Amazon has teamed up with Boost Infinite, a wireless carrier owned by Dish Wireless, and has launched a storefront to make the latter’s SIM kits more accessible. While Amazon sells SIM cards from a variety of providers, this is a genuine tie-up that automatically pre-qualifies Prime members for the carrier’s $25-per-month postpaid wireless plan. Subscribers can purchase Boost Infinite’s Unlimited $25 SIM kit from the Amazon store with a 20 percent discount. And if they do, they’re also getting a $25 bill credit that will go towards their first month of service, provided that they’ve activated their SIM within 30 days of receiving it.
About Boost Infinite :
Dish first introduced Boost Infinite in mid-2022 with a plan that offers “unlimited data, talk and text.” The plan also provides users with 5G internet, which uses AT&T’s, T-Mobile’s and Dish’s own network, though it will get throttled after the first 30GB of the month. Subscribers can add up to five lines per account, as well. Boost Infinite promises a wireless service with no surprise, or even planned, price hikes. It says members can expect to pay $25 a month for as long as they’re active.
Customers who decide to take advantage of the new offer will be allowed to add up to five lines per account. All Prime members are automatically pre-qualified for Boost Infinite’s plan, but they must complete their Boost Infinite account registration via the Boost Infinite app to activate service directly with the carrier.
The context :
For Dish, the move by Amazon to sell Boost Infinite represents an important new distribution point for its consumer offerings. Dish entered the US wireless industry in 2020 by acquiring roughly 8 million prepaid Boost customers from T-Mobile. Since then, it’s been struggling to gain new customers and hold onto existing ones.
A big part of Dish’s ultimate strategy is to leverage its MVNO deal with AT&T and T-Mobile in order to buy time for the company to build its 5G network. Eventually Dish plans to shift its mobile customer base onto its 5G network in order to lower its overall costs. But that shift likely won’t happen anytime soon considering the relatively small number of phones that support its 5G spectrum bands. For example, the iPhone 14 is the first Apple gadget to support most of Dish’s spectrum holdings.
Moore speculates that Dish may sell Boost Infinite at about 200 Boost Mobile stores by the end of this year. Boost Mobile is Dish’s prepaid brand.
Peter Adderton, founder of Boost Mobile who recently launched the new MVNO MobileX, said, “It’s good to see Amazon getting into the mobile space, but after all, they are an online retailer, so nothing ground-breaking. It’s not like they wrote Dish a check.”
Dish pushes Boost Infinite launch back to Q1 of 2023 :
Dish isn’t saying how many people will be allowed into the beta program, but they already have more people interested in learning more about Boost Infinite than they have available spots.
The Boost Infinite $25 a month plan includes unlimited talk, text and data. As part of the beta, “there may be an occasion to throttle the speeds” after 30 GB, a spokesperson said. Customers can bring their own iOS or Android device or purchase or finance a 5G smartphone from Boost Infinite.
The beta is being described as in the stage where they’re “running water through the pipes” to see if there are any leaks or other problems.
