*

The T1 phone will ship in October and run on the Android

OS, Pat

O'Brien says

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Enterpreneurs behind the service will provide device and

insurance services

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Trump Mobile says the phone will be assembled in Alabama,

California, and Florida

By Akash Sriram and Aditya Soni

July 31 (Reuters) - Hours after the high-profile launch

of Trump Mobile, a new Trump-branded mobile service provider, in

June, callers to the company's customer support line were

greeted with, "Omega Auto Care, how can I help you?"

Two calls placed by Reuters that day to the mobile service's

helpline rang to the Missouri-based auto-warranty company, which

is part of Ensurety Ventures, a St. Louis, Missouri firm led by

entrepreneur Pat O'Brien, who was introduced by Eric Trump and

Donald Trump Jr. on June 16 as a member of the launch team

providing "customer support and device protection" for Trump

Mobile.

Today, calls to the support line are answered by people who

identify themselves as Trump Mobile support staff, but the

first-day confusion speaks to the dizzying speed with which the

Trump family has scrambled to set up the businesses.

In addition to Trump Mobile, the family has established several

ventures since President Donald Trump was elected to a second

term in November. These include 12 new overseas development

deals, a Trump-branded bible, a crypto trading platform World

Liberty Financial - which has netted the president's family

about $500 million since launch - a $TRUMP meme coin, and a

stablecoin USD1.

Trump Mobile is what's known as a mobile virtual network

operator, or MVNO, which has grown in popularity in recent years

as various celebrities and causes leverage their cultural clout

to launch branded wireless ventures.

T-Mobile, for instance, acquired Ryan Reynolds-backed Mint

Mobile for up to $1.35 billion in May. Jason Bateman, Will

Arnett and Sean Hayes, the actors behind the hit SmartLess

podcast, announced SmartLess Mobile in June.

At the launch of Trump Mobile, Eric and Donald Trump Jr.

introduced the team, including O'Brien, Don Hendrickson, a

telecom executive who will serve as Trump Mobile's head of

mobile operations, and Eric Thomas, a Utah-based entrepreneur

entrusted with "device operations," as having "hundreds of

years" of telecom experience between them.

The service, pitched by the Trumps for "hardworking Americans,"

will bundle telemedicine services and roadside assistance, along

with a gold-toned, $499 smartphone dubbed T1 "designed and built

in the United States," which a spokesperson says will be

manufactured at facilities in Alabama, California and Florida.

The company is charging $100 to "get in line" to buy the

phone as soon as it ships.

A Reuters review of the backgrounds of the Trump Mobile team

reveals an interconnected web of companies owned by the three

men that will form the core of the company's offering to

consumers.

The Trump Phone will ship bundled with an array of services

provided by companies connected to O'Brien's Ensurety Ventures,

Hendrickson and Thomas, including roadside assistance, device

protection, and telehealth services, including "easy ordering"

of prescription medications, according to its website.

Reached by phone, O'Brien would not disclose the type of

phone that will ship to users but did say it would run on

Google's Android mobile operating system.

"The plan is going to be able to have the phone done by

September and launching where we're fulfilling orders in early

October," O'Brien said.

He added that the brand will initially launch one phone and

eventually develop many devices, adding that the T1 has gotten a

lot of pre-orders. He did not specify how many.

From the start, telecom industry experts challenged the

notion that the phone - or any competitive mobile device - could

be built in the U.S. "Domestically manufacturing a smartphone in

the USA could easily double its price compared to a similar one

made in Asia," said Ken Hyers, Director of Market Analysis at

TechInsights.

Within days of the announcement, Trump Mobile dropped the

Made in USA claim from its website. Now, a Trump Mobile

spokesperson said the T1 is being manufactured in three states

with the goal of sourcing "as many materials and parts from the

U.S. as the supply chain allows."

"We will continue to build on that as more and more parts

and equipment are made here in America," the spokesperson said.

Eric and Donald Trump Jr. did not respond to a request for

comment. Thomas did not respond to requests for comment and

Hendrickson could not be reached for comment.

VIRTUAL OPERATOR

Rather than building a telecom operation from scratch, Trump

Mobile's wireless service will run on Liberty Mobile's network,

a "virtual" network that leases cellular capacity from major

carriers such as Verizon, AT&T ( T ) and T-Mobile, and is co-owned by

the three members of the launch team, O'Brien, Thomas and

Hendrickson.

The company has not disclosed subscriber numbers, and

O'Brien declined to provide them to Reuters.

Incorporated in 2018 and registered to a condo in Trump

Tower Miami, Liberty's service appears to be nascent, offering

older smartphone models such as the iPhone 11. Its LinkedIn

profile shows it has fewer than 50 employees and its website

displays the text "lorem ipsum," typical placeholder text used

to design pages before the content is final.

Liberty's most recent annual filing in Florida dated

February 7, 2025, lists Matthew Lopatin as its CEO and

president, an entrepreneur who has founded and owns several

businesses in Florida, filings show.

Liberty and Lopatin did not respond to requests for

comment.

Hendrickson is listed as executive vice president of sales

of Liberty Mobile. His son, Christian Hendrickson, worked at

Liberty during the pandemic, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Christian Hendrickson did not respond to a request for comment.

BUNDLED SERVICES

Among the services that will be bundled with the phone is

VMed Mobile, a company jointly owned by O'Brien, Hendrickson and

Thomas that sells portable wellness trackers and telehealth

subscriptions, O'Brien said. The company certifies its products

through a Shenzhen, China-based subsidiary, according to FCC

filings on the company's website.

O'Brientold Reuters he has been "personally involved" in Liberty

Mobile for three years and that Liberty originally reached out

to him to provide health tracking services. Liberty's website

lists VMed Mobile as a service.

Telehealth services for Trump Mobile will be provided by

Doctegrity, according to its website.

Doctegrity is a Texas-based telehealth subscription platform

led by Jesse Ohayon, according to his LinkedIn profile and a

YouTube posted months ago.

Ohayon and Doctegrity did not respond to requests for

comment.

O'Brien's Ensurety Ventures controls roadside assistance

provider Drive America and device insurance vendor Omega Mobile

Care, two other services advertised by Trump Mobile. A separate

webpage for the Omega Mobile Care lists three device protection

plans for cracked screens between $100 and $300.

Drive America, founded in 1968 and once owned by Ford Motor ( F )

and Citi Group, serves 12 million customers, according to its

website.

Omega Auto Care, the company that picked up the phone on

Trump Mobile launch day, provides vehicle service contracts and

extended warranties that cover the cost of repairs for a car's

mechanical breakdowns after its factory warranty expires.

"We are providing products through that relationship that

people normally have to pay upward of $30 per month or more to

receive those benefits," O'Brien said.