Cellnet founder helps launch mobile device recycling business

A Brisbane-based "re-commerce" and recycling business, Frank Mobile, has launched with the backing of a co-founder of mobile distie Cellnet.

Frank Mobile partners with telcos, retailers, consumer, corporate and enterprise companies to recycle and refurbish used mobile devices to ensure their maximum lifecycle and environmental sustainability. Director Matthew O’Connor will launch the company next month.

Stephen Harrison, who co-founded Cellnet in 1992, returns to Australia after leaving the distributor in 2009 to pursue other businesses in the UK and in Asia. He joins Frank Mobile as non-executive director.

“We saw a gap in the market, especially with the devices coming from the buyback programs of the major telcos,” Harrison told CRN.

“We found Australia is a fair way behind the rest of the world in recycling and refurbishing mobile devices, and we saw it as a major opportunity for us.”

The devices would be wiped and run through diagnostic tests before they are either shipped overseas to Frank Mobile’s international partners, or to be resold back into its channels for a reduced price.

“The refurbished industry has had a bad name for quite a while, considering most of the products come from Asia and other countries,” Harrison said.

“We are hoping to change that with our Australian-made products.”

Frank Mobile is also backed by ICT lifecycle management supplier ACT Group and investment and management company Packhorse Investments as company shareholders.

Updated 1 September 2020: The original story listed Stephen Harrison as a co-founder but has since amended to reflect the accurate job title. Harrison has also since departed Frank Mobile. We regret the error.