From Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile to Trump Mobile: The Celebrity-Fueled Mobile Network Gold Rush. Celebrities like Ryan Reynolds are cashing in on the mobile network market, inspiring others – from Donald Trump to the SmartLess podcast hosts and even Klarna – to launch their own branded mobile services. This trend sees high-profile figures leveraging their brand recognition for a lucrative piece of the prepaid wireless pie, mirroring Reynolds' hugely successful Mint Mobile strategy. Discover how this celebrity-driven phenomenon is reshaping the telecom landscape
Ryan Reynolds, Mint Mobile, and the $300 Million Celebrity Brand Play: How the Deadpool star's savvy investment in the prepaid wireless carrier and subsequent sale to T-Mobile for $1.35 billion inspired a wave of celebrity-backed mobile networks. Learn how Reynolds' success with affordable Mint Mobile plans spurred others, including Donald Trump and the "SmartLess" podcast, to enter the market
Mint Mobile's success, spearheaded by Ryan Reynolds, has sparked a celebrity-endorsed trend in the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market. MVNOs, like Cricket Wireless and Boost Mobile, offer affordable prepaid cell phone plans without owning network infrastructure. Reynolds' innovative approach, leveraging his star power, inspired others, including Donald Trump and the "SmartLess" podcast hosts, to enter the competitive prepaid wireless market, demonstrating the lucrative potential of celebrity-branded MVNOs
Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile success sparked a celebrity mobile network craze. Analysts like Avi Greengart of Techspontential blame Reynolds' $1.35 billion T-Mobile deal for inspiring everyone from Donald Trump to Klarna to launch their own branded mobile services. Is this the new celebrity endorsement gold rush?
Trump Mobile: Unlimited Talk, Text, & Data for $47.45/month. This new mobile service, launched by the Trump Organization, boasts "All-American performance" and includes calls to 100 international destinations. A $499 gold-colored Trump-branded phone is also available
SmartLess Mobile: Affordable Cell Phone Plans from Your Favorite Podcast Hosts. Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes launch a budget-friendly, no-nonsense mobile network. Skip the unlimited data overcharges and get a refreshingly BS-free plan starting at just $15/month. Friends don't let friends overpay! SmartLess Mobile offers inexpensive, limited data plans perfect for WiFi users
Smartless Mobile CEO Paul McAleese explains the surprising success of their unlimited data plans: Half the country uses 10GB or less, yet unlimited data is overwhelmingly preferred. This unique market gap, unlike grocery shopping where you wouldn't buy 40 gallons of milk to consume only 2, drives our strategy. Unlimited data plans: a smart choice for today's mobile users
Following the success of celebrity-backed mobile networks like Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile, companies are rushing to enter the market. Klarna, the popular buy now, pay later service, is the latest to join the fray, launching its own mobile network with a $40/month plan. This strategic move expands Klarna's neobank offerings, blurring the lines between financial services and mobile connectivity. The waitlist for Klarna's mobile plan opened in June, signaling a significant expansion beyond its core financial services
Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile success inspires a wave of celebrity-backed mobile networks. Following his $300 million T-Mobile deal, figures like Donald Trump and the "SmartLess" podcast hosts are launching their own brands, mirroring Reynolds' strategy of leveraging celebrity influence in the competitive prepaid mobile market. Industry analysts attribute this trend to Reynolds' undeniable impact, noting the widespread emulation of his successful Mint Mobile model
Celebrity-branded telecom is booming, mirroring the success of celebrity-endorsed spirits like Reynolds' gin, Snoop Dogg's wine, and Clooney's tequila. From Ryan Reynolds' billion-dollar Mint Mobile exit to Trump Mobile's launch, celebrities are leveraging their brand power to disrupt the mobile phone market. This trend positions telecom as the next big celebrity-backed industry
Celebrity endorsements drive the mobile network market. From Ryan Reynolds' $1.35 billion Mint Mobile sale to Donald Trump's Trump Mobile launch, everyone's seeking a piece of the lucrative mobile phone market. This trend highlights the increasing monetization of celebrity brands, with even podcasters and financial companies joining the fray
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) like Mint Mobile purchase bulk network capacity from major carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) and resell it under their own brands, profiting from the difference between wholesale and retail prices. This business model, popularized by celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, allows companies to offer competitive mobile phone plans without the infrastructure investment of building their own network
Capital-light entry into the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market offers a lucrative alternative. Avoid hefty upfront investments in network infrastructure and licensing fees, as exemplified by successful examples like Mint Mobile. This model is ideal for brands seeking to expand service offerings and enhance customer loyalty, mirroring Comcast's Xfinity Mobile strategy
Unlocking Revenue Streams: How MVNOs Help Carriers Tap Untapped Markets. Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) enable carriers to monetize excess network capacity and reach niche customer segments—diverse demographics, languages, and interests—often underserved by traditional marketing. This strategy allows carriers to expand their reach beyond their existing brand's general appeal
Major wireless carriers prioritize large customer segments, neglecting smaller niches due to perceived low risk and minimal effort. Their advertising strategies reflect this focus, lacking the creativity seen in targeted campaigns. As Recon Analytics founder Roger Entner notes, this "low-risk" approach avoids potential failures, but also limits growth opportunities in underserved markets
MVNOs are just a small sliver of the mobile market. Entner estimates there are about 15 million MVNO customers in the US (that excludes people who use MVNOs tied to cable companies, which are an additional 19 million or so). By comparison, the major carriers have upwards of 340 million.
Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel, the author of “Cultural Intelligence for Marketers,” says that because consumers tend to distrust the big telecom players, an MVNO may signal a “perception of independence” for potential users. It gives an “illusion of being separate from the major telco brands,” she says, even if that’s far from the case. Klarna is working with AT&T, SmartLess is with T-Mobile, and the Trump Organization says they’re working with all three major carriers.
For the brands and individuals trying to launch mobile networks, the hope is that they have enough clout with their existing fan bases to get them to switch networks and sign up. Maybe you love Jason Bateman so much you feel like you have to have his phone plan, or you’re so entrenched in Klarna’s payments system and app, you switch your network to them. Or, in the case of the Trump family, you’re MAGA. And given the president’s long history of putting his name on things and promoting them, from buildings to steaks to wine, the move seems like a natural extension.
“The only surprising thing about Trump Mobile is that he didn’t try this already,” Greengart says.
Trump Mobile didn’t respond to a request for comment.
McAleese, from SmartLess, says that while he’s aware this may look like following in Reynolds’ footsteps, that’s not what’s going on. Arnett served as a spokesperson for the Canadian company Freedom Mobile, which he also ran, back in 2018. “Will did that job, frankly, before Ryan ever did,” he says.
Just because celeb-affiliated mobile networks are blooming does not mean they will flourish. It’s a tough business to be in. ESPN failed at its MVNO efforts two decades ago, even with all the power of, you know, ESPN — though that attempt was also before the iPhone existed.
It’s an easy business to start, but it’s a hard business to operate, Moffett explains. “The MVNO network operator provides almost everything you need to get started. But once you spend money on marketing and customer service, it turns out to be a really tough way to make money,” he says. “To succeed, you need to achieve meaningful scale, and very, very few MVNOs ever do.”
Phone plans are sticky. It takes time and effort to switch your carrier from one brand to another, though the barrier is getting a bit lower these days. It’s especially difficult if your phone plan is how you’re paying off your device, or you’re on a family plan with multiple lines. Many MVNOs don’t offer plans with more than one or two lines, and few help customers finance their devices.
As much as people may idolize certain celebrities or relate to certain brands, it’s just not clear that they do so enough to want their entire consumer lives to reside in their ecosystems. Beyond the branding, a lot of these networks aren’t particularly special in terms of the price or service they offer. Maybe they’ll get some people, via social media posts and ads, but it may not be enough to grow and sustain a thriving business operation.
“Where a lot of them run into a buzzsaw is when there’s not enough differentiation going on,” Entner says. “They bring nothing unique to it.”
He was skeptical of Klarna’s move, too. “It’s a lower-cost acquisition channel, because if you’re already paying off your burrito, they can also say, ‘Hey, by the way, I know you’re broke. Here’s cheap service on top of it,'” he says, referring to Klarna’s BNPL deal that allows people to break up a DoorDash order into multiple installments. “‘I know so much about you, so I can tailor my offer exactly for you.’ That’s the logic. I probably don’t agree with it, but knock yourself out.”
A Klarna spokesperson says in an email that “unlike most new MVNOS, we’re not starting from scratch, nor are we jumping on the bandwagon” and that its mobile offering has been in the works for many months as part of a multiyear strategy. “We’re not trying to ‘win’ mobile or become the biggest carrier — this isn’t about scale for its own sake,” the spokesperson says. “It’s about solving a very real problem for the tens of millions of consumers who already trust Klarna to help manage their finances.”
SmartLess’s McAlease says they “wish everyone well” who’s trying to launch an MVNO right now, because competition is good for the industry, but “they’re just kind of on that unlimited train, and that might work for them and for their audience.” Initial marketing efforts have focused on the SmartLess guys, for obvious reasons — you’ve got three big celebrities and a giant podcast in the mix, so why not? But it will soon shift more to what actually differentiates it.
“You’re going to start seeing much more product- and price-focused things over the course of the next while,” McAelase says. “It’s always tricky for MVNOs to break through the noise, and we’re fortunate to have a brand and principles that are happy to do that.”
Pescatore says that MVNOs have been more successful in other countries, such as the supermarket Tesco’s mobile network in the UK. But it’s challenging. “There are opportunities in a mature market like the US, given the price of existing services from mobile network providers. Ultimately, it needs to tightly integrate and complement the existing service and offer something truly novel to attract subscribers,” he says.
The track record of these projects working out may not deter brands and public figures from trying. Entner says he knows of multiple MVNOs that are in development. Apple has long faced speculation that it might launch an MVNO, though it always denies it. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Will all these projects work out? It seems unlikely, but it could happen. Some of these packages are pretty cheap, and hey, if you like some actor enough to switch your cellphone plan for them, by all means.
Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.
Business Insider’s Discourse stories provide perspectives on the day’s most pressing issues, informed by analysis, reporting, and expertise.
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