A new MVNO aiming to
attract customers with hearing loss is targeting 600,000 customers in
the next five years.
Audacious, which
launched on August 14 on EE’s network, is a venture between Isle of
Man operator Manx Telecom and audio technology company Goshawk
Communications.
Potential customers can
conduct a medically certified sound check on Audacious’ website,
giving them a personalised hearing profile based on which frequencies
they hear best and worst. This modifies the way users hear
conversations on their phone through an Audacious SIM.
There are approximately
10 million people in the UK with hearing issues.
Audacious was founded by Goshawk CEO Matthew Turner, alongside Cambridge University professor of hearing science Brian Moore. The MVNO’s CEO is Rob Shardlow (pictured), who has previously held leading roles at Virgin Mobile and Vodafone.
Medically certified
“It’s very
difficult to discern any tangible difference between the other
operators; it’s a race to the bottom,” said Shardlow. “When I
heard about Audacious, I thought it was pretty amazing. It’s a
medically certified technology – a world first – at the core of
which is a social purpose.”
He added: “The only
way we get to fulfil our ambitions commercially is to make a
difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.”
Audacious’ SIMs are
offered on a one-month rolling contract, work on any unlocked handset
and come in 2GB, 5GB and 10GB data sizes, each with 5,000 minutes and
5,000 texts.
Earlier this year,
Audacious took home the Most Innovative MVNO award at the MVNOs World
Congress.
The company’s debut
will be supported by a launch party at the BT Tower on September 3,
as well as pay-per-click advertising, television appearances and
advertising on public transport.”
