The firm is the 25th mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) signed by EE.

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The idea of forming a super MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) was floated for the first time a week ago.

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The success of Virgin Mobile in the U.K. and Amp'd Mobile in the U.S. prove the so-called mobile virtual network operator business model.

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The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) does not own any infrastructure, but buys airtime, data, and services in bulk from physical networks, and then packages these up for their users.

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For more than a year, company execs have been discussing becoming a "mobile virtual network operator, " or MVNO, a model under which a company skips the expensive process of building a national phone network, instead signing on with an existing provider and rebranding its service.

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The difference between this rumored deal with Sprint and that of a normal MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) would be the possible integration of cellphones with VOIP service, something that the traditional phone companies are scared to death of, but integrates perfectly with the current VOIP ambitions of the cable companies.

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We thought we'd come and gone on the whole Apple-does-an-MVNO rumor thing that was buzzing around just prior to the ROKR E1's launch last September, but with Apple's enigmatic "Mobile Me" trademark filing hitting the the wires today, speculation is already re-cropping up that Apple's still working behind the scenes to pound out their own mobile virtual network operator.

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The Rest of the World segment includes Ortel Mobile - virtual network operator offering mobile services though its own brand and partners.

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But part of the drag on margins was due to InPhonic's struggling Liberty Wireless business, a mobile virtual-network operator that InPhonic has now sold.

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