While big carriers are increasing the cost of their wireless service plans, Boost Mobile says it’s going in the opposite direction – offering a $25/month plan without any “gotchas” attached to it.
Boost said this is its most direct shot yet at the Big 3 carriers’ prices. It’s not a promotional offer and it’s not contingent on a family plan commitment. The company promises it will stay at $25, for life.
There is at least one caveat. Customers need to be on autopay. Otherwise, Boost said it’s removing all the standard gimmicks that most people encounter when shopping for cell phone plans.
That means the plan, which is part of its “Carrier Crusher” program, comes with “no three-month prepaid requirements. No family plan commitment. No BS.”
“There’s not a wireless option on the market as compelling as Boost Mobile’s $25 forever plan. We know consumers have been overpaying for unlimited access - as much as $80 a month with the other guys,” said Stephen Stokols, head of Boost Mobile, in a press release.
Boost said its $25 per month unlimited plan is less than 50% what consumers pay for the same 5G networks with other carriers, adding that switching to Boost Mobile can save new customers as much as $400 a year – or $1,200 for a family of four.
This latest move is a bring your own device (BYOD) offer.
It’s a particularly aggressive offer from Boost and likely represents an effort to address its negative subscriber performance, said Jeff Moore, principal of Wave7 Research. Boost has been losing subscribers, reporting a loss of about 343,000 in the first quarter. The company closed the quarter with 8.20 million retail wireless subscribers.
“As Boost is an MVNO, using the networks of others, I can only imagine that the margins are thin from this offer,” Moore said, noting that Wave7 plans to see whether there’s any advertising or other efforts forthcoming to bring awareness to the offer.
In November, Boost introduced its first Carrier Crusher plan, which consisted of 12 months of unlimited talk and text, plus 1 GB of high-speed data for $100 per year or $8.33/month. It followed up in December with several other plans, including a no frills unlimited plan of $25/month.
Dish Network acquired Boost Mobile for $1.4 billion in 2020 as part of the government’s remedy in the T-Mobile/Sprint combination, setting up Dish as a fourth facilities-based service provider. It was designed so that Dish could offer a retail wireless product under MVNO arrangements while it gets its 5G standalone (SA) network built out.
Dish turned on its 5G network in Las Vegas in May and in June announced it’s offering 5G broadband service to more than 20% of the U.S. population as mandated in its deal with the government.
Story updated with comment from Wave7 Research principal Jeff Moore.