As you probably know Virgin Mobile is just one part of a huge company that is helmed by Sir Richard Branson. As an entrepreneur himself, you would expect to find that Virgin Mobile is just a bit different from all its competitors.
But how did the history of the mobile arm of the company come about? How did it begin – and where has it ended up? Let’s find out more.
Where can I find their website?
You can find the main page of the Virgin Mobile website at www.virginmobile.com.
You then have to select your country from the flags that appear at the bottom of the website. Once you have done this you can see what Virgin Mobile has to offer.
Are they fairly new or have they been around for a while?
It is actually quite difficult to answer this question, because it largely depends on what country you are in. You see, Virgin Mobiles is a brand – nothing more, nothing less. And as such the Virgin Group doesn’t know that much about mobile phones at all!
This might sound strange but in fact it is a well trodden path business wise. It is a bit like a franchise in that Virgin Mobiles is a name that fronts more than one separate mobile provider.
Where did this provider originate?
The origins of Virgin Mobile go back to 1999, but in that time it has not actually developed a network that belongs to Virgin. Other mobile providers’ networks are used to provide the Virgin Mobile service.
The origins of the Virgin Group itself go way back to 1970, to the very first record shop Richard Branson started.
Can you find out more about the company on their website?
Yes – the ‘about us’ link you will need is right at the foot of the site. It is in small type so you might miss it; look towards the left of the page. There are several sections provided on the page you will end up on; click on each separate one to find out more information.
Perhaps the best section is the one about Virgin Mobile itself, in the top left of the page. This takes you through to other links about the history of the company. It points out that it is known as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator. This is otherwise known for short as MVNO. They use the network run by T-Mobile to serve their customers. The term MVNO is relevant to the fact that the network is not their own – it is ‘borrowed’, so to speak, from another network provider. In this case that is T-Mobile.
The section headed Top Ten Facts is particularly interesting. This is because it gives you ten unique snapshots of the Virgin Mobile brand and what it has achieved. Some of these relate to past events and some related to what Virgin Mobile is doing now.
Do they offer a lot of different plans?
Yes, they have the basic Pay As You Go plans and the Pay Monthly plans as well. Within these they can offer you SIM only options. These are good if you have a particular phone in mind that they don’t provide, or you simply want to go with the one you have at the moment.
Just as they provide network coverage via a third party provider, all of their mobile phones are also provided by other manufacturers. As such you can expect to get the latest phones, the latest deals and a good network provider all in one with Virgin Mobile.
What is this network provider known for with regard to their services?
Perhaps it is the transparency that really attracts people to Virgin Mobile. You never have to go from page to page on their site, trying to find what you need. You shouldn’t have any questions about your phone deal either, because they make everything easy to understand and read.
Virgin is also well known for adding on a variety of bonus features with every phone they provide. And they also have charity options you can support. As such their rewards are second to none.
In conclusion
The Virgin name has permeated into many areas of our society. But there is no doubt that Virgin Mobile has succeeded in providing an outstanding level of service as an MVNO.
If you are not yet using the network service provided by them, you might want to take a look at the benefits it offers. It may come via T-Mobile, but Virgin Mobile has plenty to show you too.