The growing popularity of mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) is one of the hottest trends Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless 2006 attendees will be paying attention to later this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. MVNOs are carriers that don't own a physical network, but rather rent and resell the spectrum (as voice and data services) of 'real' wireless operators.

We expect the most high-profile MVNO launch to occur at the show will come from the same people who brought you Mickey Mouse and friends. It'll be called Disney Mobile, of course. The Walt Disney Company will officially introduce the MVNO during a keynote early Wednesday morning, followed by details at a press conference a couple of hours later.

What other new MVNOs will be unveiled? They can come in all shapes and sizes. So it could be interesting. Why early this month, a company revealed plans to launch an MVNO devoted to gambling even. MocoNews quoted an annual report from Fortuna Gambling:

"The long-term vision is to develop the ultimate Mobile Virtual Network Operator [MVNO] for the gambling sector, providing a branded mobile subscription service directly to consumers with a goal of being synonymous with mobile gambling, like the recently launched Mobile ESPN is with the mobile sports sector."

In 1999, Richard Branson and company started what some regard as the first MVNO: the U.K. branch of Virgin Mobile. Today, there are reportedly over 200 MVNO's in operation or in the planning stages throughout the world.

MVNOs in the U.S lease their data networks from one of the four major operators (Cingular Wireless, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel or T-Mobile). They tend to service niche markets: based on offering cut-rate pricing for calls (i.e. Virgin Mobile and EasyMobile) or services around a particular lifestyle (i.e. Boost Mobile and AMP'D Mobile).

Currently, MVNOs account for around 5 percent of the total U.S. mobile market, but that number could rise to as high as 10 to 20 percent in the next few years, a Gartner analyst told internetnews last week.

And in a survey of 1,017 wireless subscribers, In-Stat reported earlier this year that 80 percent of respondents said they'd be willing to buy service from an MVNO; although they are generally satisfied with their current carrier—thus demonstrating a growing acceptance of the business model.

In the In-Stat study, folks appeared readier to switch from one of the smaller operators than one of the big four, who happen to be the carriers renting out the spectrum to the MVNOs anyway. Thus making virtual carriers even less of a potential problem for Cingular, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile than any other traditional American operators.

LifeStyle
Bellow are two U.S.-based virtual carriers that illustrate how different MVNOs can be:

Earthlink is set to change its MVNO SK Earthlink - created in partnership with South Korean mobile operator SK Telecom - into something decidedly more hip. It will re-launch SK Telecom as Helio, named after Copernican's Heliocentric view of the Sun as center of everything from the 16th century, later this spring. To name Helio is supposed to conjure how central mobility - the mobile phone in particular - is in young peoples lives.

Hence, Helio targets tech-savvy 18 to 34 year old through a partnership with the 43-million strong MySpace social-networking site and a pair of cool-looking and functional smartphones called Hero and the Kickflip.

"Helio is the only mobile company that is optimizing the MySpace experience on a mobile phone," a Helio spokesperson explained a couple of months ago. "We've customized the Web site and made it actually usable on a mobile phone. It is not MySpace lite. It is MySpace enhanced, completely customized for the mobile experience."

Hero

Kickflip

Far from hip, but truly functional and essential if you're a sports fan, Mobile ESPN (part of the wonderful world of Disney as well)is brought to you by the same folks that bring you SportsCenter.It is built around a re-branded (and not-so-handsome) Sanyo MVP mobile phone, which nonetheless offers a convenient "E" launch button so users have easy access to sports news, video clips, games, fantasy teams and more sports related content.

It is available exclusively from BestBuy stores. The appeal of a product and service like this is so narrow, it supposedly leaves little for Sprint, the traditional carrier ESPN rents spectrum from, to worry about. While there is some potential customer overlap, Garter analyst Tole Hart recently said to internetnews, Mobile ESPN is "niche enough to where a real sports fan would want this product and they wouldn't take much away from Sprint subscribers."

And ESPN just gave Mobile EPSN users another reason to be happy, by adding Major League Baseball - notably absent at launch - to its lineup; just in time for the ramp up to the 2006 season. Baseball coverage will include scoreboards with game status information and real-time scores for every game; gamecasts with detailed stats, boxscores, play-by-play, recaps and more; and in-game video highlight clips of each (150) ESPN telecasts.

There will also be game updates and video analysis of key plays; personalized content for favorite teams and players, including video highlights and alerts; fantasy team management; and more.