Apple Denies Report That It’s Planning To Sell Mobile Services Directly To iPhone Users

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Apple has come out against a recent report that had claimed the company was testing a mobile virtual network operator, a cellular service that would replace traditional phone carriers for iPhone users in the U.S. and Europe.

The company usually stays mum in these kinds of situations, but today it denied Business Insider’s report that it was moving in the wireless carrier direction.

“We have not discussed nor do we have any plans to launch an MVNO,” an Apple spokesperson told Mashable. Apple is, however, testing an MVNO among its employees.

There are other tech companies out there dipping into the MVNO pool: Google recently launched Google Fi, an invite-only plan for Nexus 6 owners. Plans come with unlimited talk/text, unlimited international texting. WiFi tethering will start at $30/month, with each gigabyte of data you use costing an additional $10. And if you don’t use your full allotment, your account gets credited accordingly.

This service works how Apple’s reported MVNO would have — leasing capacity from established carriers, with the service hopping around on wireless connections to use the best one, depending on where the customer is.

Apple denies that it’s working on its own cellular service [Mashable]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist