Virgin Mobile: No comment on rumored Sprint joint venture

(Telephony) Virgin Mobile, a provider of wireless voice and Internet services, didn’t confirm reports that it was getting closer to creating a joint venture with Sprint that would pave the way for the company’s first effort in the U.S. telecommunications market.

On the other hand, the company didn’t deny them either.

According to John Tantum, president of Virgin Mobile, the company could not comment on the state of discussions with any network operator at this point. However, he added that it is well known that the company intends to enter the U.S. market.

“We have been having discussions with network operators in that regard, and those discussions will continue,” he said. “We feel very good about the likelihood of entering the U.S. market and believe we will be coming to an agreement with a network operator soon and will be entering the market in the next year.”

When the company does enter the market, Tantum predicted the company’s service and product offerings would mimic those offered by Virgin in the U.K., where the wireless operator caters to young people ages 15-30 by offering MP3 downloads, among other services.

“We hope to be the mobile phone of choice for young people,” he said. “Virgin’s service in the U.K. emphasizes entertainment, fun and … socializing, and our services in the U.S. beyond voice calls will have a similar emphasis.”

Tantum said Virgin would adopt a model the company uses successfully in the U.K. and in Australia that lets customers prepay for services, eliminating the need for a credit check, which can be a barrier to entry for many young people.

News reports indicate a Virgin-Sprint marriage is expected to mirror the venture of Virgin and One-2-One, a mobile operator owned by Deutsche Telekom. In that deal, each company invested about $72 million to form the joint venture, which resulted in Virgin selling handsets and services under its brand, while using the One-2-One network to provide the services.

As expected, Sprint had no comment, other than to call the reports "rumor and speculation."