This article was published on March 20, 2014

Ovivo, the UK operator that offered free services in exchange for ads, closes for ‘reasons beyond our control’


Ovivo, the UK operator that offered free services in exchange for ads, closes for ‘reasons beyond our control’

Ovivo Mobile, a virtual operator in the UK that offered a free mobile services in exchange for serving advertising, has closed down abruptly due to “reasons beyond our control.”

A notice on the company’s website — first spotted by the BBC — announces that the service shut down on March 19 with no prior warning. Although it doesn’t elaborate on the reasons behind its shuttering, it does provide a way for users to port their number to another mobile network.

ovivo

Ovivo users were provided with a free SIM and mobile services in return for making themselves available for targeted advertising. A CIOL article from February suggested that the company had over 50,000 subscribers in the UK — its only market — and that it was looking to raise £3 million ($5 million) in order to expand overseas in 2015.

➤ British firm Ovivo Mobile shuts down without warning [BBC]

Thumbnail image via Thinkstock

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