The Prepaid Press - April 15, 2008 - (Page 13)

PREPAID WIRELESS April 15 · 2008 - 13 Virgin Mobile Reports Earnings of 6 Cents 2007 Earnings on “Substantial Growth” WARREN, NJ (March 12, 2008) Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. (NYSE: VM) reported its financial and operational results for the year that ended December 31, 2007. The key fact was earnings of six cents a share, based on a net service revenue increase of $1.2 Billion, up 20% from 2006. EBITDA was $9.3 million, compared to a loss of $32.8 million in 2006. Churn was 4.9%. “2007 was a year of substantial growth for Virgin Mobile USA,” said Dan Schulman, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile USA. “We grew our customer base to nearly 5.1 million, net service revenues 20% to over $1.2 billion, and Adjusted EBITDA over 100% to $99.2 million. Most importantly, 2007 was our first year of profitability, with net income of $4.2 million, generating a pro forma earnings per share of $0.06.” Shulman said the results reflect a focus on attracting and retaining customers who deliver a strong return on investment. He said Virgin maintained a disciplined customer acquisition strategy. According to Shulman, competitors were aggressively lowering prices in the fourth quarter to impact gross adds, but Virgin chose not to pursue what they believe are low-value, low-tenure customers. “This focus on the value of our customers, combined with the low, predictable cost structure of the MVNO business model, allows us both growth and profitability in a competitive retail environment,” said Shulman. Schulman added that he thinks Virgin has one of the most attractive value propositions in the market, and that they are well-positioned for the future. “Throughout our five-year operating history, we have driven industry innovation by consistently reinventing our consumer offer. We will continue to simplify and evolve our product and service offers to better serve our more than five million customers and to generate increasing demand,” concluded Shulman. SOURCE: Virgin Mobile USA, L.P. (www.virginmobileusa.com) Boost Selects Vesta for Transactions Multi-year Contract for Streamlined Replenishment Process PORTLAND, OR (March 4, 2008) Boost Mobile, LLC, has selected Vesta Corporation to manage phone- and Internet-based recharge transactions for the operator’s entire product line. The program, scheduled to launch later this month, will introduce new services and enable secure, convenient phone- and Internet-based account replenishments via multiple payment devices. “Vesta’s technology will further complement our Re-Boost offering with innovative and enhanced services for Boost customers,” said Neil Lindsay, Vice President, Product Management, Boost Mobile. Vesta said the collaboration streamlines Boost’s current credit recharge model by eliminating the need for customers to register over the phone with a live agent. Boost customers to will be able to utilize debit cards and electronic checks as payment options, expanding customers’ options for replenishing via phone, WAP, or Internet. A new feature will allow a subscriber’s friends and family to add funds to an account in real time. “Like Boost, Vesta has earned a reputation for innovation in the prepaid industry,” said Doug Fieldhouse, Vesta’s President and CEO. “To that end, we look forward to working together to produce new products and services to benefit Boost’s customers for many years to come.” Boost Mobile is a division of Sprint Nextel Corporation, (NYSE: S), based in Irvine California. Vesta is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and provides recharge services to AT&T Mobility, AT&T Long Distance, alphyra group ltd., China Mobile, China Unicom, Ericsson, Meteor Mobile Communications, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Source: Boost Mobile (www.boostmobile.com) Vesta Corporation (www.trustvesta.com) Radio Shack To Offer Trumpet Mobile Service Plan Includes Mobile Money Transfer Capabilities DALLAS, TX (April 1, 2008) RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) announced it will offer Trumpet Mobile’s prepaid wireless services at more than 4,300 RadioShack locations. Trumpet Mobile allows subscribers to make Western Union money transfers within the U.S. and to Latin America and the Caribbean from their mobile phones. The plans will also include features such as access to a prepaid family plan with a domestic rate plan of 10 cents per minute, international long distance rates as low as three cents per minute, messaging as low as five cents per message, and a loyalty reward program that gives mobile subscribers bonus minutes for airtime usage. Trumpet Mobile began offering prepaid mobile money transfers in the U.S. in a pilot with Western Union. The Trumpet CashCard gives mobile subscribers the ability to make secure money transfers for RadioShack customers who do not have a bank account but have financial obligations. The announcement said that the Center for Financial Services Innovation has estimated that 40 million American households are unbanked or underbanked. The roughly 90 million individuals conduct more than $13 billion annually in alternative financial services transactions, according to the release. It also said that the InterAmerican Development Bank reported that Latin American immigrants working in the U.S. will send an estimated $45 billion to their home countries each year. That number is anticipated to grow in coming years to surpass $100 billion annually by 2010. “We’re excited about adding Trumpet Mobile services, because it offers our customers the unique ability to transfer money within the U.S. or to Latin America and the Caribbean using nothing more than their mobile phones,” said Bob Kilinski, RadioShack’s senior vice president, marketing-wireless. “With handsets starting as low as $29.99, or $19.99 with our introductory rebate, Trumpet Mobile is an extremely affordable prepaid solution that offers a unique value to our customers and is a great addition to our wide selection of prepaid and post-paid wireless services.” Western Union will provide the backbone for intra-country and cross-border money transfers. “Western Union continues to seek innovative ways to offer our consumers choices in how they send and receive money,” said Matt Dill, general manager, Western Union Mobile. “Trumpet Mobile is our first demonstration of the mobile money transfer service, and we have learned a great deal from our involvement that we are applying to our pilots around the world. We see Trumpet Mobile as an exciting way to introduce financial services to a new segment of consumers.” John W. Carney, chief executive officer of Affinity Mobile, the parent company of Trumpet Mobile, said, “Loading money onto the card and making mobile money transfers with your Trumpet Mobile phone is safer than carrying cash in your back pocket. As we talk with Trumpet Mobile subscribers, they tell us that in addition to the convenience of being able to send money to their family and friends, day or night, they like the security it gives them..” Trumpet Mobile uses Affinity Mobile’s MADE platform to enable secure mobile financial services capabilities, including debit card purchases, ATM withdrawals and reloading Trumpet Mobile airtime using money on the Trumpet CashCard. The Trumpet CashCard is issued by The Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC. Source: Trumpet Mobile (www.trumpetmobile.com) Movida Files Chapter 11 Another MVNO Bites the Dust KANSAS CITY, MO (April 3, 2008) Movida Communications, an MVNO focused on the Hispanic prepaid market, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 31, 2008. In the preliminary filing, it listed over $23 million in debts to the 20 biggest creditors. The largest single debt listed was $15,941,397, owed to Sprint Nextel, who provides the wireless network to Movida. Movida, based in Kansas City, Missouri, was founded in 2005 by a group of investors and former Sprint wireless executives, including Joe Gensheimer, Anthony Montoya and Jonathan Chambers. The original financier was The Cisneros Group of Companies, a privately held conglomerate of media, entertainment, technology and consumer products companies, and Brightstar Corp., who specializes in customized distribution and supply chain solutions for the wireless industry. Movida’s catch phrase was “press 2 for English,” in recognition of the preference for Spanish as the first language choice. Unless changed by its customers, voice prompts are in Spanish, and even the handsets are delivered with Spanish as the default language. Features were created and tuned to make the service as attractive as possible to Spanish speaking consumers. In September, 2007, Movida announced that it increased its subscriber base to 250,000 and had secured $40 million in additional working capital. Joining Cisneros was Greenwich, Connecticut based hedge fund, Plainfield Asset Management. Movida said Plainfield was looking for up-and-coming companies with a track record of successfully reaching the growing Hispanic market, and picked Movida. Movida said the money would be used to “fuel Movida’s significant growth in providing prepaid wireless services to Hispanic consumers.” Three weeks after the $40 million dollar cash infusion, Movida announced that Michael Robinson had been named as Movida’s CEO. Robinson had been involved in wireless at Motricity and headed Sprint’s wireless subsidiary, Pegaso, in Mexico as Chief Operating Officer. This development brings the question of MVNO survivability to the forefront again. After the failure of content oriented Amp’d, Disney Mobile and Mobile ESPN, it was believed that niche market operators had the greatest chance of survival. The failure of Movida casts a cloud over niche operators. Source: TPP Newsroom LiveWire Mobile Acquires Groove Mobile Customization Provider Buys Mobile Music Provider and enhance LiveWire Mobile’s offerings today,” said Eric Giler, chairman and CEO, Groove Mobile. “With our combined capabilities, we are now in a unique position to deliver what operators and subscribers have been asking for — an http://www.boostmobile.com http://www.trustvesta.com http://www.virginmobileusa.com http://www.trumpetmobile.com http://www.virginmobileusa.com http://www.livewiremobile.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - April 15, 2008

The Prepaid Press - April 15, 2008 Motorola to Split Mobile Payments: The Saga Continues Contents The Retske Report: Election Year and Woody Hayes Regulatory Rundown: 2008 First Quarter Mobile Update 5 Minutes with Mark Herrington tppEXPO’08 Spotlight New Handsets Announced at CTIA Prepaid Wireless in Brief Prepaid Wireless Roundup Virgin Mobile Reports Earnings of 6 Cents Movida Files Chapter 11 LiveWire Mobile Acquires Groove Mobile Boost Selects Vesta for Transactions RadioShack to Offer Trumpet Mobile Service Virgin Offers New Pay as You Go Plans Book Review: Webster’s New World Telecom Dictionary Management Changes at IDT Spot Rates Calling Cards in Brief The State of Prepaid Technology: Productive Coexistence FTC Asks Court to Halt Prepaid Calling Card Scam Louisiana Community Mulls Tax on Prepaid Cards Pactolus Wins VON Magazine Award iBasis Lowers Pakistan Rate for Pingo The Legal Line Biometric Update: Keep Your Shirt On AccountNow Ends Upfront Fees Evolution Benefits Acquires SmartFlex Payments in Brief NetSpend to Offer Bill Payment and Top-up Union Bank Introduces Contactless Card Ingenico Announces Development Kit Prepaid 101: Stupid Card Tricks PLS Offering Walk-In Bill Payment Spend Gift Cards ASAP Credit Card Breach at Hannaford Bros. NACS Withdraws Opposition to Tobacco Bill Study Finds Gift Card Packaging Increases Sales NACS Names International VP Inflatable Display Provides Inexpensive Signage Retail Focus in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - April 15, 2008

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