Honolulu-based wireless provider Mobi PCS has reached an agreement to sell its Hawaii network space to Verizon Wireless and lease it back as part of the company’s strategy to focus on new products and services for its local customers, company officials said Wednesday.

The move is part of efforts by Mobi PCS to differentiate itself in other ways besides its network footprint, which is becoming less of a factor in what consumers are looking for when choosing a wireless carrier, said Bill Jarvis, Mobi PCS president and chief executive officer.

Mobi PCS is selling its wireless spectrum to Verizon for an undisclosed amount, Jarvis said. The sale, subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission, is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Mobi PCS will lease back the network from Verizon for one year after the deal closes. Mobi is in talks with other carriers about using their network space after that, he said.

Mobi already uses the networks of other carriers to provide wireless service for its Hawaii customers when they travel to the mainland.

"This was a decision really driven by belief that networks are no longer a differentiator," Jarvis said. "That wasn’t true 20 years ago when it was a race to see how much footprint companies could offer customers," he said.

The industry has evolved in the past five years to a point where customers are now more interested in new products and services, according to Jarvis. "Despite a lot of advertising about who has the best coverage, that is not a differentiator any more," he said.

"What I’ve charged our team with are finding the new and unique ways we can deliver service. We are moving full speed ahead on that," he said.

Mobi plans to sell its cell towers that have value to other wireless carriers, and decommission the ones that overlap with other networks, Jarvis added.

Mobi is Hawaii’s only locally based wireless provider that offers unlimited talk, text and data for a flat rate with no contract. It also provides wireless broadband service under the brand name Hele.