Open Mobile was a

mobile network operator A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a mobile network provider, mobile network carrier, mobile , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, wireless operator, wireless telco, or cellular company, is a telecommunications provider of se ...

that offered mobile phone services exclusively in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The company was established on June 12, 2007, as a relaunch of NewComm Wireless Services (formerly d/b/a Movistar). Its new owners,

M/C Partners M/C Partners is a private equity firm focused on growth equity investments in emerging companies in the media and communications industries. M/C invests in early, mid, and late stage companies as well as turnarounds and buyouts in its sectors o ...

and Columbia Capital, acquired Movistar's assets for $160 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

after Movistar filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wh ...

in December 2006. Open Mobile's business model was based on the

advance payment An advance payment, or simply an advance, is the part of a contractually due sum that is paid or received in advance for goods or services, while the balance included in the invoice will only follow the delivery. The term "advance" may also refer t ...

and unlimited

local call In telephony, the term local call has the following meanings: # Any call using a single switching center; that is, not traveling to another telephone network; # A call made within a local calling area as defined by the local exchange carrier; # ...

services. The company was able to achieve positive

EBITDA A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandat ...

after 5 months of its relaunch. Since 2015, the company began to offer safelink mobile re-certification procedures. In 2014,

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...

signed a 2G and 3G roaming agreement with Open Mobile to allow Verizon customers to use Open Mobile's network without charge. This agreement came when Claro shut down the former Verizon CDMA network in Puerto Rico in favor of GSM, UMTS, and LTE. On February 23, 2017,

Sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

and Open Mobile announced an agreement to combine their businesses in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands into a new joint venture. Both companies will continue to operate separately until the transaction closes. The transaction close was subject to review and approval by the Federal Communications Commission, along with other regulatory authorities. The merger was approved in September 2017, with Sprint becoming the majority shareholder. In the summer of 2018, all of the Open Mobile stores were changed to

Boost Mobile DISH Wireless L.L.C., doing business as Boost Mobile, is an American telecommunications company and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. Boost Mobile is the List of mobile network operators in the United States, fourth largest wirele ...

stores. As part of

's merger with

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...

, Open Mobile customers would be transferred to T-Mobile. Customers who chose not to be transferred would be able to find a new carrier.

References

Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006 Telecommunications companies of Puerto Rico Telecommunications companies established in 2007 2007 establishments in Puerto Rico Guaynabo, Puerto Rico T-Mobile US Telecommunications companies disestablished in 2018 2018 disestablishments in Puerto Rico {{Telecom-company-stub