Taking aim at rival MetroPCS, a Boost Mobile executive called MetroPCS' recently introduced international unlimited calling plan "impossible" and urged customers to take a look at the fine print.
MetroPCS last week unveiled a plan that offers unlimited international calling to more than 100 countries for $5 per month. The carrier said subscribers will be able to call more than 1,000 destinations and the feature can be added to its $40, $45 and $50 monthly service plans, including family plans. Boost Mobile, Sprint Netxel's prepaid unit, has countered that the offer is simply too good to be true.
"Anything can be profitable depending on the usage," Justin Brennan, Boost Mobile's director of prepaid business, told the OC Register. "They're obviously taking a bet on the usage. ... They're betting customers won't use it very much." Brennan said perhaps MetroPCS would force customers to upgrade to more expensive plans, or tack on taxes and fees. MetroPCS also faces settlement fees from other carriers, which vary but are generally part of the international calling business.
"We really have seen some seemingly impossible offers like this come from MetroPCS before and what happens is they disappear very quickly, which make it seem that it is too good to be true," Brennan said.
MetroPCS declined to respond directly. "We don't disclose pricing or profitability on individual products," the carrier said in a statement, according to the Register. "However, our company is extremely profitable even with the launching of new markets and we have some of the lowest operating costs in the industry." MetroPCS did not respond to further requests for comment at deadline.
For more:
- see this OC Register article
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