Delaware bankruptcy judge said Amp’d Mobile LLC can pay $2.5 million to Verizon Wireless under a deal that will allow the start-up to continue using Verizon’s cellular network while it reorganizes under Chapter 11 protection.
Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., signed off Monday on the deal.
Los Angeles-based Amp’d Mobile doesn’t have its own cellular network but buys network capacity on a wholesale basis from Verizon Wireless.
Under the deal, Amp’d Mobile will pay Verizon $2.5 million, which will be used to pay down a portion of Amp’d Mobile’s post-bankruptcy debt to Verizon. Verizon has billed Amp’d Mobile $10.6 million for just June, according to court papers.
Verizon Wireless, owed $33 million, is Amp’d Mobile’s largest unsecured creditor.
In return for the partial payment, Amp’d Mobile will continue to have access to Verizon’s network. Amp’d Mobile also agreed to drop a lawsuit it filed after Verizon Wireless moved to kick Amp’d off its network.
Verizon Wireless, based in Basking Ridge, N.J., moved to cut off Amp’d Mobile after the startup failed to make payments that were due under the network agreement, forcing Amp’d Mobile to file for bankruptcy earlier this month.
It’s expected the Verizon deal should help Amp’d Mobile obtain financing to fund its business during its Chapter 11 case. The dispute with Verizon had hindered the company’s efforts to obtain a loan to finance its bankruptcy case.Company officials couldn’t be reached for comment on the status of Amp’d Mobile’s efforts to obtain a bankruptcy loan
The company has been funding its Chapter 11 case, in part, with cash collateral belonging to its lender Kings Road Investment Ltd. Cash collateral refers to any cash, stocks, bonds, or other cash equivalents a company can use to fund its business with the permission of its creditors or the order of a judge.
After filling for bankruptcy last month, Amp’d Mobile, along with backer Kings Road sued Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Britain’s Vodafone Group PLC, seeking a court order barring the company from kicking Amp’d off its network.
As well as providing videos, games and music to subscribers’ cell phones, Amp’d also develops it own content. The Comedy Central cable network recently began airing its “Lil’ Bush,” an animated series originally developed for the wireless company.
Launched in 2005, Amp’d Mobile filed for Chapter 11 protection on June 1 in the Wilmington bankruptcy court, listing less than $100 million in assets but over $100 million in debt.
The company ran into trouble despite bringing in more than $360 million in start-up funding. Amp’d Mobile blamed its financial problems on its rapid growth and significant percentage of its more than 200,000 customers not paying their bills on time.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
A US bankruptcy judge has approved a deal which will allow struggling wireless reseller Amp’d Mobile to continue offering services. Amp’d, which is currently attempting a reorganisation under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, will pay USD2.5 million to its wholesale partner Verizon Wireless to ensure customers can retain their connections. Amp’d owes Verizon Wireless a total of USD33 million, with Verizon billing USD10.6 million for June alone. Amp’d, which is more than USD100 million in debt, will drop a lawsuit filed after Verizon moved to end their wholesale deal.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Amp’d has signed a deal with with Verizon that will see the MVNO continue to use the carrier’s network, in exchange for Amp’d dropping its lawsuit to prevent Verizon kicking it off the network. This gives Amp’d the ability to continue to offer services as it works through its financial woes. “The settlement should help Amp’d Mobile obtain financing to fund its business during its Chapter 11 case. According to court papers filed on Wednesday, the Verizon litigation has “hindered (Amp’d Mobile) to procure debtor in possession financing”.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
The US mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Amp’d Mobile has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Amp’d is attempting to restructure its business after failing to keep up with rapid network and subscriber growth. The company says its reorganisation plan involves additional financing from an unnamed existing investor. Amp’d Mobile owes a total of almost USD100 million, with USD33 million due to Verizon Wireless, USD16 million to Motorola and USD10 million to Vivendi. It has signed up around 200,000 subscribers since its launch in 2005.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Amp’d Mobile announced its subscriber totals are now approaching the 200,000 threshold following the first-quarter addition of 84,000 new customer activations. The MVNO also stated ARPU totals exceeding $100 per month, with data ARPU accounting for roughly $30 per month. Of that $30 monthly total, more than 50 percent derives from mobile entertainment, doubling the industry average; according to Amp’d, subscribers consumed more than four million videos, songs and mobile games in Q1 2007, doubling the MVNO’s Q4 2006 figures.
Other Amp’d benchmarks: Subscribers are now downloading more over-the-air music downloads than ringtones, and original content–though comprising just five percent of all Amp’d Live content–generates 30 percent of overall downloads.
For more on the Amp’d subscriber data:
- read this release
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Developer giant Qualcomm and Amp’d Mobile announced the launch of BREW-based wireless data services for the MVNO’s Canadian subscribers, heralding the first commercial BREW deployment in Canada. The deployment builds on Amp’d and Qualcomm’s existing relationship–according to Amp’d, more than 50 percent of its U.S. subscriber base has downloaded or used a BREW game or entertainment service in the last 30 days.
“Qualcomms BREW solution has created the ideal environment for Amp’d to deliver the best in mobile entertainment applications and services to our customers,” said Amp’d senior VP of emerging technologies Mike McSherry in a prepared statement. “3D games, music, streaming video and other rich multimedia services that push the boundaries of what is possible on today’s high-speed wireless networks are at the heart of the Amp’d Live offering, and BREW has been a major factor in helping us capitalize on it.”
For more on the Canadian BREW launch:
- read this release
PrnewsWire writes…Nickelodeon Mobile on Amp’d Live will include several short form clips,
from 30 seconds to two minutes in length, from the networks top-rated
animated shows including SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender,
The Fairly OddParents, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Catscratch, as well as
tween live action hits Just Jordan and Drake and Josh. Nicktoons and the
live action hits will refresh on a weekly basis. The N Mobile content will
feature short form clips, behind-the-scenes content, sneak peaks and
webisodes from teen successes including Degrassi: The Next Generation,
Instant Star, South of Nowhere, and Beyond the Break.
“Adding MTVN Kids and Family Group brands to Amp’d Mobile fits squarely
with MTV Networks’ strategy of super-serving its targeted, global audiences
with a relevant and innovative video content experiences,” said Steve
Youngwood, Executive Vice President of Digital Media for MTVN Kids and
Family Group. “Nickelodeon shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar, and
the Kids’ Choice Awards that feature large adult audiences, along with The
N’s teen hits, fit well with Amp’d’s core demographic. These launches
demonstrate our continued commitment to being a premier multi-platform
media company.”
MTV Networks and Amp’d Mobile recently announced a development deal
where the companies will create and distribute programming made
specifically for the handset. Original programming from MTV Networks’
channels will be featured on Amp’d TV, Amp’d Mobile’s 24/7 TV service,
which includes MTV, mtvU, VH1, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike and Logo.
Wireless Mobile Telecom
- December 5th, 2006
- 6:12 pm
Among the first such case in U.S., where a show, made for mobile, has made it onto TV: Comedy Central will air a political parody show produced by MVNO Amp’d Mobile. The show, the animated series called ?Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States? will be co-produced with Amp’d and the show’s creator Donick Cary, a TV writer who has written for “Late Show with David Letterman? and “The Simpsons.? Comedy Central plans to air the half-hour show weekly beginning next summer during the popular 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. time slot, possibly right after “South Park? and before “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.? MTV Networks, parent of Comedy Central, is a major investor in Amp’d, though it says its decision to air “Lil’ Bush? wasn’t influenced by MTV Networks’ ownership in it.
The show on Amp’d is only about five minutes long. Comedy Central will make future shows into two 11-minute episodes to fill the 30-minute TV show slot, with the rest of the time being filled with commercials.
Amp’d has ramped up its original content production efforts: the company has hired KC Armstrong, a former producer of “Howard Stern Show,? to host a reality-TV program for cellphones. It is also launching a 3D mobile game called “Homeland Security: Kim Jong Il Edition,? in which a U.S. spy will infiltrate North Korea and assassinate the leader in order to stop nuclear-weapons testing.
It has its own TV studios in its West LA office building, where Fox used to shoot “24.? It produces hundreds of short sports, comedy and reality show clips, which make up about 5% of its content but get about 30% of the usage, the story said.
The article also notes that Amp’d now has more than 50,000 subscribers.
Amp’d Mobile, Verizon Wireless Deal Oked
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