Andrew Yang Launches Budget Carrier Noble Mobile Inspired by Mark Cuban

Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur and former presidential candidate, has launched a new budget-friendly mobile service called Noble Mobile. Drawing inspiration from Mark Cuban’s transparent pricing model, the company offers a unique incentive: customers receive cash back when they use less data. This approach aims to align financial savings with healthier digital habits.

The service operates as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), utilizing T-Mobile’s infrastructure to provide coverage. For $50 a month, subscribers get unlimited talk, text, and 5G data. If a user stays under the 20 GB monthly data threshold, they earn “Noble Cash” for every unused gigabyte. These credits can be redeemed for rewards or cashed out at a rate of about one dollar per GB saved.

Yang openly admits his own struggles with excessive screen time. “We all fall into the doomscrolling trap,” he remarked. “But when scrolling starts costing you real money, it changes your relationship with your device.” The idea is to make users more conscious of their data consumption, potentially encouraging them to disconnect more often.

Data usage varies widely based on individual behavior and Wi-Fi availability. For example, someone who streams music or video primarily on home or office networks may easily stay below the 20 GB cap. In such cases, the savings could add up significantly over time.

Noble Mobile recently secured $10.3 million in seed funding, led by Corazon Capital with participation from marketing expert Scott Galloway and other investors. The company enters a competitive MVNO space that includes brands like Mint Mobile, which T-Mobile acquired last year for $1.35 billion.

By avoiding the enormous costs of building physical networks, MVNOs can offer more affordable plans. Yang criticized major carriers for prioritizing shareholder returns over consumer value. “Companies like Verizon and AT&T have shifted from investing in quality to locking customers into expensive plans,” he stated. “Americans pay roughly twice what Europeans do for wireless service.”

The inspiration for Noble Mobile’s structure came from Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, which sells generic medications with a fixed 15% markup. Cuban’s model bypasses traditional pharmacy benefit managers, resulting in lower prices. Yang saw an opportunity to apply a similar transparent, cost-plus approach to wireless service.

“Mark found a way to deliver value without the usual markup,” Yang explained. “I asked myself, what else in daily life can benefit from that kind of pricing honesty?”

In addition to the business venture, Yang has been experimenting with “no-phone parties” in Los Angeles and New York, promoting offline interaction. While the cash-back model may not reduce data usage on home Wi-Fi, it could make people think twice before burning through cellular data on social media or video apps while out and about.

Yang acknowledges that regulatory approaches to reducing screen time have proven ineffective and often problematic. Instead of waiting for policy changes, he believes in creating direct incentives. “If we reward people for doing what they already want to do, spending less time on their phones, we can drive meaningful behavioral change,” he said.

Noble Mobile represents a fusion of business innovation and social intention, offering a practical model for consumers looking to save money and curb digital overload.

(Source: TechCrunch)