Dish has now officially entered the wireless retail market and furthered its 5G ambitions, after completing its acquisition of the prepaid mobile phone brand, Boost Mobile. This marks an end to a chapter that has gone on for some time, and involved other major names in the cellular market, including T-Mobile and Sprint. Here’s an explanation on what’s been confirmed and what the change of ownership means for those involved.
Dish Network Corporation is an American satellite television company headquartered in Englewood, Colorado and provides direct-broadcast satellite television across North America. While that side of the business has recently faced hurdles, due to the advent of streaming, the company also happens to own Sling TV, one of the current leaders in the live TV streaming market. Boost Mobile was a subsidiary of the Sprint Corporation, which was then purchased by the mobile-phone company, T-Mobile, in April of 2020. The merger between Sprint and T-Mobile was slowed by the United States Department of Justice, after it raised concerns over a lack of competition in the telecommunications industry. Eventually, Dish entered the talks and agreed to purchase Sprint assets, including its prepaid business.
It is that initial deal that has now officially closed, completing the sale of Boost Mobile from Sprint to Dish. According to the details, T-Mobile will supply cell phone service to Dish’s customers while Dish builds out its own mobile-phone network, with a seven-year transitional period having been set in place. While Dish now owns Boost Mobile, the company has confirmed that it will continue to use the Boost brand, albeit the logo has now changed.
Boost Mobile Hopes To Compete With Industry Giants
Dish has taken on Boost’s employees, customers, and retailers, and as a result, existing customers should not expect to see any gap in coverage. In fact, in an effort to retain those current customers, Boost is reviving its $hrink-It plan. Starting at $45 for 15GB, customers will see their monthly rate drop by $5, following three on-time payments, and again by another $5, after six. Additionally, Boost is offering another plan option that provides unlimited talk and text, as well as 10GB data for $35 per month. Both plans are available for use with existing compatible devices, or when purchasing a new device directly from Boost.
Dish’s aim here is to disrupt the mobile phone industry, although it remains to be seen if that will happen. On the one hand, the continued development of 5G networks has created an opening for competition that wasn’t really there before. However, in permitting the merger, the Department of Justice allowed for one of the major players to be removed from the competition. Although Dish is expecting to step in and eventually become that fourth competitor to the new T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, that will only return to the four-player 5G status quo that was in effect before.
Source: Dish
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