Ex-Nokia president launching ad-funded MVNO

Former Nokia president Pekka Ala-Pietilä and Contra Group chairman and CEO Antti Öhrling are poised to launch Blyk, a "pan-European free mobile operator" offering subscribers free, ad-supported voice and text services. According to Mobile Today, Blyk will launch in the UK in two weeks, targeting the 16-to-24 demographic; Orange is rumored as the network partner. "We are going public now to invite all creative marketers and advertisers to join us in shaping this exciting new channel," Ala-Pietilä said, declining to discuss specifics.

According to Mobile Today, insider reaction to Blyk is decidedly mixed. "It's a really interesting idea," said one operator source. "They are a credible organization, Pekka is a credible guy, and he's got the money, which makes it very interesting." John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult, is not impressed, however. "I would rather invest in the national lottery than invest in that MVNO," he said. "Look at the size of the mobile market, and look at the value of the advertising market. If you want to pay all mobile bills through advertising, [you'd have to take] all the advertising in the whole country and move that to financing the mobile phone bills. It is not possible."

For more on Blyk:
- read this Mobile Today article