Amp'd Subscribers Approaching 50K

(c) MocoNews
by Rafat Ali

You're reading it here first: Amp'd Mobile, the MVNO which has received very close and aggressive scrutiny from media (including us), is "fast-approaching" about 50 thousand subscribers, CEO Peter Adderton told me in a brief phone interview today. The company is ready to disclose some ballpark numbers now that it says it is finally gaining traction, after a Best Buy retail distribution deal two months ago. Adderton also mentioned that the company's announcing another big-box retail deal at CTIA next week, though he didn't name them. Our sources also indicate that Best Buy has taken a stake in Amp'd Mobile with this distro deal, though Adderton refused to comment on that.
He also gave some other numbers and projections, and conceded that the initial launch had some mis-steps, which his company has recognized now. (Of course, these are only the company numbers...we have no way to independently verify them, so keep that in mind)

• The company added 15K subscribers last month, and is on track to add 25K this month.
• Most of the subscribers are post paid.
• The company is rolling out hybrid pre and post pay option, after pre-pay launch in May.
• New handsets and new UI are coming very soon.
• Voice + data ARPU is about $100...data alone is about $30, which is higher than conventional operators.

• The company, which has raised $250 million to date, will raise more starting the end of this year...Adderton says by the end of this year, they'll have 150K subscribers, and that will be the takeoff point.
• 200,000 video streams per month now...live video streaming is a big thing for the company.
• It is being distributed through 1,600 wireless retailers now...will be 4,000 retailer by Christmas, Adderton added.

Long-term success still remains to be seen...this CTIA will be an MVNO bashing, so the numbers release is probably tied strategically to that. Adderton emphasized that he does not compare his company's performance to the much-heavily funded and backed MVNOs like Mobile ESPN and Helio...they have the leeway to make more mistakes, while Amp'd has to retool it as fast as it can.

Technorati tags: mobile TV, MVNO, Amp'd, video stream