It’s not surprising at all to see MVNOs go after more and more niche markets rather than just small spenders — I posted a couple weeks back on a new virtual operator in Germany that’s aimed at the Turkish population — but things are getting slightly esoteric with the news that got around this weekend about a Dutch carrier for pot smokers.

Much more interesting, though, is Denmark’s GAYmobile, which is aimed at — you guessed it — gay people. It sounds pretty typical MVNO stuff: a focus on cheap prices, with some added services geared toward its particular market (services “that are gay all the way”, apparently). It’s not too surprising to see this in Denmark. Not because of any particular societal reasons, but since it’s the most mature MVNO market in the world. Once the value MVNOs have driven prices down to a low and equal level, they’ve got to have something more to differentiate, and this is an attempt to get people to buy into a phone company with which they can identify.

Ringtonia pointed out one aspect of GAYmobile in particular: it might offer “subtle ringtones that indicate the user’s sexual preferences”. Until they get that up and running, they suggest “I am what I am” or anything by ABBA. I can’t imagine that this is the first time ringtones have been used to indicate peoples’ sexual preferences (gay, straight or otherwise), but it’s a fairly fascinating idea. It’s also one that reinforces the idea that so much of what we call phone personalization (ringtones, wallpapers, etc.), is about self-expression. It’s all about showing we’re part of a group — whether it’s the cool kids at high school, fans of a football team or of a particular sexual persuasion. Ringtone sellers and faceplate makers have been taking advantage of that for quite some time; more MVNOs will begin doing it as well.