Amazon in talks to offer low-cost mobile services – Bloomberg News
June 2 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is in talks with a number of telecommunications providers to offer services in the U.S. Low-cost or possibly free mobile phone service could be provided to Prime customers, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. ,
tied up with e-commerce major Verizon Communications (VZ.N), T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) and Dish Network Corp (DISH.O), and wireless plans for $10 a month or less to prime wants to offer. Members, according to reports. Amazon had earlier also held talks with AT&T Inc (TN)
Shares of Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile fell about 4% to 7% each, while Amazon was up 2%. Dish Network was up 17%. The news of talks between Amazon and Dish came last week.
The telecommunications companies mentioned above did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
“We’re always exploring adding even more benefits to Prime members, but don’t have plans to add wireless at this time,” said an Amazon spokeswoman in response to a Reuters query.
Reported talks come as Amazon is facing a slowdown in new sign-ups for the Prime service, its flagship loyalty program that offers customers faster shipping and video streaming.
For telecommunications companies, a resale partnership with Amazon could serve as a means to attract new users and increase revenue. Details of a possible deal between Amazon and the telecom companies were not immediately known.