If you are a member of Amazon Prime in the US, you might be able to get cheap or free unlimited mobile phone service in the near future. A new report claims Amazon is in talks with several wireless providers that could result in discounted phone service as a perk for Prime members.
Bloomberg reports, via unnamed sources, that Amazon is currently in talks with Verizon, T-Mobile, and Dish Network to get the lowest wholesale prices for Prime members. AT&T was also involved but it appears that the carrier is currently not included in the current talks, which reportedly have been ongoing for the last couple of months.
If such a deal does come to pass, Amazon would basically become an MVNO carrier, pigging backing off one or more of the wireless carriers" network. That would put it in competition with several other low cost MVNOs and one of the company"s biggest competitors, Google, which runs its own Google Fi wireless service.
Officially, Amazon is denying Bloomberg"s report. A spokesperson is quoted as saying, "We are always exploring adding even more benefits for Prime members, but don’t have plans to add wireless at this time."
Amazon Prime currently costs $14.99 a month or $139 for an annual subscription. Amazon Prime also offers a 30-day free trial offer and discounts for college students and qualifying government assistance recipients.
Membership in the service already offers lots of perks, including special pricing on products and free two day shipping on millions of items. It also offers access Amazon Prime Video with lots of original streaming TV shows and movies, access to thousands of free ebooks and magazines via Prime Reading, the ability to listen ad-free to millions of songs on Amazon Music and much more.
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