free 3G
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Samba Mobile was a UK ad-funded mobile broadband startup that offered free 3G data in exchange for watching video advertisements on PCs and tablets. Founded in May 2010 by Ben Atherton, it resold connectivity on the Three mobile network, launched to users in July 2012, reached about 10,000 users by November 2012, and raised $1.4 million.
02 / free 3G FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Samba Mobile's ad-for-data model collapsed under the economics of wholesale connectivity. High and rising data costs, which had to be paid in advance, made the free model unsustainable, and negotiations with wholesale data partners to cut costs failed. The company stopped service with immediate effect at the end of a billing period; founder Ben Atherton later repurposed the technology as a B2B play.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Ben Atherton founds Samba Mobile in the UK; the startup raises $1.4 million.
- Service launch
Samba launches free 3G broadband in exchange for video ads in July 2012, reaching about 10,000 users by November.
- Shutdown
On April 28, 2014, Samba Mobile shuts down after less than two years, blaming high and increasing wholesale data costs; its technology lives on as a B2B play.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Samba Mobile raised $1.4 million, including a second angel round in October 2012.
- 02
The company blamed its closure on high and increasing, and therefore unsustainable, data costs.
- 03
Service stopped with immediate effect after negotiations with wholesale data partners failed.
- 04
No reliable loss figure with a clear subject, period and basis exists, so no loss amount is recorded.