News

Virgin Mobile: it's T-Mobile in the UK, but Orange in France

by Tim Richardson | posted on 05 April 2006

Virgin Mobile is taking its youthful brand of mobile telephony to France. But as with all things in the MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) world, it's not that simple, because it isn't using German-based T-Mobile for its carrier network, as it does in the UK.

The service is being provided in tandem with The Carphone Warehouse, piggy backing on Orange's mobile network while using the Virgin brand. Details of the tie-up were revealed last autumn.

Carphone and Virgin will each own and fund 48.5 per cent of the joint venture, with management owning and funding the remaining 3 per cent.

Execs behind the mobile service are targeting one million customers over the next three years.

Separately, easyMobile, the no frills mobile outfit from easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has cut the cost of some of its calls in the UK. Pay As You Go punters calling from the easyMobile network to another user on the easyMobile network will pay 3p a minute for voice calls and 1p per text message.

"This is by far the best value of any pay-as-you-go service in the UK," the firm said in a statement.

Tags: Virgin Mobile, MVNO, T-Mobile