Apple is in talks to become a wireless carrier

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The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus are coming on September 18th, according to German carriers.
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus are coming on September 18th, according to German carriers.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The absolute worst part of buying an iPhone every year is having to deal with AT&T and Verizon in order to qualify for Apple’s latest device. That could soon be a thing of the past, though, as Apple is looking to launch its own wireless network so users wouldn’t have to deal with traditional carriers any longer.

Apple is in talks to launch a mobile virtual network operator service, or MVNO, in the United States and Europe, reports Business Insider. Sources close to Apple say the company is testing an MVNO service in the U.S. privately and is in talks with European telecoms to bring the service across the pond.

There were rumors that Apple planned to become an MVNO in the early years of the iPhone, but none of them panned out, so take this new information with considerable skepticism. While Apple might be testing an MVNO service, there’s no guarantee if it will launch soon, if ever.

Should Apple decide to pull the trigger on becoming an MVNO, iPhone users would pay Apple directly for all data, calls and texts. The groundwork for such an MVNO has already been laid by Apple’s new smart SIM that switches between carriers to find the best sources.

According to the report, it could take Apple five years to launch the service. Apple has been in talks with telecoms for years about its ambitions to create an MVNO; rival Google is already testing its MVNO service, called Project Fi, that’s exclusively for Nexus 6 users.

Source: Business Insider

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