Virgin Mobile Goes All iPhone

Low-cost carrier Virgin Mobile will sell only plans based on the iPhone starting Tuesday. Subscribers who buy a new iPhone through Virgin will get unlimited talk, text and data for $50 a month. In an offer that expires July 31, the first year will cost only $1. Virgin operates on Sprint spectrum. “On the surface, this might sound like great news for Apple,” BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk wrote Monday. “An operator giving away service for free in order to encourage the sale of iPhones only. Is there a better example of the transfer of value from the wireless operator to Apple? Unfortunately, Virgin Mobile's offer appears to simply be a desperate attempt by a failing brand to maintain relevance and unlikely to drive material volumes for either Apple or Sprint.”