Defense Mobile to use financing to prepare for nationwide retail launch of its 4G LTE mobile service built exclusively for the U.S. military community
Defense Mobile, the only wireless service platform built exclusively for current and former members of the U.S. Military, has announced it has completed a total of $20 million of Series A financing. The investment will enable the company to aggressively expand its distribution and marketing efforts in 2015.
The investment was led by GrandBanks Capital (GBC) with participation by Sage Venture Partners and RGB Capital. GBC General Partner, Charley Lax, has joined the Defense Mobile Board of Directors, which includes Retired General Peter Pace, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Peter Lurie, co-founder of Virgin Mobile and Fred Warren, principal of Sage Venture Partners and founding partner of Brentwood Associates.
Defense Mobile provides mobile service, smartphones and apps designed to improve the lives of veterans, military service members and their families. Defense Mobile is a new nationwide 4G mobile service supported by veterans and designed for those who have served. The company offers the most popular smartphones, no annual contract plans, military-and-veteran only cash back rewards and applications that help veterans more easily manage the benefits they have earned. Defense Mobile has secured agreements to run on the largest mobile network operators, including AT&T and Sprint, so that veterans and military families receive superior coverage.
Defense Mobile offers an array of value-added services to its members that differentiate its service from other wireless carriers. The company delivers its wireless service through direct partnerships with three of America’s leading wireless network operators.
“Our partnerships with the leading network operators means our customers will experience the very best coverage and service,†stated Brendan Reilly, co-founder and chief executive officer of Defense Mobile.
“Offering wireless services at competitive prices along with the latest and greatest devices is just the basic offering of the company. What sets Defense Mobile apart is that it offers a host of value-added services and apps that help improve the lives of veterans, military service members and their families,†added GBC’s Charley Lax.
After military service has been verified, becoming a member of Defense Mobile means that you have exclusive access to a number of value added services designed to deliver thousands back each year in value to its members. Defense Mobile also employs a 100% veteran-staffed Member Care Center.
Three of the additional unique services are:
- 1. miliSOURCE™ is a “game changer†with respect to helping military families discover and obtain veteran benefits ranging from healthcare and education to financial assistance and disability benefits personalized for each member. According to the Veterans Administration (V.A.), the average veteran family collecting are leaving on average $8,400 on the table annually of benefits that they are entitled to. miliSOURCE aims to change that through its profile driven database of all U.S. veteran benefits at the national, state level.
- 2. miliCASH™ (Coming Soon!) a pre-paid Mastercard and each member is pre-approved! miliCASH allows members to obtain meaningful “military only†cash back rewards just by swiping the card at participating point of sale locations, eliminating the need to present military ID to merchants and retailers who offer military and veteran discounts nationwide.
- 3. miliMAILâ„¢, a free email account that allows members to keep an affiliation to their branch of service through their email address. (i.e. name@armymobile.com, @navymobile.com, @marinesmobile.com, @airforcemobile.com and @coastguardmobile.com).
Defense Mobile is rapidly expanding is retail presence. The Company has partnered with RadioShack as a key nationwide distribution partner and is expanding onto military exchanges on military bases and Navy ships and can be purchased online at http://www.ARMYmobile.com, http://www.NAVYmobile.com, http://www.MARINESmobile.com, http://www.AIRFORCEmobile.com and http://www.COASTGUARDmobile.com.
