Continuing very much with what appears to be his personal modus operandum, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has recently taken a strategic stake in The Peoples Operator mobile virtual network operator business and been appointed to the board of the company as Co-Chair. This should mean he will ignite the fledgling companies drive, direction and scope. Speaking at DLD14 in Munich, he said:
“TPO puts customers and the causes they care about first. With over 4 billion mobile phone subscribers forecast for 2016 worldwide, TPO has huge potential for viral growth and the more it grows, the more money will pass to the people and communities that need it. Only a small percentage in global take up will make a massive difference to people’s lives. Just as Wikipedia grew virally as communities wanted to work together to liberate knowledge, so I believe TPO will grow in a similar way as communities work together to support good causes across the globe.”
TPO is also trademarked in key markets around the world and it intends to launch its business next in the United States. The idea of donating a portion of your monthly mobile phone bill to your favourite charity with no cost to you is a compelling one that many people can get behind and with a bit of shrewd advertising this could really take off.
The Peoples Operator (TPO), are an MVNO that launched in November 2012 and piggy-back on the EE network. I first came across them in July last year when I was looking into Charity MVNO’s and whilst still a for-profit organization TPO have committed to donating a quarter of their annual profit to charities chosen by their customers. This is a serious aim and they have set up The TPO Foundation, a transparent and independent legal entity run by trustees and chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly, to help with implementing this laudable goal. It’s been set up to award funds to organisations, local communities and charities that are trying to make a positive difference to people’s lives.
Leigh mentioned them in an article he posted recently as they are currently running a superb offer on PAYG sims where you get unlimited text, talk and internet for £14.99 for the first month and then the following three months for only £7.50. I think the technical phrase is ‘stonker of a deal’.
I like the idea of donating to a charity from money I was going to spend anyway and if you get decent T-Mobile or Orange coverage in your area and can do without the debatable benefits of 4g I certainly recommend you take a look at the link below…
