If you are offering consumer products, then you generally want to offer 3 tiers. It is conventionally known as good-better-best [1]. But you also have to be c

If you are offering consumer products, then you generally want to offer 3 tiers. It is conventionally known as good-better-best [1]. But you also have to be careful attaching your brand to all three because people don't want to pay best prices for good level product. If you visit the carrier websites they are targeting the better and best level. You'll note they don't list the acquired mvnos in their plans on their sites. Those mvnos all competed on price and lowest product level. While it may not seem like it, it is expensive and time consuming to build a brand. Many fail. And many upper brands fail really badly when they try to build a low end brand. The carriers are acquiring an established low brand: * that has figured out how to do it and survived * along with a bunch of customers * that use your unused network capacity * have retail locations and staffing (except Mint) * have figured out how to distribute their product (eg other and own retail locations) * have figured out how to acquire and retain customers * have figured out how to provide customer service They get to acquire all that without affecting their main brand. The people involved aren't idiots, and it turns out it does have great value. Billions in some cases! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good%E2%80%93better%E2%80%93best https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good%E2%80%93better%E2%80%93be...