Foundation
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.[6] 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.[7]
Strategy
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.[6][8] EarthLink and SK Telecom agreed to provide an initial round of financing totaling $440 million, with each partner owning 50% of the joint venture.[7]
Service launch
When Helio first began offering service via a soft launch in May 2006. Initially, most of the promotion was done by word of mouth and at promotional events held across the country. On July 13, 2006, Helio began running TV commercials with the slogan, "Don't Call Us a Phone Company; Don't Call it a Phone." Helio also began advertising on billboards, in the print media, specifically in magazines that serve the 18-32 demographic, and on MySpace. Helio opened five corporate flagship stores located in Cherry Creek, Colorado, New York, New York, and in Palo Alto, San Diego and Santa Monica, California.[9]
Marketing
On February 16, 2006, and in conjunction with its initial handset lineup, Helio announced it had partnered with MySpace. Helio created a custom portal for users to interface with the social networking site. Helio was one of the first wireless communications providers in the United States to use social networking as a major promotional strategy. Cingular, AT&T, Sprint and other competitors did not follow suit until months later.[10][11]
Early financial losses
Substantial startup costs for Helio resulted in millions of dollars of losses per month. These losses caused EarthLink to post a loss for its first quarter of 2007.[12] EarthLink and SK Telecom both upped their initial investments after it became clear that more money would be required to establish the new Helio brand. After this second round of financing ran out, EarthLink declined to provide further money to support Helio, stating that the investments in Helio were draining resources away from the company's core business.
Change of ownership and control
On September 21, 2007, EarthLink announced that SK Telecom would be increasing SK Telecom's investment in Helio by $270 million and they would be adjusting ownership positions in the company accordingly and giving operational control to SK Telecom.[13][14][15] In January 2008, CEO Sky Dayton was replaced by Dr. Won Hee Sull, a former executive of SK Telecom. Sky was named non-executive chairman of the board. In a press release announcing the management changes, SK Telecom reaffirmed their commitment to Helio.[16]
Acquisition by Virgin Mobile USA
In May 2008, rumors arose that Helio parent SK Telecom was in talks with Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. over a possible merger.[17] SK Telecom denied these rumors, but Virgin Mobile USA divulged that the two, in fact, were having preliminary discussions.[18][19] On June 27, 2008, Virgin Mobile USA announced that it would pay $39 million in stock for Helio after SK Telecom promised to invest immediately $25 million in cash in Virgin Mobile USA.[20][21] Virgin Mobile USA completed its acquisition of Helio, Inc. on August 22, 2008. Helio had approximately 170,000 subscribers at time of the acquisition.[22]
Helio brand defunct
Sprint Nextel announced in March 2010 that Virgin Mobile USA would stop providing service to its Helio post-paid customers. Sprint Nextel offered Helio customers incentives to switch to Sprint branded service and were told that if they did nothing their service would be disconnected on May 25, 2010.[23]
Helio comeback
The Helio brand was resurrected by Ubi Telecom in July 2015. Helio's $29 per month rate plan offers unlimited talk, text and data but at capped data speeds of 128 kbit/s. On the hardware front, users could either sign up with your own phone (limited to devices compatible with Sprint, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Assurance Wireless) or buy an older device such as a Samsung Galaxy S4 for $299, Galaxy S III for $249, Galaxy Epic 4G for $49, or a Kyocera Kona flip phone for $89.[3]
