Electronic Data Systems Corp. and The Management Network Group Inc. (TMNG) announced plans this week at CTIA Wireless 2005 to offer a platform for managed wireless voice and data services to corporate customers.

The two IT services firms said they are creating the platform for the growing mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) marketplace, in which a company buys wireless network capacity from infrastructure providers and then resells the capacity to others. Typically, an MVNO will also market the capacity and integrate devices for a customer.

In this case, EDS, in Plano, Texas, and TMNG, in Overland Park, Kan., will create a mobile virtual network enablement platform using the wireless infrastructure of Sprint Corp., according to Don Klumb, chief financial officer at TMNG. He said service should be available in the third quarter, with pricing based on a prepay model.

The corporate-focused MVNO concept did little to impress one IT manager interviewed by phone. "I"d rather have a primary network source, not a third party, even if it was EDS," said Fred Gratke, assistant vice president of telecommunications for Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Corp. in Fort Worth, Texas.

AT&T Corp. announced an MVNO for enterprises with Sprint Corp. last fall. But now that AT&T is being purchased by SBC Communications Inc., the future of that deal is unclear, according to Phillip Redman, an analyst at Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn.