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Trump Organization launches service, new phone

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Phones to be made in America, group announces

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Latest move by Trump Org into new business ventures

(Rewrites throughout, adds analyst comments)

By Hannah Lang, Michelle Conlin and Akash Sriram

NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) -

Donald Trump's family business licensed its name to launch a

U.S. mobile service and a $499 smartphone on Monday, calling it

Trump Mobile, in the latest deal brokered by the president's

children to capitalize on his last name while he is in office.

The new mobile venture, announced at Trump Tower in Manhattan,

will operate using the networks of the three major U.S. wireless

carriers. Further details about the venture, including those

about the family's partner in the business and financial terms

of their licensing deal, were not immediately disclosed.

"We are going to be introducing an entire package of

products where people can come and they can get telemedicine on

their phones for one flat monthly fee, roadside assistance on

their cars, unlimited texting to 100 countries around the

world," said the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

The president has said he put his business interests in

a trust managed by his children to avoid conflicts of interest,

but income from such business ventures will eventually enrich

the president, who sits atop that series of Trump family firms.

In the president's financial disclosure released on Friday,

he reported more than $600 million in income from licensing

deals, crypto projects, golf clubs and other ventures. Those

numbers appeared to be through the end of 2024, before he was

inaugurated for his second term as president. Since then, the

Trump family's crypto projects alone have brought in hundreds of

millions of dollars.

"No one who has been paying attention could miss that

President Trump considers the presidency a vehicle to grow his

family's wealth. Maybe this example will help more come to see

this undeniable truth," said Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at

Harvard Law School.

MVNO OPERATOR

The mobile service will include call centers based in the United

States and phones made in America, according to the announcement

by the Trump Organization, the term the family uses to describe

the president's multiple business ventures. Current wireless

service providers, including AT&T ( T ) currently operate call

centers in the United States.

T1 Mobile uses the "Trump" name under a trademark license,

similar to other Trump-branded ventures. As a result, the Trump

Organization is not involved in designing the smartphone,

manufacturing it, or providing the cellular service.

The U.S. mobile network market is dominated by three

national carriers: Verizon, AT&T ( T ), and T-Mobile, which together

control over 95% of the wireless market. But mobile virtual

network operators (MVNOs), which buy network capacity from the

major U.S. carriers, are becoming increasingly popular for

targeting niche markets.

Actor Ryan Reynolds was both an investor and spokesperson

for Mint Mobile, a low-cost MVNO aimed at light phone users,

which was later acquired by T-Mobile for $1.35 billion.

It can be difficult for such ventures to make money, an

analyst said.

"MVNOs account for barely 3-4% of U.S. wireless

subscriptions and customer churn tends to be high," said Michael

Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point

Capital Advisors. "Unless Trump Mobile cracks the

million-subscriber mark-well above most celebrity MVNOs - the

financial impact is de minimis."

A website that went live after the announcement said the new

Trump-branded smartphone will be available from September. The

new network will be available for a subscription price of $47.45

per month, a reference to Trump, who was the 45th President in

his previous term in office and is now serving as the 47th

President.

"This latest move raises more questions than answers. As

always the devil is in the details given that it is unclear

around the actual commercial relationship with the telecom

players and so forth," said Paolo Pescatore, TMT analyst at PP

Foresight.

LICENSING DEAL

DTTM Operations - the entity managing President Trump's

trademarks - has filed applications to use his name and the term

"T1" for telecom-related services.

The filings, submitted Thursday to the U.S. Patent and

Trademark Office, cover mobile phones, accessories like cases

and chargers, wireless telephone services, and possibly even

retail stores.

The smartphone industry in the United States is among the

most saturated and competitive in the world, with leading global

players Apple ( AAPL ) and Samsung dominating the

market.

Nearly all of these smartphones bought in the U.S. are

manufactured abroad - primarily in China, South Korea, and

increasingly in India and Vietnam.

Despite the strength of U.S.-based tech brands, there is no

significant domestic smartphone production infrastructure,

largely due to high labor costs, supply chain complexity, and

reliance on overseas component sourcing.