Helio (wireless carrier)
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| Joint Venture | |
| Industry | Wireless communications |
| Fate | Acquired by Ubi Telecom |
| Founded | January 26, 2005 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
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Number of locations
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5 stores (2006) |
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Area served
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Continental United States |
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Key people
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Wonhee Sull – former CEO Sky Dayton – former Chairman |
| Products |
Helio Ocean Helio Kickflip Helio Hero |
| Services | Helio All-In Membership Helio A-la-Carte Membership |
| Owner | Ubi Telecom |
| Website | helio.com sk-earthlink.com heliosocial.com |
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Footnotes / references |
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Helio, Inc. (stylized as HΞLIO) a current, and former, mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using Sprint's network that offered wireless voice, messaging and data products and services to customers in the continental United States beginning on May 2, 2006. Originally a 50/50 joint venture founded in January, 2005 between South Korean wireless operator SK Telecom and American Internet services provider EarthLink, early losses caused EarthLink to stop providing additional funding in fall of 2007. SK Telecom provided the required additional funding to sustain Helio, which was re-organized as Helio LLC, and by January 2008, SK Telecom had assumed an increased ownership stake and with it, operational control of the joint venture. Although SK Telecom publicly pledged to support Helio, SK Telecom entered into talks to sell the company to rival MVNO Virgin Mobile USA. Virgin Mobile USA closed the acquisition of Helio and its 170,000 subscribers on August 22, 2008. Virgin Mobile USA exited the postpaid wireless business and retired the Helio brand on May 25, 2010.
The Helio brand was resurrected by Ubi Telecom in July 2015. Helio's new $29 per month rate plan offers unlimited talk, text and data but at capped data speeds of 128kbit/s.
SK-EarthLink, Inc., the joint venture that would become Helio, Inc., was established on January 26, 2005. On October 26, 2005, EarthLink and SK Telecom announced that they had entered into an agreement to change the name of their joint venture from SK-EarthLink, Inc. to Helio, Inc. and provide a high-end wireless communications service targeting younger, bigger-spending customers. Helio provided service as a mobile virtual network operator, primarily via the Sprint Nextel CDMA network. The joint venture partners described their choice of the name "Helio" by referencing Copernicus' heliocentric view of the universe, saying that wireless communications is the center of the universe for Helio's target customers.
SK Telecom hoped to grow its customer base in the United States due to stagnant growth in its saturated home market of South Korea. Helio management believed that Helio could avoid taking on the major US wireless carriers directly by targeting price-insensitive, technology-savvy consumers. EarthLink and SK Telecom agreed to provide an initial round of financing totaling $440 million, with each partner owning 50% of the joint venture.
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