MVNO operator Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA) is set to close a funding round shortly.
Company chairman Phil Wallace told TelecomFinance: “We are just completing a successful oversubscribed funding round, and we will be announcing these results…
MVNO operator Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA) is set to close a funding round shortly.
Company chairman Phil Wallace told TelecomFinance: “We are just completing a successful oversubscribed funding round, and we will be announcing these results shortly.”
VMLA is planning to launch MVNO services throughout Latin America in the coming years. The Latin American unit of UK-based Virgin Mobile has said that it will need at least US$300m for the initial eight countries that it is targeting.
The company would not say how much it is seeking to raise in its current funding round.
The company will launch its first MVNO in Chile in March, while a Colombian operation will start in the second half of the year.
Wallace said that VMLA also has regulatory permission to operate in Mexico and Peru. It only needed to secure the agreement of an operator in these countries, which Wallace said “we are working on”.
Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay are also part of the company’s initial focus, but, according to Wallace, further countries could be added “in a year or two”.
Last week, VMLA announced a partnership with Brazilian telco Datora Telecom in order to develop an MVNO business in Brazil.
Wallace said that he expects to see “the MVNO business developing but not exploding” in Latin America, as long as current regulations remain in place.
“We see overall market penetration continuing to grow, driven by data and smart handsets and tablets, but slowing down over time,” he added.
