A newly launched US mobile network is filtering content at the carrier level, making it the first American cell plan topermanently block pornographyin a way that no account holder, including adults, can disable.
Radiant Mobile, a Christian-focusedmobile virtual network operatorrunning onT-Mobile US's 5G infrastructure, officially launched on 5 May 2026 with plans priced at £23.60 ($29.99) per month for unlimited talk, text and data. The network uses Israeli cybersecurity firm Allot to sort website domains into more than 100 content categories, blocking some permanently and leaving others to parental discretion.
On top of the hard pornography block, a default-on filter targeting what the company classifies as 'sexuality' content aims to remove gender-related and LGBT material from every device on the plan.
Network-level content blocking is not new. Authoritarian governments use it as the backbone of state censorship, and US telecoms already apply it to domains distributing malware. T-Mobile itselfoffers optional network-level adult content filtersfor children's phones that account holders can adjust. What distinguishes Radiant Mobile, according to cybersecurity experts, is that itspornography filteroperates the same way but cannot be removed by anyone.
'Blocking in the network is certainly not new,' saidDavid Choffnes, a computer science professor and executive director of Northeastern University's Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute, speaking toMIT Technology Review. 'What is new is a US cell plan instituting network-level blocks that can't be removed, even by adults.' The technology works by assigning individual website domains to categories. If a user tries to visit a domain in a blocked category, the page simply will not load.
🚨: A new U.S. mobile network called Radiant Mobile is launching, specifically marketed to Christians.https://t.co/OORotlKtmYRadiant Mobile is a "Jesus-centric" mobile service launching on May 5, 2026, designed to provide a safe digital environment for Christian families.…pic.twitter.com/ACtRFvoTmM
Paul Fisher, Radiant Mobile's founder, did not come from telecoms. He spent over three decades as a talent agent in the fashion industry, representing supermodels including Naomi Campbell and members of the Hilton and Getty families. He later hosted a reality television programme focused on finding people in rehabilitation facilities and homeless shelters and training them as models. Fisher has since said he regrets his role in that industry: 'Am I proud that I spent 35 years creating star models or star influencers? Not at all,' he told MIT Technology Review.
The pivot came, Fisher says, from a late-night spiritual experience. A conversation with fashion mogul Bernt Ullmann about Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile, whichT-Mobile acquired in 2023 for £1 billion ($1.3 billion), showed him that a mobile network could be built around a specific community rather than a mass market. Fisher said God told him to 'do something in the faith-based industry.' He brought in Chris Klimis, a minister based in Orlando, as chief operating officer.
Klimis cited asurvey commissioned by Barna Researchthat found 67% of pastors had a personal history with pornography use, and he cited separate data suggesting 52% of young people aged 11 to 13 have encountered pornographic content. 'We've got to figure out some way to close the door to the digital space,' Klimis said. Fisher told MIT Technology Review the company has received £13.8 million ($17.5 million) in investment from Compax Ventures, with Roger Bringmann, a vice president at Nvidia, identified as Radiant Mobile's lead investor and silent partner.
Fisher has been outreach to thousands of churches across the country, offering to direct a portion of each £23.60 ($29.99) monthly subscription to congregants' chosen church. He told MIT Technology Review he has longer-term plans to expand Radiant Mobile into markets with significant Christian populations, naming South Korea and Mexico.
Source: International Business Times UK
