Key Points:
- The Mobile Internet Resource Center is officially joining the MobileMustHave family, deepening an existing partnership between dear friends.
- The entire MIRC team is staying on board, and retains their editorial independence.
- This move ensures the future for MIRC - allowing us to evolve by tapping into MMH's resources.
- There are no immediate changes to our MIA membership program, and any future changes will grandfather in existing member pricing and benefits to the best of our ability.
After being friends and working together for over 6 years, we are officially merging the Mobile Internet Resource Center (MIRC) into the MobileMustHave (MMH) family.
There is a lot to unpack in this update, but rest assured, we (Chris & Cherie) and our team aren’t going anywhere.
But we are excited to share how we are working together to build a better future for our community.
The three of us (Chris & Cherie of MIRC & Erik of MMH) have been quietly discussing the next generation of MIRC for a while now. Our mutual goal is to evolve our 12-year-old membership platform to better support our community.
And as MMH expands its product portfolio - our platform will be primed to deliver the same education, news, and community content to support the broader mobile lifestyle, beyond just mobile internet.
But in the short term nothing will be changing as MIRC and MMH’s teams carefully plot our future roadmap.
There are no private equity firms or investors telling us what to do here. This is friends joining business paths, and it's the same team you know, building towards a better future for everyone.
Any questions? Check out the FAQ below for more details.
It's not the end of an era - but an evolution we’re excited to be at the helm of. We are thrilled about what comes next!
- Chris, Cherie, Erik, and the entire MIRC/MMH Team
Table of Contents
Our Video Announcement
FAQ’s:
Why are you doing this?
The industry has been changing. With the rise of Starlink and AI, it has become easier than ever for those with basic mobile internet needs to get online without needing expert advice. This means our content and expertise are less relied upon by many more casual mobile internet users.
But for those who do appreciate MIRC's team of experts, in-depth advice, and content - our services are needed more than ever. Especially as connectivity options continue to evolve.
Meanwhile, MMH has been expanding the categories of products they offer - and they want to bring a MIRC-style approach of education, news and community to other categories as well.
MIRC’s backend platform needs major upgrades to sustain into the future that we simply can’t fund on our own.
By combining our resources, both sides will be positioned to evolve and thrive into the future.
What does this change mean for current MIRC members?
Right now, MIRC sells memberships directly, and MobileMustHave has its own Explore membership that bundles a MIRC membership as a benefit.
For those who are members of both sites, navigating and managing two different logins has been cumbersome - so one of our first goals is to implement a single sign-on.
Other than that, no immediate changes are planned, and MIRC's daily operations will continue to be funded by memberships. New members can still join either directly through MIRC - or via MMH's membership program (and switch between the two as desired).
Those with current direct MIA memberships will continue to be billed as they always have for the time being. And member service is still managed by the MIRC team.
Longer term, as MIRC's roadmap into the future evolves, our goal is to honor our legacy members - some of whom have been with us from the very start. We aim to grandfather in pricing and benefits wherever we can. And any changes we make will have ample notice with clear and fair exit ramps.
How fast are things changing?
MIRC debuted in 2014 and is built on a now-technically-ancient membership platform that is no longer supported by the original developers.
MIRC is overdue for a complete backend overhaul and modernization.
This merger gives us the resources and expertise to modernize the MIRC platform, and lays the foundation to support a broader mission as MMH brings on new product categories.
But we will be taking things slow and methodically - we are not rushing to break anything.
Will MIRC remain editorially independent?
Yes.
The entire existing MIRC team is remaining on board, and the merger terms guarantee our editorial independence.
The symbiosis we’ve found in working with MMH is that we share the same focus on enabling our community to make informed decisions about their mobile lifestyle purchases, and providing a platform for support and learning after that initial purchase.
Supporting our members will be the core of every decision we make together for MIRC's future.
Since it is MMH’s parent company, Entergy Group, that has acquired MIRC - MMH and MIRC will function more like siblings.
While MMH will naturally have some influence in what topics we focus our attention on, our individual writers will be fully in control of their conclusions, analysis, and reviews - whether positive or negative.
To support that distinction, the MIRC editorial team remains independent under Two Steps Beyond LLC (MIRC’s former parent company). Entergy Group has contracted Two Steps Beyond to continue operating MIRC.
Will MIRC still cover products beyond what MobileMustHave sells?
MIRC will remain focused on the best interests of our community and will cover all products and plans that matter for our audience.
This means that we will continue to cover products and services that MMH has no intention or ability to sell.
But for products that MMH does sell, we will work together to make the flow from education & research towards purchasing more streamlined.
What about MIRC’s Founders - Chris & Cherie? Are they stepping back?
We (Chris & Cherie) are remaining at the helm of MIRC - but as contractors, not owners.
We continue to be passionate about what we’ve built - and this move is focused on ensuring a long future for MIRC. In 2022, we stepped back from running MIRC full-time to working part-time with the help of our team, and we have achieved the work-life balance we desire.
MIRC has continued to thrive, and we are committed to staying on board to usher in this new evolution over the coming years - with no plans to exit.
This acquisition was about ensuring MIRC's future, not a financial windfall. We are fortunate to have our retirement already funded, so this move is about evolving what we've created over the long term.
Entergy Group is simply allowing us to step back from the business side of worrying about funding MIRC.
And of course, MMH will be investing in the extensive platform changes needed that MIRC's current membership funding alone can’t support.
Who is Entergy Group, LLC?
Entergy Group LLC is a holding company founded in 2009 by Erik and his wife, Kala - and it houses brands such as MobileMustHave.com, LivinLite.net, Roamlink.com, ToughSignal.com, and now RVMobileInternet.com.
This structure allows each company to share resources, producing efficiencies that ultimately benefit everyone. This is not a big scary private equity firm seeking to maximize return for investors.
Note: Entergy Group is not related to the power company in Texas with a bunch of bad reviews that you might find if you search for the company (they are often confused).
Will content on MIRC be watered down?
Amusingly, if you think of it in a certain way, yes.
One goal of this evolution is that the Mobile Internet Resource Center will eventually go beyond mobile internet into a more general “Mobile Resource Center” - broadening what we cover to other topics of interest to our community, including water filtration systems (so indeed, we'll be 'watered down'), off-grid power systems, and other key elements of a mobile lifestyle.
For our mobile internet content, we will, over time, evaluate what content is actually being utilized and is most valuable to our members. The Mobile Internet Resource Center has become an overwhelming encyclopedia of resources accumulated over the past decade - and one future goal will be to focus our content to more efficiently guide our community towards informed choices.
So there will likely be some shifts ahead as we adjust our focus - with the goal of making MIRC always more valuable for our members.
Where can I ask more questions?
Ask in the comments below, head over to the MIA member forum topic, or drop us an email.
Mobile Internet Resource Center was founded by Chris & Cherie of 