In a statement released today, prepaid carrier Virgin Mobile USA announced that the Helio brand would be terminated as of May 25, 2010. To recap, Virgin Mobile USA purchased Helio in June of 2008 after the latter spent $710 million and was ready to shut their doors. After the purchase, the company assumed that Helio's postpaid services would serve as a great conduit for those that liked Virgin and the brand, but didn't want prepaid.
Needless to say, after the buyout by Sprint, Helio's postpaid services didn't make a lot of sense. It's not clear what will happen to Helio (Virgin) postpaid accounts. Interestingly enough, customers won't be migrated to Sprint right away:
No customer will be automatically migrated to Sprint’s postpaid service. However, Sprint has created a special offer for our customers.
Current postpaid customers are being given $50 towards the purchase of a Sprint postpaid handset with a new two-year agreement. This credit is in addition to any applicable rebates that may apply. Postpaid customers moving from Virgin Mobile to Sprint will also receive $150 off of handsets as part of Sprint’s standing new customer offer. Activation fees will also be waived.
On the one hand, I understand, yet on the other hand, it makes me sad to see the Helio brand go. I always thought the brand had a lot of promise. If only the business operations were executed properly...
