Apple is rumored to launch a mobile virtual network operator service and will lease space from established carriers and sell text, call and data directly to customers. The company is also said to be testing a service which automatically transcribes voicemail into text messages.
According to the Business Insider, Apple is in talk to launch its own virtual network service in the US and Europe. The company is rumored to privately trail an MVNO service in the US but is also in transactions with Europe based telecom companies.
One way for customers to be affected if the company turns MVNO is trough monthly payments for carrier services. Apple will provide the customers with the services they used to get from their old carriers and the customers will pay the Apple directly for data, calls and texts.
Rumors say that Apple is planning on a long-term deal on its MVNO and it will take at least five years to fully launch the service.
According to Tech Crunch, the company's plan for MVNO was already patented in 2006. The plan as described on the patent is to deal contracts with all the carriers with the use of a database that stores the SIM card details of every network's customers. The carriers will then place bid for leasing their services to Apple.
It was previously reported that the company is on a test of a service they named iCloud Voicemail. This service will automatically transcribe voicemail messages using Siri into text messages. It signifies that the company wants to control voicemail before it launches an MVNO.