryan Wuerch is getting back in the wireless game with the upcoming launch of Solavei, a mobile virtual network operator with an unusual business model that will use its customers to tout its $49 per month unlimited voice, text and data plan to their friends and earn extra cash in the process.
The MVNO will operate on T-Mobile USA's GSM network. Customers will pay a $49 startup fee and then $49 per month for service. They can use their existing unlocked GSM smartphones or purchase an unsubsidized device from Solavei, which will range in price from $160 to $500. The first device is the HTC One, but the company will also sell a model from ZTE.
The services are presently in beta mode with approximately two,000 customers. Yet another 12,000 folks have signed up to join when Solavei officially debuts at the finish of September.
According to Solavei's Head of Products Jim Ryan, another former Motricity executive and the former vice president of data at AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), the basic value proposition for the company is that consumers are hooked on data, yet data keeps getting more expensive. "We saw this as an opportunity. How can we do this more efficiently than a mobile service provider?" The conclusion was to eliminate some of the costs by not offering phone subsidies, reducing customer care costs by delivering the experience online, and getting rid of marketing and advertising costs by having the customers sell the service to their friends. "We will create a social commerce network that appreciates people's participation," Ryan said.
That participation from clients is the reason why Solavei not the same as other low-cost MVNOs. Since the company relies on customers to join up other clients, Ryan said Solavei will pay each client $20 for each and every "trio" or three customers that they enroll. Customers get paid if the people they register then register other people.
Ryan said that the company plans to concentrate on the 70 million or so pay as you go subscribers at present within the U.S., but he also recognizes opportunity in other areas, including individuals who are coming off postpaid contracts. Furthermore, he is expecting some folks will even split their contract with their current operator when they realize that they are able to potentially earn back the money they lose from splitting their contract by mentioning Solavei to their pals.
Solavei is well funded, having just closed on its second round of funding; the company is valued at more than $120 million. It also comes with a high-profile board of advisors including David Limp, vice president of Amazon, John Miller, chief digital officer at News Corp., and Sue Nokes, the former COO of T-Mobile USA.
The MVNO will operate on T-Mobile USA's GSM network. Customers will pay a $49 startup fee and then $49 per month for service. They can use their existing unlocked GSM smartphones or purchase an unsubsidized device from Solavei, which will range in price from $160 to $500. The first device is the HTC One, but the company will also sell a model from ZTE.
The services are presently in beta mode with approximately two,000 customers. Yet another 12,000 folks have signed up to join when Solavei officially debuts at the finish of September.
According to Solavei's Head of Products Jim Ryan, another former Motricity executive and the former vice president of data at AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), the basic value proposition for the company is that consumers are hooked on data, yet data keeps getting more expensive. "We saw this as an opportunity. How can we do this more efficiently than a mobile service provider?" The conclusion was to eliminate some of the costs by not offering phone subsidies, reducing customer care costs by delivering the experience online, and getting rid of marketing and advertising costs by having the customers sell the service to their friends. "We will create a social commerce network that appreciates people's participation," Ryan said.
That participation from clients is the reason why Solavei not the same as other low-cost MVNOs. Since the company relies on customers to join up other clients, Ryan said Solavei will pay each client $20 for each and every "trio" or three customers that they enroll. Customers get paid if the people they register then register other people.
Ryan said that the company plans to concentrate on the 70 million or so pay as you go subscribers at present within the U.S., but he also recognizes opportunity in other areas, including individuals who are coming off postpaid contracts. Furthermore, he is expecting some folks will even split their contract with their current operator when they realize that they are able to potentially earn back the money they lose from splitting their contract by mentioning Solavei to their pals.
Solavei is well funded, having just closed on its second round of funding; the company is valued at more than $120 million. It also comes with a high-profile board of advisors including David Limp, vice president of Amazon, John Miller, chief digital officer at News Corp., and Sue Nokes, the former COO of T-Mobile USA.
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