Virgin Mobile USA owned no cell towers. It rented space on Sprint's network and put Richard Branson's red brand on top, selling prepaid plans to young people who did not want a two-year contract. The Warren, New Jersey company began as a joint venture between the Virgin Group and Sprint. By 2007 it was a big name in prepaid wireless, and it filed to go public just as the iPhone was turning phones into the year's hottest product.

A Brand Without Towers

Virgin Mobile USA was what the industry calls a mobile virtual network operator. Sprint carried the calls. Virgin did the marketing, the phones and the customer service. The target was teenagers and young adults with no credit history or no wish to sign a long contract. They paid in advance, with no commitment. Service launched nationally in July 2002, and the company reached one million customers in November 2003, eighteen months later.

Priced at the Low End

Virgin Mobile USA sold 27.5 million shares at $15 in October 2007, at the bottom of its $15 to $17 range, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock slid fast. By mid-November it traded near $9. In July 2009, Sprint Nextel agreed to buy the company in a stock deal valued at about $5.50 a share. The deal closed in late 2009, and Virgin Mobile became a prepaid brand inside Sprint.

Cover: Young Woman in Black, Robert Henri. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a young woman in black (the brand's young customers).