Full Circle Wireless Gives Used Mobile Devices a Second Shot at Life

Full Circle Wireless is a company that buys and sells used cell phones, PDAs and smartphones. It buys the devices from consumers and businesses and sells the phones to consumers and businesses. It also deals in unwanted wireless inventory. Last year Inc. magazine named it the 16th fastest-growing independently held environmental services firm in the US.

In a recent video interview with TMC CEO Rich Tehrani, during the recent Interop (News - Alert)show in Las Vegas, Full Circle Wireless CEO Shelton Basham explained that the company primarily resells the used devices through wholesalers and ecommerce sites such as eBay (News - Alert). He said the concept behind the business is to resell used mobile devices for a profit -- but also to help keep the devices from going into landfills. He describes it as a better alternative to recycling, because users get more life out of the devices before they are recycled.

Bashran said corporations buy used mobile devices from Full Circle Wireless for two reasons: One, engaging in this 'green' practice improves the corporate image; two, they get the wireless devices for much less money, yet they still have value in terms of the technology and the amount of life. In addition, many corporations sell their old mobile devices to Full Circle Wireless in bulk. He points out that more than 16,000 cell phones are tossed into landfills every day.

Full Circle Wireless has reportedly seen an 86 percent increase in business since it was founded in 2003. To accommodate the growth it recently moved to a 14,773-square-foot space across from the Irvine Spectrum (News - Alert)Center. It will also add 21 new employees over the next six months, according to a release. It also recently launched a new web site which includes a quick phone search to allow customers to find information about their devices, such as model number and price, as well as testimonials from business and wireless representatives.

Basham said the company intends to grow and is considering adding two-way radios, scanners and possibly PBXs to the mix of equipment it buys and sells. To learn more check out the video in full below (Apple (News - Alert) mobile device users can view the video here):

Patrick Barnard is a senior Web editor for TMCnet , covering call and contact center technologies. He also compiles and regularly contributes to TMCnet e-Newsletters in the areas of robotics, IT, M2M, OCS and customer interaction solutions. To read more of Patrick's articles, please visit his columnist page .

Edited by Patrick Barnard