Boost Mobile is making a half baked attempt to load more customers onto its native network, the Boost 5G Network. Wave7 Research reported in its latest prepaid brief that Boost Mobile is offering 50% off months two, three, and four to customers that activate on the network built by DISH. An analyst for the firm spotted signage for the offer in a Kansas area Boost store visited on 10/5. The offer launched on 9/14 and was scheduled to end on 10/15. A Boost Mobile dealer notified BestMVNO that the promo is likely to be extended.
BestMVNO believes this is only a half baked effort by DISH and Boost to get more customers onto its native network due to the restrictions Boost has put in place for the 50% off promotion. The biggest restriction is that it's only limited to one device. Customers that want the deal will have to get a Samsung Galaxy A23 5G from Boost. Boost Mobile is at least giving the device away for free to switchers. New lines are also eligible for the 50% off offer, but current customers cannot get it.
“This is a small, early effort to put traffic on the new Dish network. A nationwide network is a massive investment, which will never make economic sense unless and until Boost traffic is shifted to the new network, Dish establishes a huge retail presence with broad awareness, and MVNO traffic hits he network. We’re a long, long way off from that.”
Limiting the offer to Samsung Galaxy A23 5G phones is a strikingly odd choice. BestMVNO recently reported that Boost Mobile put out press releases announcing multiple Motorola phones as being compatible with the network. Yet Boost doesn't seem to want to push the 50% off deal with those phones. Boost's own branded phone, the Celero 5G+ is also compatible with the Boost 5G Network but is also being neglected in this promotion.
This offer is in store only, and only available on Boost's $40 (15GB), $50 (40GB), and $60 (50GB) plans. It should be noted that Boost offers some different plans through dealers than it does online. The 50% off deal also requires that customers agree to use DISH's network companion app. The app is used to help monitor Boost's 5G Network performance, as well as to help troubleshoot customer devices remotely.
So for $20/month for three months – $40 thereafter – I could pay an in-store activation fee, have the same 15 GB plan that Mint always sells for $20, and become a Boost beta tester on an entry-level phone that’s limited to its still-in-development network?
Does somebody at Boost actually get paid to think up these promotions?