Helio (wireless carrier)

Helio (wireless carrier)

Fate	Acquired by Virgin Mobile USA, defunct
Founded	January 26, 2005
Defunct	August 22, 2008
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Key people	Dr. Wonhee Sull - CEO Sky Dayton - COB Todd Tappin - CFO

Helio (often stylized as HΞLIO) was a Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) wireless carrier launched on May 2, 2006. It was founded by EarthLink founder Sky Dayton. It was a joint venture between SK Telecom (a South Korean CDMA mobile telecom) and EarthLink. Helio had 170,000 subscribers at the time of its acquisition by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008, which in turn was acquired by Sprint Nextel in 2009.

History

On January 26, 2005, EarthLink and SK Telecom announced to the media that they had entered into agreement to launch a new US mobile provider. This provider would operate as a mobile virtual network operator and would lease network capacity from Sprint. The premise of this new company would be to grow SK Telecom's customer base from its already saturated home market of South Korea to the United States wireless market. SK Telecom has been under increasing pressure over the last few years due to its flat growth in its existing markets. Helio, as it was to be called, attempted to market itself to the younger demographic, trying to tout itself using the latest in cutting-edge handset technology. They planned to avoid taking on the major US wireless carriers directly, and instead they intended to carve out a niche for themselves with technology-savvy consumers. EarthLink and SK Telecom agreed to provide an initial round of financing totaling US$440 million, with each of the two owning 50% of the new company.

When Helio first opened its doors for business in May 2006, they opted for a soft launch. Most of the promotion was done by word of mouth and promotional events across the country. On July 13, 2006, Helio began running TV commercials with the slogan, "Don't Call Us a Phone Company; Don't Call it a Phone." Alongside the television commercials, Helio also began advertising on billboards and in the print media, specifically in magazines that serve the 18-32 demographic, and very heavily on MySpace. Helio opened five corporate flagship stores, with locations in Cherry Creek, Colorado, New York, New York, and in Palo Alto, San Diego and Santa Monica, California.

On February 16, 2006 and in conjunction with its initial handset lineup, Helio announced it had partnered with MySpace. Helio created a custom portal for users to interface with the social networking site. Cingular, AT&T, Sprint and others followed suit months later.

Startup costs for Helio turned out to be millions of US dollars a month, eventually causing EarthLink to post a loss for its first quarter of 2007. After it became clear that more money would be required both EarthLink and SK Telecom upped their initial investment. After this second round of financing ran out, EarthLink declined to provide further money to support Helio. On September 21, 2007 EarthLink announced that SK Telecom would be increasing their investment in Helio by $270 million and they would be adjusting ownership positions in the company accordingly, effectively giving operational control to SK Telecom.

In August 2007, one of Helio's two investors, EarthLink, refused to provide additional capital to the company stating at the time that the investments were draining resources away from the company's core business. In January 2008, CEO Sky Dayton was replaced by Dr. WonHee Sull, a former executive of SK Telecom. Sky was named non-executive chairman of the board. In a press release, SK Telecom reaffirmed their commitment to Helio.

In May 2008, rumors arose that Helio parent SK Telecom was in talks with Virgin Mobile USA over a possible merger. SK Telecom denied these rumors, but Virgin divulged that the two, in fact, were having preliminary discussions. On June 27, 2008, Virgin Mobile announced that it would pay $39 million in stock for Helio after SK Telecom promised to invest $25 million in cash immediately in Virgin. On September 9, 2008 Virgin Mobile USA announced "Helio by Virgin Mobile," tagged with the line "Plan To Have It All" the initiation of the acquisition, also a change of monthly plans and they announced their first integrated phone the PCD "Shuttle".

As of February 2010, Helio phones no longer appear on the Virgin Mobile USA web site. On March 5, 2010, Sprint confirmed that Virgin Mobile Postpaid Customers, a euphemism for Helio customers, would have to switch to Sprint or another carrier by May 25, 2010, because Helio cell phones will no longer work after that date.

Devices

Helio leased network capacity primarily from Sprint Nextel using the CDMA 1xEVDO standard. This is also the standard used by SK Telecom in the South Korean market. As such, almost all of Helio's handsets were rebranded versions of Samsung phones long since on the South Korean market. Helio has been criticized for not having the latest South Korean phones as it marketing implied, opting instead to use older models with features and abilities on par with offerings from other American carriers at the time. Helios was awarded US Patents for user interface design directed by Matias Duarte.

At launch, Helio offered two models called the Kickflip and Hero. These were replaced by the Drift slider, which was added to the line-up in November 2006, and the Heat slider, which was added in March 2007. In May 2007, Helio introduced the Ocean, its flagship dual-slider. In August 2007, Helio launched Fin, an ultra-thin folder with a magnesium body. In December 2007, the Mysto slider saw a limited release to the Korean American market, which was followed up by a general market launch in January 2008. On February 12, 2009, Helio launched sales of the Ocean 2 by Virgin Mobile. The device is much like the original Ocean but a bit sleeker and new features.

Hybrid

The Hybrid was a PC card which provided wireless internet access via Helio's 3G technology and Wi-Fi hot spots. The Hybrid is a rebranded Sierra AirCard.

External links

• Helio Mag, official website