Helio was a premium postpaid phone service on Sprint’s network, built by SK Telecom and EarthLink. It launched on May 2, 2006. Virgin Mobile USA bought it in August 2008 for about $39 million in stock. After Sprint bought Virgin Mobile, Helio service ended on May 25, 2010.
Helio was acquired, then shut down
Virgin Mobile USA agreed to buy Helio on June 27, 2008, for about $39 million in stock, and closed the deal on August 22, 2008. Helio then had about 170,000 subscribers. Sprint bought Virgin Mobile USA in 2009. In March 2010, Sprint said it would stop serving Helio postpaid customers, and service ended at midnight on May 25, 2010.
If you had a Helio line
Customers were offered Sprint postpaid plans, but no one was moved automatically. Sprint offered a $50 device credit with a two-year agreement and waived activation fees. Customers who left could port their number to any carrier with no termination fee. A number that went to Sprint in 2010 now lives with whatever carrier it was last ported to.
How Helio ended
- January 26, 2005: SK Telecom and EarthLink form SK-EarthLink, renamed Helio in October 2005.
- May 2, 2006: Helio service launches on Sprint’s network.
- June 27, 2008: Virgin Mobile USA agrees to buy Helio for about $39 million in stock.
- August 22, 2008: Virgin Mobile USA completes the Helio acquisition.
- March 2010: Sprint announces Virgin Mobile will stop serving Helio postpaid customers.
- May 25, 2010: Helio service ends and the brand is retired.
Why Helio ended
Helio spent heavily and lost subscribers. SK Telecom and EarthLink put in about $440 million at the start, and EarthLink stopped funding it in fall 2007. With losses mounting, Virgin Mobile USA bought it for about $39 million in 2008. Once Sprint owned Virgin Mobile USA, it chose to end the separate postpaid offering in 2010 and steer customers toward Sprint plans.
How to find who holds an old number now
- Check an old bill or payment record. It names the company that billed you last.
- Run the number through a carrier lookup tool. It shows the carrier that holds the number today.
- Call that carrier and ask for the account number and transfer PIN.
- Start the port from the new carrier. Never cancel the old line first.
Your right to keep a number
Number portability is federal law, not a carrier policy. The rule is the FCC’s: Portability: Keeping Your Phone Number When Changing Service Providers.
How we verified Helio
BestCellular.com tracks active carriers and defunct ones. We keep both, because people still search for brands that no longer exist. Every fact on this page comes from the sources listed below, and we leave a detail out when no source states it. Where sources disagree, this page says so. If you can document a correction, tell us and we will check it against the sources.
Tracked and active are different counts on this site. Helio counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about Helio
Is Helio still available?
Not the original service. Sprint ended Helio on May 25, 2010. UBI Telecom revived the Helio name in 2015 for Korean-speaking customers, but Wikipedia says that service later appears to have shut down too.
Which network did Helio use?
Helio ran on Sprint’s CDMA network as an MVNO. It used Sprint from its May 2, 2006 launch until Sprint ended the service on May 25, 2010.
What happened to Helio customers?
Helio became part of Virgin Mobile USA in 2008. When Sprint ended Helio service on May 25, 2010, customers could move to a Sprint postpaid plan with a $50 device credit or leave with no termination fee.
Who owned Helio?
SK Telecom and EarthLink founded it as a 50/50 joint venture in January 2005. SK Telecom took operational control in September 2007. Virgin Mobile USA owned it from August 2008, and Sprint owned Virgin Mobile USA from 2009.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- Wikipedia: Helio (wireless carrier): Founding, May 2, 2006 launch, Virgin Mobile deal dates, end on May 25, 2010
- RCR Wireless: VMU to cut postpaid service: Service ends May 25; Sprint postpaid offer, $50 credit, no termination fee (March 3, 2010)
- TechCrunch: Virgin Mobile USA to kill their postpaid service (Helio) on May 25th: No automatic migration to Sprint; waived activation fees (March 1, 2010)
- Fierce Network: MVNO Helio brought back from dead by UBI Telecom: Service ceased May 2010; 2015 relaunch by UBI Telecom (July 6, 2015)
- Wikipedia: List of mobile virtual network operators in the United States: Lists Helio on Sprint, ended 2010
Best Cellular. “Helio: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/helio/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.
Live carriers to look at instead
No carrier took over Helio’s customers. These carriers publish their network and run today.