By Telecom Lead Team: Virgin Mobile , a cellular phone
unit of Virgin Group is planning to enter the Latin American market with an
investment of $300 million over five years.

The company’s investments are aimed to become the
region’s biggest mobile virtual network operator.

Virgin Mobile Latin America expects to begin offering
service in Chile and Colombia this year before moving
into Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Peru. Virgin will buy
network space from other operators to avoid having to build its own
infrastructure,” said Peter Macnee, chief executive officer of Virgin Mobile.

The company has an agreement to purchase network space
from Telefonica’s Movistar unit in Colombia and has reached a marketing
accord with Valorem’s Cine Colombia movie-theater unit, part of the
holding company assembled by late Colombian billionaire Julio Mario Santo
Domingo, according to a Bloomberg
report.

Virgin will win subscribers with marketing that
emphasizes customer service and uses social media to attract younger
customers.

When you have a high penetration, the challenge for a
big network operator is to be all things to all people. So when they partner
with someone like us, we focus on one thing. We focus on the youth,” Macnee
added.

Recently, Virgin Mobile launched Alcatel’s One Touch 282
handset into stores, the first of its devices to be offered by the MVNO on
contract. It is being marketed as an ‘accessible’ device and is priced £29.99
on prepay and free on contracts starting from £7.50.