Yahoo Finance Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.
Boost Mobile's first plans on AT&T's network include a $100 yearly option
Its Carrier Crusher plans target customers who use less than 10GB of data a month.
Boost Mobile has revealed its first Carrier Crusher plans, which also happen to be its first under AT&T's network. The main Carrier Crusher product is a $100 annual plan designed for customers who use less than 10GB of data a month. It costs $100 a year and will give customers access to unlimited talk and text, as well as 1GB of high speed data. The Dish-owned prepaid mobile carrier cited a couple of studies in its announcement, including one that found that 45 percent of Americans are paying for unlimited data, even though one in three use less than 5GB.
Stephen Stokols, CEO of Boost Mobile, said:
"The US market is set up for the carriers to provide a high price point to all Americans today. It's great for the 15 percent of users who consume over 10 GB of data per month, but for the rest of us, we are subsidizing the bill for those users. You wouldn't pay $70 for an all you can eat buffet if you only wanted a salad, so why are we forced to choose all you can eat in wireless?"
In addition to the $100 annual plan, Boost has also launched a Carrier Crusher product with unlimited talk and text plus 15GB of data. It costs $20 a month, but customers will be billed annually. For those who prefer paying monthly, it now offers a $25 and a $15 plan with unlimited talk and text, as well as 5GB and 2G of data, respectively.
Dish struck a deal with AT&T back in July, paying the carrier at least $5 billion over 10 years to provide voice, data and messaging services to its Boost Mobile, Ting and Republic Wireless customers. Boost used to be Sprint's prepaid brand until the company had to spin it off as part of its merger with T-Mobile. Prior to its deal with AT&T, Boost was entirely reliant on T-Mobile's network. However, the companies' relationship soured when T-Mobile announced that it was shutting down the Sprint legacy network Boost is using on January 1st, 2022. Dish argued that the deadline doesn't give it enough time to migrate its customers, and T-Mobile ultimately agreed to move it to March 31st next year.
