Apple could be launching its own MVNO in the US and Europe

According to a report published on Monday, Apple is in talks to provide talk, text and data to iPhone and iPad users through an MVNO that it would start up in the U.S. and Europe.

The sources of Business Insider claim that the Apple MVNO will work like this: “Instead of paying your carrier every month, you will pay Apple directly for data, calls, and texts”. A few sources close to Apple suggest that the company is testing the service right now in the United States, with early negotiations beginning in Europe to bring the MVNO service overseas. As mentioned by Business Insider, it could take Apple at least five years to ink deals with all the telecom companies and carriers in the U.S. and Europe before launching its MVNO to the public.

Acting as MVNO, Apple would provide your wireless service but use the spectrum from an existing carrier. TechCrunch reports that Apple filed a patent back in 2006 for an MVNO service.

The upside to this is that an iPhone with an Apple SIM would be able to seamlessly switch between various networks in order to deliver the best possible connection depending on a user’s location. Most of us know that Apple is all about control and keeping things in its own ecosystem by doing things like keeping OS X and iOS on Macs and iPhones/iPads/iPod touches, so it’s no surprise to hear that the Cupertino firm is playing with the idea of offering its own MVNO. It allowed customers to switch between networks through their device using a SIM card that could connect to lots of different carriers.

What Google does have going for it, however, is that its service is already here.

With Apple and Google already competing in smartphone market, it’s endlessly intriguing to imagine a scenario where the two tech giants begin competing as rival carriers.

There have been rumours about an Apple MVNO for years.