MVNOs making a comeback? Humane, the company behind the AI Pin, uses its own service. But it's not really a telecom company, it's a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). MVNOs use the physical infrastructure of a major telecom company, such as T-Mobile. T-Mobile is the company that provides the infrastructure for Mint Mobile, which the article mentions just got acquired by T-Mobile. T-Mobile also provides the infrastructure for Humane.
While an MVNO doesn't build the infrastructure, they do form their own brand and do their own marketing and have complete control of the customer service and billing and everything to do with the customer experience.
Mint Mobile doesn't do any AI product, or anything like that -- they offer discounted short-term subscriptions. Apparently worth $1.35 billion, as that was the acquisition price. Whether MVNOs will become a common feature for AI products remains to be seen.
Apparently a key enabler of MVNOs is the transition of the mobile industry from SIM cards to eSIM.
The Humane touch: More MVNOs are being minted than ever | TechCrunch