Earlier today, Apple publicly denied a circulating rumor that it had been intending to make available its own MVNO carrier service. This rumor had originated with a story by Business Insider stating that Apple was planning such a service in the US and Europe, but the company itself has quickly scotched it.
The original story yesterday claimed that Apple was testing its own Mobile Virtual Network Operator service – which, had it been launched, could have enabled owners of cellular iPhones and iPads to take out a 3G or 4G plan from Apple itself, rather than one of its partners, as is currently necessary.
Nonetheless, this service would not have used a wireless network owned by Apple. This is because an MVNO service uses a wireless network owned by a carrier other than the company offering the service.
Reuters has published the precise statement from an Apple spokeswoman, which reads: “We have not discussed nor do we have any plans to launch an MVNO.” That this is one of the very few occasions that the iPhone maker has directly commented on a rumor suggests that, by the standard of most rumors about Apple, this one was especially far removed from the truth.
