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It’s looking more and more like Helio will be the next MVNO to bite the dust. I really don’t want to see that happen, but given the unlimited calling revelation hitting the postpaid carriers, their days seem numbered. Their case wasn’t helped late last week, when Sprint, the company of which Helio is an MVNO, announced an all-in unlimited calling, texting, and data plan for $99 — incidentally, the same price Helio offers for a similar service. And now we’re seeing that Helio is continuing to lose money.

Posted in Helio on March 3rd, 2008
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So instead of coming in at a lower price than their competitors for unlimited plans, Sprint decided to just offer a ton more services for the same price. They’re offering unlimited voice, text, Web, email, GPS navigation, and their own brand of mobile music and TV. Well now, doesn’t that sound a bit like the $99 all you can eat plan from Helio, an MVNO of that very Sprint network? Yes it does. Matt Hickey at CrunchGear picks up the issue to decide if Sprint is doing irreparable damage to its own MVNO.

Posted in Helio on February 29th, 2008
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We’ve said before that earnings season kind of annoys us. The quarterly reports dominate the news, yet most of it means little to us unless we have a stake in the company. However, we’ve come to realize that earnings are a signal of a company’s strength at a given time. Under that definition, Helio is looking rather weak. They’re down again, to the tune of $92.3 million. The gross losses were much larger, as the company was able to cover $51.7 million of it with quarterly revenue. Still, the MVNO has a long way to go to sustainability.

Posted in Helio on October 26th, 2007
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Things haven’t been going too well for Helio lately. First they got the news that one of their funders, Earthlink, would “temporarily” cease their investment. That’s not good for an MVNO that sucks up money at a rate comparable to Amp’d. And then came the news of Disney Mobile’s demise which once again caused a media frenzy. As another yet-to-turn-a-profit MVNO, Helio was much mentioned, and not in glorifying tones. But they do have a quality service. Now they’re trying to draw people in with discounted prices.

Posted in Helio on October 17th, 2007
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We’ve talked about it a couple of times before: There is a distinct possibility that Earthlink, struggling itself, could sever ties with Helio, its money-devouring MVNO. Helio is forecasted to lose roughly $350 million this year, which is not good for a dial-up Internet company that is restructuring in order to adapt to a broadband world. They’ve taken the first step towards that severance, announcing that they will cease funding the MVNO for the time being. This does not, though, necessarily signal the end for Helio.

Posted in Helio on September 24th, 2007
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You might not be able to not call them a phone company for much longer. Okay, maybe that’s a glum prediction for the MVNO, but Earthlink’s current problems aren’t being helped much by the money-sucking cell provider. The company is making cuts, and even though they remain stead in their stance that Helio is safe for the time being, they won’t remain at full capacity. About 100 jobs have been cut from the company, which could be the precursor to a larger move.

Posted in Helio on August 31st, 2007
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Yeah, we dig Helio, even though they don’t have a prepaid deal (credit to reader Melissa E for prompting our call to customer service to verify that). In fact, if they did, we might just drop our current plan and switch right now. They have killer phones and excellent voice and data features, all for a not-so-expensive price, all services considered. However, like Amp’d, they’re a money-sucking machine. Their advantage is that they don’t have a big telecom like Verizon calling in a debt. The bad news is that they’re owned by Earthlink, a company that isn’t doing so hot these days.

Posted in Helio on August 29th, 2007
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Posted in Helio, Prepaid Phones on August 16th, 2007
5 Comments

We’ve always had a bit of disdain for Helio’s whole “don’t call it a cell phone” campaign. We understand that they want to stand out from the pack, and yes, they do offer a unique service that exceeds that of most other cell providers. But in the end, it’s still a cell phone — just like the iPhone. In fact, the Helio Ocean has plenty in common with the iPhone, and they’re using that much to their benefit.

Posted in Helio, Prepaid Phones on July 6th, 2007
1 Comment