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Blyk, a free mobile operator

It had to happen.

Blyk is a new mobile operator that will be launching in the UK in mid-2007, with other markets to follow.

So far, so what?

The key difference is that Blyk is free to the end user, and funded by advertising. While not everyone will want to be subjected to ads in return for free calls, Blyk is targetting the 16-24 age group, and they just might.

The trick, of course (as both Azeem Azhar and Jyri Engeström point out), is to get the advertising right, so that users perceive its value rather than just seeing it as a nuisance. An interesting challenge!

Still, if nothing else, Blyk certainly looks set to shake up the mobile operators' pricing model, and from a consumer perspective, that can only be a good thing.

Update: While we're on the subject of free mobile operators, let's not forget Neuf Mobile Liberté, a new offering available only to French operator Neuf Telecom's ADSL subscribers that gives users ten minutes a month for zero euros.