British virtual mobile operator company, Ovivo Mobile, closed down on Wednesday without giving any prior warning or explanation, leaving more than 50,000 UK users in a shock.
The mobile network operator allowed customers to access Vodafone’s network for no monthly fee. It funded operations by serving adverts to its users every 10 minutes. Ovivo received network coverage from Vodafone as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operators) and paid fees in return.
Ovivo customers, surprised by the company’s move, immediately took the closure news to web forums to express their outrage. Users complained that they even could not access their accounts on Ovivo’s system to retrieve unused credit. The mobile operator’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have also been deactivated.
Ovivo posted the following statement on its website:
“Dear OVIVO Customers, We are very sad to announce that for reasons beyond our control, OVIVO Mobile is closing down on the evening of Wednesday 19th March 2014. We’d like to thank each and every one of you for your support and friendship over the last two years.”
Ovivo also wrote that users can fill out a form on the company’s website in order to keep their number and receive their PAC, a ‘porting authorisation code’ that will let users transfer their mobile phone number from one network to another.
“We will arrange for your PAC code to arrive as quickly as possible but there is a high demand for this service,” the company warned.
