Bloomberg has reported that Amazon is considering becoming an MVNO. Amazon is reportedly in talks with Verizon, T-Mobile, Dish, and AT&T, to offer mobile service to its customers, with a Prime subscription. Word is the service would be available to Prime subscribers either as included with their existing subscription or for a nominal $10 a month fee.
In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Bradley Mattinger denied that the company is currently actively planning to add wireless connectivity to Prime. “We are always exploring adding even more benefits for Prime members, but don’t have plans to add wireless at this time,” Mattinger said. Bloomberg notes that the plans could take months to launch and may be scrapped entirely.
Bloomberg notes that if Amazon prices its wireless offering as cheaply as the report suggests it will, it risks competing with carriers for their existing subscribers.
Amazon’s past foray into the phone market was one of the company’s most high-profile failures. In 2014, it released the $199 Fire Phone only to discount it to 99 cents a few months after launch and discontinue it a little over a year later. However, Amazon’s success with Prime and its dominance in the e-commerce market suggest that the company has the resources and the customer base to make a wireless service work.
Overall, it remains to be seen whether Amazon will launch a wireless service or not. The plans could take months to launch and may be scrapped entirely. However, if Amazon does enter the wireless market, it could disrupt the industry and offer consumers a new option for mobile connectivity.
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