The Trump Organization now has a wireless business, including a mobile phone plan and a $499 gold-hued phone called the T1.
On Monday, Donald Trump Jr. announced a new wireless venture centered on a service called Trump Mobile. According to the venture’s website, a wireless plan is available for $47.45 a month with unlimited talk, text and data and no long-term contract. Those interested can use their own phone and number.
Trump Mobile is also offering for preorder a $499 phone called the T1 with a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen that runs the Android 15 operating system. The company says the T1 phone will be available in September. The service will run using the networks of the three major US wireless carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, according to the Trump Organization.
The price of the service is a callout to Donald Trump’s two terms as president: 47 for his current presidency and 45 for his previous one, from 2017 to 2021.
The idea for a wireless service promoted around a celebrity or a brand may be an emerging trend. Just a week before the Trump Organization announcement, the popular SmartLess podcast launched its own similar service. The podcast is hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes.
The launch prompted Fast Company to ask, “Is telecom the new tequila?” Tequila has become a popular celebrity business. LeBron James, George Clooney, Eva Longoria, Kendall Jenner, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the stars of Breaking Bad, Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston, are among many famous people in the spirits game.
‘Built in the United States’
In a press release for the service and new phone, the Trump Organization says it will be offering customer support through call centers based in the US. The T1 phone is described as “designed and built in the United States.”
The press release doesn’t offer any additional details about sourcing for the phone’s manufacturing, but given supply chain realities, it’s likely that at least some components in the phone would come from another country, such as China. The Trump administration has been focused on having more manufacturing take place in the US, including pushing Apple to build iPhones here.
In addition to voice and data service, the Trump Mobile plan includes 24/7 roadside assistance through Drive America, telehealth and mental health support services, no credit check and free international calling to 100 countries, “including many with American military bases to help honor the families who are bravely serving in our military abroad.”
The president did not appear for the Monday announcement at New York’s Trump Tower; his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. headed up publicity for the unveiling.
The Trump Organization is a holding company for the president’s business interests. According to Reuters, the president has reported $600 million worth of income from various deals and projects, including crypto coins, a sector of business his administration has been bullish on.
Trump Mobile versus the competition
The new offerings from Trump Mobile may receive a lot of publicity due to the president’s high profile and large social-media presence, but one wireless executive said they’re unlikely to create a major disruption for other wireless carriers.
“The US wireless market is over $300 billion a year, and it is not a zero-sum game. New entrants like Trump Mobile or SmartLess typically operate as Mobile Virtual Network Operators using infrastructure from the big three,” says US Mobile CEO Ahmed Khattak. Khattak’s company has served a million wireless customers and has ranked highly among the wireless phone plans has rated.
“They might carve out a niche based on branding or audience loyalty, but that does not fundamentally change the economics or scale advantages of larger MVNOs or the big three carriers,” he says.
Khattak doesn’t believe the new Trump endeavor is a conflict of interest or presents a regulatory conflict because the president has the authority to appoint FCC commissioners.
“The FCC is an independent agency,” he says. “Commissioners are appointed by the president but confirmed by the Senate, and the FCC does not get involved in MVNO business agreements or commercial launches.”
The US Mobile CEO also doesn’t believe that the new company represents a new wave of celebrity wireless endorsements.
“If anything, that era is behind us,” he says. “Mint Mobile is often seen as a Ryan Reynolds story, but the reality is that its parent company, Ultra Mobile, was already the fastest-growing private company in America long before he joined.”
Khattak adds, “Most celebrity MVNOs do not last because wireless is an operationally intense business with tight margins. This is not the next celebrity tequila or podcast trend.”
