Sprint acquires Virgin Mobile USA for a cool $483m

Remember Virgin Mobile? Sure you do -- not long ago the last-man-standing MVNO snapped up Helio, and seemed ready to take its place as one of the few boutique prepaid operations still... er, operating. Well that appears to be all but done and done, as Sprint has just announced a "definitive agreement" to purchase the company for $483 million worth of sweet, succulent stock (which looks to be right about what it was valued at to begin with). It looks like Sprint will pair the acquisition with its Boost Mobile brand, which till now was in direct competition with VM. It's not quite rival city, however, Virgin Mobile USA was launched as a joint venture with Sprint, and the MVNO glides on Dan Hesse's network as it is. Still, it does seem to be another indicator that the days of the MVNO are certainly on the wane, though Sprint now looks to own the space -- what little there is.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 28th 2009 2:17PM]

To The Dued.

I currently pay $40 a year for boost mobile. $10 every 90 days @ 10 cents a minute. So maybe your costs will go down.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 31st 2009 9:55AM]

LETS START THE "ONE NETWORK" BY PUTTING TOGETHER ONCE AND FOR ALL , ALL THE PIECES TO THE PUZZLE: NEXTEL iDEN MOTOROLA i9 $60 and do away with all the xtra names: sprint,boost,virgin,helio,cdma,1&2year contracts..... get it? 1 carrier, 1 network, 1 handset maker , 1 handset model and 1 all inclusive monthly price along wit free phone and 1st month free.... then do a massive ad campaign.... then u might be able to go head to head with verizon and AT&T

[StalkyTheFish Posted Jul 28th 2009 2:46PM]

A friend of mine who uses Virgin Mobile once said that they "call it that because it has no penetration!"

[iqbalj Posted Jul 28th 2009 6:46PM]

LOL that's funny!

[beemop Posted Jul 28th 2009 6:02PM]

Why is engadget so down on prepaid phones? They act like they're a dying breed, yet it's actually growing (according to the WSJ: "The U.S. pre-paid market is expected to grow by a compounded annual growth rate of 3.9% through 2014, according to market research firm Atlantic-ACM.").

A lot of people are turning to prepaid with the down economy.

[iqbalj Posted Jul 28th 2009 6:45PM]

the problem with most Virgins is they lose their appeal after awhile...

[SiXiam Posted Jul 28th 2009 8:40PM]

It's funny how lately everyone is smitten with Sprint, when not too long ago they were the scourge of the internet.

[DCLocal Posted Jul 28th 2009 9:02PM]

I've been with Sprint almost 10 years. While they had a very dark period (God help you if you needed to call customer service a couple years back) but they've really turned things around. And you really can't beat the value they offer. I realize this is dependent on where you live but for me in the DC area I have no complaints. And, they're finally realizing cool phones matter!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 28th 2009 10:40PM]

I wonder if I can get a Palm Pre on my Helio Account?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 28th 2009 11:13PM]

I just read that virgin mobile is going to come out with a plan for low-income people. There going to offer 120 minutes for just 10 bucks. Sounds great or thats what i thought. But it is only going to be offered to low-income people and not to everyone. I feel that is quite unfair. Especially for those that have been with virgin for a long time. Toughs are tough and it would be nice if they offered this plan to everyone not just a certain group.

[MrMojo Posted Jul 28th 2009 11:39PM]

Sprint phone plans are darn expensive, much more than ATT or T-mobile.
Also, it still uses the CDMA technology! Why?!

Most other phone carriers use GSM (SIM cards) as CDMA is "old" (proprietary) technology.

What's the point of using CDMA when it's easier to buy a GSM phone and swap SIM card esp. when traveling to save money on phone calls?

I can choose to be locked up in a 1-2 year contract plan but don't lock me up using CDMA!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2009 12:07AM]

Obviously you don't know the quality differences. CDMA has superior sound quality when compared to GSM. Yes GSM is the more widely used in the world, but it doesn't make it better.

Japan has the most advanced phones and networks in the world and it is a variation of CDMA.

GSM is not deployed in Japan.

Know what you are talking about before speaking your mind.

[zephxiii Posted Jul 29th 2009 7:06AM]

It's obvious you aren't very experienced if you made a comment like that.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 30th 2009 4:04PM]

I heard Virgin Mobile is offering a $10 120minute welfare deal..?
Whats up with that?
Hopefully sprint will bring back virgin's cool factor... That's why I signed up with them in the first place.
I don't want people thinking I'm cheap when I take my virgin phone out my pocket!
What does everyone else think about this?