At the recent All Wireless & Prepaid Expo in Las Vegas, Wave7 Research principal Jeff Moore noticed that Celluphone, a master agent for wireless retail stores, was advertising the opening of Boost Infinite stores in 25 markets.
Boost Infinite is Dish Wireless’ postpaid brand that will be nationwide, using the networks of Dish, AT&T and T-Mobile. The company recently opened a sign-up page for early registrations.
Of course, Dish already has the Boost Mobile prepaid brand. According to Moore, Boost Mobile has 4,500+ retail stores.
Dish is also working on its own 5G greenfield network — that postpaid service is currently called Project Genesis, and people sign up online.
The Boost Infinite website says the new postpaid service is “coming soon.” A brochure at the Celluphone booth listed the 25 markets where Boost Infinite will be initially available. It encouraged dealers in the wireless retail space to grow their businesses. The 25 markets are largely located in the Southwest with an absence along the Eastern seaboard.
Of the advent of Boost Infinite stores and the new postpaid offering, Moore said, “This is nothing less than ‘the balloon going up’ to signal that the new #4 facilities-based carrier is jumping into postpaid competition.”
It’s not known how many Boost Infinite stores will be set up in the 25 markets. “If Dish is smart, the stores will be in neighborhoods with credit-worthy prospects,” said Moore. “I do have concerns about the brand extension. Boost Mobile is a low-end brand. I’ve likened this effort to Kmart going upscale to compete with Nordstroms.”
Pricing for Boost Infinite has not been revealed, but the company has tweeted “one plan” and “one price.”
Boost Mobile, Boost Infinite
The Boost Mobile prepaid service is struggling. It lost another 210,000 retail wireless net subscribers in the second quarter. An analyst on Dish’s most recent earnings call asked why Dish doesn’t just sell the Boost business.
Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said owning Boost is not a necessity, “but today we prefer that it belongs with us.”
Of the upcoming Boost Infinite launch, Stephen Stokols, CEO of the Boost brands, said, “It’s an opportunity to come in fresh and do things in a slightly different way and a more aggressive way.”
Moore attributed part of the reason for the fall in Boost Mobile subscriptions to the fact that Dish has not been investing in advertising. “Deals only swing doors open when customers know about them,” he said.
Perhaps Dish will begin an advertising campaign for its Boost brands when Boost Infinite opens its retail stores later this year.