Dish serves up fresh US mobile option

Satellite service provider Dish Network made its debut in the US mobile market, unveiling new a new logo and tariffs for Sprint’s legacy prepaid brand Boost Mobile as it closed a purchase of the business from T-Mobile US.

The $1.4 billion deal included the transfer of approximately 9.3 million customers and “hundreds” of Boost Mobile employees. T-Mobile noted in a statement Dish Network also agreed the purchase of Sprint’s 800MHz spectrum assets in a separate, but related, $3.6 billion transaction.

Both moves were part of a deal negotiated by T-Mobile, Sprint and the US Department of Justice to secure its approval for the operators’ merger.

Erik Carlson, Dish Network president and CEO, said in a statement the prepaid purchase “marks an important milestone in Dish’s evolution as a connectivity company”.

The company is offering mobile service under the Boost Mobile name, with connectivity supplied via an MVNO agreement with T-Mobile while Dish Network builds a standalone 5G network. Newly appointed retail wireless president John Swieringa, is overseeing Boost Mobile’s operations.

Swieringa revealed plans to revive Boost Mobile’s Shrink It tariff, which was discontinued in July 2014, with an offer to cut $5 from monthly charges when users make three consecutive payments on-time and again after six.

The plan will start at $45 per month for unlimited talk, text and 15GB of data.

Another option offers unlimited talk, text and 10GB of data at a fixed cost of $35 per month.

Swieringa said the move is a preview of Boost Mobile’s plan to disrupt the US mobile market and “bring new, exciting products and offers to customers that better meet their needs and fit their budgets”.