The wireless internet marketplace proposes a fiercely competitive landscape. In the fight to gain and keep the subscribers loyal to a particular service provider, companies need to provide appealing plans, perfect brand recognition, extraordinary customer service and cost effective distribution. Virgin mobile is typical of the new aggressive entrants: Having originated from UK the company is slowly finding a strong customer base in USA and establishing itself as the nation’s fastest growing prepaid service provider with the target audience being the young generation; the digital kids. Virgin mobile USA is the first ‘Mobile Virtual Network Operator’ or MVNO in United States.

Virgin mobile is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO as it is popularly called) is basically an entity that is in the cell phone service business but has not qualified for a frequency license or been allocated facility in this arena  does not have a network or licensed frequency allocation of its own and may also not have the required infrastructure. It leases the radio frequency and uses the infrastructure from existing mobile network operators to set up its own virtual network through corporate tie-ups. MVNO are able to function by using GSM or CDMA depending on the network provider’s capabilities. Virgin Mobile UK operates on T-Mobile Network, virgin mobile USA operates on Sprint Nextel, Virgin mobile Australia uses Optus Network and Bell Mobility Network provides services to Virgin Mobile Canada. Let’s look at each separately.

Virgin mobile in USA

In US, Sprint Nextel Network forms the basis for usage of virgin mobile. Sprint Nextel, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in United States providing combination 2G and 3G coverage, mainly operates on CDMA standards. In short, this network provider does not allow use of SIM cards and hence although virgin mobile USA has prepaid plans it offers only locked cell phones. Put another way, the customers have to buy locked handsets to use its unlimited plans. From yet another angle, virgin mobile plans cannot work with GSM unlocked cell phones in US. This is a well thought out, somewhat aggressive strategy of Virgin Mobile to lock the customers into long term contracts. Virgin mobile USA offers handsets from different manufacturers like Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola all on the CDMA standard.

Virgin Mobile in Australia

The wirelss scene with regard to virgin mobile is more restrictive in USA, but with Optus as the mobile network operator for virgin mobile Australia, the mobile telephony using GSM network is a relative pleasure. The flexibility of using unlocked cell phones is responsible for virgin mobile’s popularity in Australia. Virgin Mobile Australia offers cheap prepaid, monthly and contract plans for mobile handsets. It also provides home broadband and mobile broadband utilizing 3G Optus wireless network. Bean counter, their online prepaid service, has won acclaim by winning Best of the Best Low-User plan award from Money Magazine in 2007.

Virgin mobile in Canada

Virgin mobile Canada has also a very strong prepaid customer base. Launched in early 2005, virgin mobile used strategic marketing by providing only prepaid plans and it turned out to be pretty successful. In early 2008, they introduced postpaid wireless service as well. Targeting teens and digital kids as usual, they offer cheap and interesting deals. Virgin mobile supports unlocked cell phones of Nokia, Samsung, LG and Motorola.

Where virgin mobile in USA prohibits its users by limiting access only to locked cell phones, its partners in Australia and Canada offer user-friendlier environment by allowing unlocked variant usage. You may access Prepaid GPRS and 3G Wireless Broadband Internet to understand Australian wireless scene at Ensquared, a leader in selling unlocked Nokia, Blackberry and other branded handsets.Also Ensquared are the best in the business for Unlocked Nokia Cell Phones for Sale including 3G Cheap Deals and models such as N96, n95, 95 8GB