Apple CEO Tim Cook with the iPhone 6 Plus at an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, on September 9. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Apple is in talks to launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service in the US and Europe, Business Insider has learned.

Sources close to Apple say the company is privately trialling an MVNO service in the US but is also in talks with telecoms companies in Europe about bringing the service there too.

An MVNO is a virtual carrier network that sees technology companies lease space from established carriers and sell it to customers directly.

Here's how an Apple MVNO will work: Instead of paying your carrier every month, you will pay Apple directly for data, calls, and texts. Apple then provides you with everything you used to get from your carrier, but the Apple SIM switches between carriers to get the best service. The telecoms companies auction capacity to Apple so it can run the service.

There is no guarantee Apple's service will launch beyond a test phase, and if it does, it will not roll out anytime soon. Telecoms sources say Apple is looking long-term with its MVNO and could take at least five years to fully launch the service. Apple has been in talks with telecoms companies for years over its MVNO plans, those sources say, adding that it's an "open secret" among carriers that a virtual Apple network is on the way.

Business Insider earlier on Monday reported that Apple was testing a service called iCloud Voicemail that will automatically transcribe voicemail messages using Siri.

It makes sense that Apple wants to take control of voicemail before it launches an MVNO. Right now your voicemails are stored with your carrier. Once Apple is taking money from customers for data and calls, customers will not have direct relationships with carriers. Once Apple launches iCloud Voicemail, you will not have that problem and will be free to sign up to Apple's MVNO.

There have been rumours about an Apple MVNO for years. TechCrunch reports that Apple filed a patent back in 2006 for an MVNO service. It has since filed to extend that patent.

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Apple already signalled its intent to become the gateway to carriers when it launched the Apple SIM in 2014. It allowed customers to switch between networks through their device using a SIM card that could connect to lots of different carriers. Right now it's available only for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, but future versions of the SIM card could be used to launch an Apple MVNO for iPhones.

Google is already testing its own MVNO. Project Fi is available only for the Nexus 6 smartphone in the US, but it is a signal that the tech company sees an MVNO as a potential area for expansion in the future.

But not every MVNO is successful. Gigaom pointed out back in 2012 that both Disney and ESPN tried to launch their own MVNO services but later had to shut them down.

Apple has denied that it's working on an MVNO in a statement issued to The Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

However, we've heard that meetings have indeed taken place, and the strong denial may have happened in order to appease carriers worried by the news of Apple's MVNO plans breaking. It's also worth noting that Apple once told journalists that it had "no plans" to release a tablet computer, years after it began working on the iPad.