Could things be turning up for MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) in the US? Amp'd Mobile would be inclined to say Yes. According to a press release they issued yesterday, Amp'd subscriber base "jump[ed] nearly 70% in Q1 of 2007" with some 84,000 new activations tallied. This brings the youth-focused network's subscriber numbers up near the 200,000 mark which, while still a far cry from the millions of users heavyweights like Verizon (from whom Amp'd leases network space) can claim, is a big step in the right direction.
Of note is the bullet point at the bottom of the press release mentioning that the "Amp'd Live experience" now reaches "nearly 30 million mobile users in North America and Asia." Amp'd has been doing big business creating and distributing content overseas, and is now beginning to convert that expertise into strong ARPU (average revenue per user) numbers stateside. While the average US carrier rakes in just over $50/user per month in revenue, Amp'd is claiming ARPU of twice that at more than $100.
Businesses, of course, need to grow and as such Amp'd today unveiled their version of the Motorola Q smartphone. Dressed up in black and featuring a custom Flash Lite-based user interface (but the same ol' Windows Mobile 5 OS - where's the Crossbow?), the Q Amp'd Edition comes with a 256mb microSD memory card to store all those songs and video clips you'll be spending that monthly c-note per to download. The phone is available now for $199 with a service agreement.
