Apple on Tuesday directly denied rumors that it was planning to launch its own mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service in the United States and Europe. The company says it has “not discussed and is not planning” to create its own cellular carrier in the future.
The MVNO service would allow Apple to become its own carrier, leasing space from existing network carriers and building SIM cards that switch from network-to-network as need be. Rumors about such a service have been around for a while now, and today marks the first time that Apple has directly denied the existence of any such feature being built by the company.
Business Insider had reported on Monday that the iPhone manufacturer was testing its own MVNO service in the U.S.
While it is rare to see Apple respond directly to rumors, the company apparently felt the rumor was worthy of a response form the company before it went much further, and affected any expectations of the company’s future plans.
BREAKING: Apple says it has not discussed & is not planning MVNO cellular service following reports saying it was planning on doing that.
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) August 4, 2015
While MSNBC tweeted Apple’s response, Reuters published a statement from an Apple spokeswoman who said: “We have not discussed nor do we have any plans to launch an MVNO.”
