 "Then former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. File image/AP")
Donald Trump has had Trump Steaks, Trump Airlines, Trump University and Trump Water.
For fans of all those things Trump, now the Trump Organisation is introducing Trump Mobile – a cell phone service.
The service was unveiled by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump – the president’s sons – at Trump Tower in New York on Monday.
But what do we know about the Trump family’s latest business venture?
And why has it raised eyebrows?
Let’s take a closer look:
What we know
The mobile service comes with a $499 (Rs 42,000) smartphone and a cellphone plan.
The service, which is called the 47 plan, will cost $47.45 (Rs 4070).
This is in keeping with Trump being the 47th and 45th President of the United States.
Those who avail the plan will be given unlimited phone calls, texts and data.
The phone, known as the T1, will operate on the Google’s Android 15 system.
The website says the phone will have a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen, a 16-megapixel selfie camera, a 50-megapixel main camera, 12 gigabytes of RAM and 256 gigabytes of internal storage.
A model for the phone – which will launch in September – on the Trump website shows a gold-covered metal case and an American flag.
All the phones will be manufactured in the United States, according to Eric Trump.
Users can avail telemedicine on their phone and will be given roadside assistance for their cars.
“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 and unlimited texting to 100 countries around the world,” Donald Trump Jr said.
The Trump Organisation has said that the launch of the service has been intended to fall on the 10-year anniversary of President Trump’s announcement of his first presidential run.
“Trump Mobile, its products and services are not designed, developed, manufactured, distributed or sold by The Trump Organisation or any of their respective affiliates or principals,” a disclaimer on the website reads.
What do experts say?
The website claims the plan will offer the “same coverage as the 3 nationwide phone service carriers.”
But experts remain unmoved by Trump’s foray into the cellphone business.
The US mobile network market is largely dominated by three major companies – Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
Together, these companies have over a 95 per cent share of the market. ₹2000
Verizon has a budget plan for $25 (Rs 2,000) per month, while Mint Mobile has one for $30 (Rs 2500) per month.
“This latest move raises more questions than answers. As always, the devil is in the detail given that it is unclear around the actual commercial relationship with the telecom players and so forth,” Paolo Pescatore, TMT analyst at PP Foresight, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
This isn’t the first Trump family venture that has raised eyebrows.
The Trump’s family venture into cryptocurrency with the $TRUMP memecoin raised the ire of many – particularly after the US President held a fancy dinner for over 200 of his top donors.
Forbes currently estimates Trump’s network at around $5.3 billion – most of which comes from the Trump Media & Technology Group.
Much of that comes from cryptocurrency – which Trump has incessantly promoted as president.
In fact, the company recently raised $2 billion from investors to allow itself to buy cryptocurrency.
Critics have long decried that Trump has not divested himself of his many businesses during his presidency.
They say the scope for corruption in such ventures is breath-taking.
With inputs from agencies