Talk:Virgin Mobile USA

Joint venture

Virgin Mobile USA is not a joint venture between Sprint Nextel and Virgin; the only connection they have with VMU is that they have purchased and are reselling services via the Sprint Nextel cellular network. Sprint has no input into VMU at all, as noted in VMU's 10K filing. [1] --Mhking 16:43, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

"Virgin Mobile USA’s service is powered by the nationwide Sprint PCS network, and the company, which launched in 2002, is a joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel."[2] It states on VMU's own website that the company is a joint-venture between Virgin and Sprint. Virgin Mobile USA, LLC is also clearly identified as being owned by the Virgin Group, Sprint, and minority investors in this SEC filing [3]. This will no doubt change after Virgin's IPO, which should be mentioned in the article, but even then the new Virgin Mobile USA, Inc will still " Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., directly and through Holdings, and Sprint Nextel will be the only partners of the Operating Partnership after the reorganization transactions and this offering." Sprint may not have any input with VMU but they still own part of it, so for now at least I am reverting the article to still reflect a joint-venture. As this develops it will no doubt be changed accordingly. heresthecasey | talk 19:31, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Moved content

This page was created from content moved from Virgin Mobile, per a re-organization of that article discussed at Talk:Virgin Mobile. The writers and history of this content can be found at that page. heresthecasey | talk 23:34, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

What audio codec is used?

Which codec and at what bitrate is Virgin Mobile (or Sprint PCS) sending audio? IMHO it would be worthwhile to add that info to the article. - Theaveng 19:25, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

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$15 minimum is what Virgin says

"...you'll need to Top-Up at least $20 every 90 days... Unless you've selected one of our special Top-Up options like $15 Auto Top-Up" in which case the minimum is only $15 a month. I'm sorry to be anal about this, but I'm getting tired of people INcorrectly changing the 15 to a 20. ---- Theaveng (talk) 18:36, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Kickbacks Code removed from entry

Some aspiring Virgin Mobile customers are inserting their "Kickbacks Code" into this article to trick new subscribers into 60 free minutes. While that's nice for new subscribers, the editors entering these codes into the article are also receiving 60 minutes, and as you can see in this revision: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virgin_Mobile_USA&diff=prev&oldid=314485340 There is a bit of a war going on between these editors, replacing each-other's codes on a purely selfish basis. I don't think we can systematically prevent these codes from being included by those out for personal gain, but I'd advise anyone monitoring the page to police it for these codes and remove them regularly.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.152.78.179 (talk) 01:16, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Virgin Mobile USA stock

The article should be updated to reflect Sprint Nextel's acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA. There is no VM stock anymore. Anyone (like me) who had purchased it was given 1.3ish shares of Sprint Nextel (S) per share of Virgin Mobile USA. Nickenzi (talk) 00:54, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Data plans please?

Howzabout some info on pay as you go data plans? 69.248.248.11 (talk) 22:16, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

Phone lock out

Someone needs to write in about how Virgin Mobile changes their phones so that no 3rd party apps (other than Opera and Google Maps) can be installed.
I tried but it got baleeted :( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.219.5.215 (talk) 02:56, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

"Baleeted"? —Quicksilver^{T @} 15:49, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

This is also no longer true. Apparently it was true in the past that Virgin Mobile locked out their Android phones, but newer models such as the Samsung Intercept work like any other Android phone- non-Market installations are prohibited by default but the user can change this. 24.58.144.115 (talk) 19:52, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

3G data "outages"

Hi, the assertion in the "Beyond talk" section that the data network suffers from frequent outages is sourced to a single three month old web forum thread that just has a list of people saying when and where they could not get service. How on earth does that translate into the assertion this is used as a source for? 24.58.144.115 (talk) 19:36, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Agreed here--a statement should not be sourced to people complaining on an internet forum. Is there anything published that VM has more frequent data outages than other carriers? If so a statement should be sourced to that or it should be removed. Shavedice (talk) 17:05, 14 July 2011 (UTC)

Please Update the PayLo plan details

The 400 minute PayLo plan is a fixed monthly price of $20 for up to 400 minute and $0.10/minute for minutes above 400 within that month. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bob Collins (talk • contribs) 22:27, 18 September 2011 (UTC) ---Assurance Wireless Unlimited---- not to sound like an advertisement but has anyone considered adding information about the Assurance 'bolt on' plans....30 dollars for unlimited talk/text? 24.47.81.104 (talk) 20:44, 24 June 2012 (UTC)

Devices

They don't offer a "full range of devices." That's marketing talk. They offer last year's phones with discounted service. 174.59.38.133 (talk) 16:12, 7 August 2013 (UTC)Matt2h

And they now carry the iPhone 5, which is not currently in the list. Matt2h (talk) 16:19, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

The list of devices should state the "as of" date, as it is constantly changing. In a static environment such as Wikipedia, it is unacceptable to use weasel words like "current list". — Quicksilver^{T @} 01:35, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

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Virgin Mobile USA Denies John Tantum was a founder

According to Virgin Mobile USA's General Counsel—in a clarification letter to the FCC—John Tantum was an "early stage employee" of Virgin Mobile, and not a "co-founder."

https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/6519526095.pdf

"Among the signatories to the Wireless Founders Coalition filing are two individuals, Amol Sarva and John Tantum, who state that they are co-founders of Virgin Mobile. While these individuals were early stage employees, both departed prior to Virgin Mobile's commencement of national prepaid wireless services in July 2002. At the time oftheir departure, Virgin Mobile had no wireless operations, revenues or customers."
—  Peter Lurie, General Counsel, Virgin Mobile USA, LLC, Source: Federal Communications Commission

The statement that Tantum was a "founder" of Virgin Mobile USA appears to be untrue.17.234.240.5 (talk) 03:41, 14 June 2018 (UTC)

Virgin Mobile USA does NOT deny John Tantum was a founder

The letter submitted to the FCC by Virgin Mobile does not deny John Tantum and Amol Sarva were founders of Virgin Mobile USA. It simply describes the state of the business at the time of their departure. It makes no comment about the 'founder' title.

John Tantum's role president and initial leader of Virgin Mobile USA is well documented:

- From RCR News in Aug. 2000: Virgin Mobile coming to America - "Virgin, controlled by airline and music entrepreneur Richard Branson, wants to develop the first global mobile telephone business, said John Tantum, president of Virgin Mobile USA, which is currently housed in a technology incubator office space in San Francisco."

- From Computerworld in Sept. 2000: U.K.'s Virgin Group Plans For U.S. Cell Phone Venture - "“We’ve talked to all the operators in the U.S., and there is a high level of interest,” said John Tantum, president of Virgin Mobile USA. ... Virgin has kept a low profile so far in the United States, establishing a small development team in San Francisco. The company took prepaid experts from former operator AirTouch Communications Inc. Tantum comes from consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in London."

The title 'founder" is often ambiguous. Indeed, there is no evidence Richard Branson was a 'founder' of Virgin Mobile USA. Branson played no management role and his ownership stake was held through trusts led by independent directors. But of course, as the leader of the Virgin brand, it's reasonable to label him a founder. And Tantum, as leader of this business in from its inception and during its formative period, can also be called a founder. 73.93.140.195 (talk) 23:39, 29 March 2019 (UTC)

All this shows is that John Tatum was the first President of Vigin Mobile. There are so far ZERO internal or public company documents labeling him a "founder." And there is evidence, above, of a company lawyer only referring to Tatum as an early-stage employee. That something is ambiguous does not then support a conclusion. You are arguing with Ambiguity Fallacy. 5.181.233.36 (talk) 16:24, 3 May 2019 (UTC)

References

John Tantum does appear to qualify as a 'founder', according to account in The Sunday Times in 2008

According to the book Branson, by Tom Bowers, John Tantum appears to clearly qualify as a founder of Virgin Mobile USA. From The Sunday Times (UK) on July 20, 2008:

Virgin Mobile stumbles in America

THE IDEA of starting Virgin Mobile in America had been introduced to Sir Richard Branson in 1999 by John Tantum, a 32-year-old Californian employed in London by McKinsey, the management consultancy.

He met Branson at his London home. Like so many hopefuls who had preceded him, this was Tantum's chance for the big break.

He was not disappointed. Branson agreed that Virgin would invest some seed money, leaving Tantum with a minority stake. Based in San Francisco, Tantum recruited nearly 30 staff, and by 2002 Virgin Mobile USA was ready to be launched.

The company sought $300m from banks, but there was a hitch: Tantum was told that the bankers were wary of his inexperience. Branson wanted him to be replaced by Dan Schulman, who was employed by AT&T, the American telephone giant. Regretfully, Tantum bade farewell to his team. 73.93.143.77 (talk) 00:34, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

This is a presumption. Neither the company nor the article refers to Tatum as a "founder." It's improper to presume titles just because there are similar qualities to those titles. Interestingly, this individual was also named in the legal document, above, and he too apparently still considers himself to be a "founder"—even though the legal document states he was only an early-stage employee. 5.181.233.36 (talk) 16:34, 3 May 2019 (UTC)

References

Should this sentence be kept?

I tried to remove this sentence but it got reverted, the editor said that it's "useful historical information". The company shut down so I just don't see the need for this sentence since it's not sold anywhere anymore. Do you agree that this is historical information? I guess you can vote yes or no. This is the sentence in question:

"Virgin Mobile products and services are sold via the virginmobileusa.com web site and at partner retail outlets, including Best Buy, RadioShack, Target, and Walmart."

2001:5B0:4BD1:FE68:EC99:574B:525D:D7C2 (talk) 01:31, 1 March 2020 (UTC)

Anyone? 2001:5B0:4BCB:D738:2003:C95F:E0A3:D6F2 (talk) 01:14, 4 March 2020 (UTC)