Boost Mobile (Australia): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 20:43, 3 December 2011
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Wireless Services / Wireless Entertainment |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California |
Key people | Dan Schulman (President, Sprint Prepaid Group) |
| Parent | Sprint Nextel |
| Website | www.boostmobile.com |
Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses Sprint's CDMA and iDEN networks. It was originally launched in Australia, over Optus, in 2000, and in New Zealand, over Telecom New Zealand, in 2001.
Service
Boost Mobile is run on both Sprint's CDMA network and Nextel's iDEN network. Boost Nationwide Unlimited (AKA Monthly Unlimited Plan), which differs from their previous UNLTD plans, is offered for iDEN handsets as of January 22, 2009 and CDMA as of January 2010.[1] Boost Mobile's walkie-talkie service (only on iDEN handsets) is compatible with Nextel's in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Peru and with Telus Mobility in Canada.
In other countries
Boost Mobile in Australia uses the Optus network. Optus provides the service while Boost Mobile provides the devices and content.
Boost Mobile in New Zealand was a subsidiary of Telecom New Zealand. From November 2007 Boost Mobile has been wound down and is only now an SMS plan named Telecom Boost TXT..
History
Boost Mobile was founded in Australia and New Zealand in 2000 by Peter Adderton. Adderton and Scott Anderson brought it to the United States in 2001, and entered into a joint venture with Nextel Communications to launch and market the brand - primarily to be marketed specifically to the urban community. A lure of Boost Mobile with the urban minority customer groups was that Boost's Walkie Talkie (Nextel's Direct Connect), for $1 a day ($30 per month), was the only way in the early 2000s to have something similar to unlimited voice minutes, and the advertisements effectively utilized "jive" or "slang" vocabulary. Boost Walkie Talkie only reached other Nextel/Boost IDEN subscribers, and as a form of PTT, was half duplex. Unlimited voice plans on national carriers such as AT&T existed as early as 2001, but many people were unaware of this. AT&T eventually dropped their unlimited minutes calling plans. In 2003, Nextel purchased the American division of Boost Mobile. Until late 2004, Boost Mobile was only available in selected markets, primarily in California and Nevada. Prior to their purchase of Boost Mobile, Nextel primarily focused on the business market.
With Sprint Corporation's purchase of Nextel in 2006, Boost Mobile remained as a wholly owned subsidiary of newly formed Sprint Nextel Corporation. At the end of 2006, Boost launched its Unlimited by Boost Mobile Service on the CDMA network. The service offered unlimited talk, text, and wireless web - but was only offered in a limited amount of states/markets. The result was significant growth...but parent Sprint Nextel made the decision to pull back on the CDMA plans for unknown reasons - instead, focusing on the iDEN push-to-talk network for the time being.
To compete with unlimited offerings from competitors in the wireless industry, Boost Mobile announced on January 15, 2009 that it would launch its Monthly Unlimited Plan.[1] The plan was accompanied by re-focusing the brand towards a broader demographic than before. The new unlimited plan resulted in a net gain of more than 674,000 customers in about three months.[2] Despite this lift, Nextel overall suffered a gross subscriber loss of 1.25 million contract subscriptions.
The quick spike caused by the unlimited service resulted in delays of up to several days for the text messages of many customers in April. The new service runs on the Sprint Nextel iDEN network, which previously was best known for its walkie-talkie feature. A Boost Mobile spokesman said that they did not anticipate the level of popularity for the new service, and that efforts to improve the network have been implemented to help mitigate the problem.[3] On May 4, 2009, during the Sprint Nextel Corporation Earnings Conference Call for the first quarter of 2009, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said that "as of today, the messaging network on the iDEN network and for our Boost customers is back to normal."
iDEN Phones have access to mobile data, at speeds similar to GPRS, or 2G.[citation needed]
Boost Mobile had four million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2009 - and more than 5.1 million customers by the end of 2009.[citation needed]
In 2010, Boost began launching new handsets on its CDMA Network (Sprint 3G Nationwide Network) - effectively extending the Monthly Unlimited offer to more advanced handsets, including the Blackberry Curve 8330 and the Sanyo Incognito. In May 2010, the unlimited plan was upgraded to include unlimited 411 calling, Instant Messaging and Email.[citation needed]
Sprint Nextel's purchase of Virgin Mobile USA in early 2010, the Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile organizations were merged and integrated to form the Sprint Prepaid Group - which now includes several additional no-contract brands within the Sprint family.[4]
On June 20, 2010, Boost Mobile launched the Motorola i1 phone, a push-to-talk Android phone.[4]
- Return of CDMA service
On January 7, 2010 Boost Mobile announced at the CES 2010, a new $50 monthly unlimited plan using Sprint's nationwide CDMA network to launch January 13, 2010. Only a few handsets are available for this plan, and they are Kyocera's Sanyo Mirro SCP3810 and the Sanyo Incognito SCP6760. Boost Mobile is also offering a $60 BlackBerry monthly unlimited plan for the BlackBerry Curve 8330. As of May 2010, Boost also offers 2 additional CDMA handsets, the Sanyo Juno and the Samsung Rant.
- Plans altered
Upon the return of CDMA, Boost Mobile relocated a plan under which customers could have unlimited text messaging for $1 a day. It is still available, but it's been moved to a less prominent part of the website, "More Options." This plan is only available to iDEN phones.
Current plans
- Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage: $50/month. Includes nationwide unlimited talk, text/media messaging, web access, instant messaging, email, 411 directory assistance and Walkie-Talkie (on iDEN series phones only). Shrinkage allows plan to be lowered $5 off, for every six months of on-time payments, lowered down to $35/month (when prepaying 18 months).
- Android Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage: $55/month. Includes nationwide unlimited talk, text/media messaging, web access, instant messaging, email, 411 directory assistance and Walkie-Talkie (on iDEN series phones only). Shrinkage allows plan to be lowered $5 off, for every six months of on-time payments, lowered down to $40/month
- BlackBerry Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage: $60/month. Includes nationwide unlimited talk, text/media messaging, and access to BlackBerry Web, BlackBerry App World, IM, E-Mail and much more. Shrinkage allows plan to be lowered $5 off, for every six months of on-time payments, lowered down to $45/month.
- Daily Unlimited: $2/day. Includes nationwide unlimited talk, text/media messaging, web access, instant messaging, email, 411 directory assistance and Walkie-Talkie (on iDEN series phones only).
- BlackBerry Daily Unlimited: $3/day. Includes nationwide unlimited talk, text/media messaging, and access to BlackBerry Web, BlackBerry App World, IM, E-Mail and more.
- Pay as You Go: 20¢ per minute, anytime - day or night. Customers can also send and receive standard text messages for 20¢ per message. 50¢/day unlimited web access (daily charge whether you use it or not is actually an add on). Unlimited Nationwide Boost Walkie-Talkie is available for an additional $1/day.
Add-ons
- International Connect: An additional $5/month. Add-on to the monthly plans. International Connect includes unlimited text messaging and walkie-talkie services between the U.S., Canada, Baja California, and selected areas of South America.
- Phone Insurance: $5/month. Add-on offers coverage if the phone breaks, is lost or stolen, and if it is damaged even with liquids.
- Pay as You Go: New Update 10/6/11 Data 50¢/day Your rate will not increase as long your acct remains active & you don't change plans. New Plane is Nationwide Calling 20¢/min, Text 20¢/message to send & receive, Multi-Media Messaging (includes picture, audio & video) 25¢/message to send & receive, Nationwide Walkie-Talkie (available with iDEN Series) $1/day unlimited Usage, Email 99¢/day unlimited usage, 411 Directory Assistance $1.29/call + airtime,
Phones
| iDEN Series | CDMA Series |
| Motorola i295 | BlackBerry Curve 8330 |
| Motorola i335 | Motorola C290 |
| Motorola i465 Clutch | Motorola K1m KRZR |
| Motorola i570 | Motorola W385 |
| Motorola i776/i776w | Sanyo SCP-3810 Mirro |
| Motorola i856/i856w Debut | Sanyo SCP-6760 Incognito |
| Motorola i9 Stature | Sanyo SCP-2700 Juno |
| Motorola i1 Opus | Samsung SPH-M540 Rant |
| Motorola i296 | Motorola WX400 Rambler |
| Motorola i475 Clutch+ | Motorola WX415 Bali |
| Motorola i412 | Samsung SPH-M350 Seek |
| BlackBerry Curve 8530 | |
| Samsung SPH-M260 Factor | |
| Samsung SPH-M820 Galaxy Prevail | |
| Motorola WX430 Theory | |
| Sanyo SCP-6780 Innuendo | |
| LG LG102 | |
| BlackBerry Style 9670 | |
| Samsung SPH-M930 Transform Ultra | |
| ZTE Warp |
Previous phones
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|
Most Nextel-branded iDEN phones can be used with the Boost service with the addition of a Boost SIM card. However, Boost Mobile will not guarantee all service features if a Nextel-branded handset is chosen and you will not receive any support for the device.[citation needed]
Marketing
The Boost Mobile brand was originally marketed to the teen and young adult demographics - heavily focused on action sports, lifestyle and urban music. Boost Mobile's past American advertising campaigns featured Fat Joe, Master Shake, Eve, Travis Barker, Kanye West, Ludacris, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Nick Cannon, and The Game and used the slogan "Where you at?" In late 2007, a Boost Mobile commercial with Young Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri, and Mickey Avalon was released. The “Where you at?” slogan referenced the walkie-talkie feature on all Boost Mobile phones and later evolved to highlight a social GPS application that was available on selected Boost Mobile phones.
Because Boost's deep roots began with extreme sports, there were also several television spots custom made for FUEL TV, one of the premier action sports networks on television.
In fact, Fuel TV's popular "Weekly Update" program, which is the country's one-stop-shop for all news relating to action sports, was long known as "The Weekly Update with Boost Mobile." Another popular Fuel TV program, "Danny and the Dingo" - also prominently featured Boost Mobile in past seasons when its star, Pro Snowboarder Danny Kass, was sponsored by Boost.
In early 2009 Boost Mobile launched their Unwronged campaign. The ads feature situations that could be considered “wrong” such as a coroner that drops food into a cadaver and then proceeds to eat it, two pigs dining on ham, a woman with unusually long armpit hair, and a “man baby”. Each commercial focuses on the fact that while what they are, or are doing, may be wrong, what is really wrong is the fact that cell phone providers have hidden fees and that is why they have chosen to use Boost Mobile.
Recently Boost Mobile sponsored IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick and her Lucky #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola/Andretti Green Racing car for a period of time. A series of commercials from Boost's Unwronged campaign has featured Danica, one of which had her pit crew dressed up as women, and the other with her signing the chests of men.
Boost Mobile has also produced some regional campaigns, including providing live paper shredders at bus stops in Chicago and Boston, where several times an hour sample contracts from competing wireless service providers would be shredded into confetti.[5]
On January 20, 2010, According to the Wall Street Journal, Boost Mobile's parent company Sprint Nextel managed to secure some of the 1985 Chicago Bears players, including Jim McMahon, Willie Gault, and Mike Singletary, to re-create their famous “Super Bowl Shuffle” rap song and music video as "The Boost Mobile Shuffle" during the first quarter of the Super Bowl XLIV. It’s speculated that Sprint Nextel bought the 30-second Super Bowl commercial spot for around $2.5 million and $2.9 million – so that Boost Mobile’s brand will be recognized during a time when families converge in their living rooms for one of the biggest sporting events. The commercial was directed by comedy duo Tim & Eric.
Boost runs the Boost Mobile Freestyle Motocross Tour/Team, which also makes stops at select NASCAR events throughout the country - as NASCAR's title sponsor is Sprint Nextel: Boost's parent company.
Criticism
Boost Mobile was criticised by the Australian TV show, Media Watch, for a marketing campaign it launched in June 2010.[6] Boost Mobile issued a media release identifying four text messaging disorders, "Textophrenia, Textiety, Post Traumatic Text Disorder, and Binge Texting."[7] The media release cited an academic paper co-authored by Dr Shari Walsh of the Queensland University of Technology however her academic paper did not mention anything about the text disorders. When questioned about her paper being cited by Boost Mobile, Dr. Walsh stated "[It was] not an accurate reflection of my research. The quote (...) in the media release suggests that I researched texting only from a diagnostic perspective. This is not so."[8] Dr Walsh also stated "The terms coined by Boost are a marketing strategy. I am not interested in diagnosing 'texting disorders'."[6] Boost Mobile subsequently launched a Facebook page offering help to "textaholics" suffering from the four disorders. The help turned out to be advertising their fee of 100 texts for one dollar. Media Watch called the marketing campaign "simply unconscionable."[6]
Sponsorships
- Boost Mobile is the current marquee sponsor of the WNBA, the first league-wide sponsor in league history.
- Boost Mobile sponsored a surfing event, the Boost Mobile Pro of Surf (ASP World Tour) until 2008 at Lower Trestles near San Clemente, Calif.[citation needed]
- Boost have also sponsored a professional skateboard event, the Boost Mobile Pro of Skateboarding, and logo-labeled skateboards and accessories.[citation needed]
- Past athletes sponsored by boost include Kelly Slater, Cory Lopez, Ian Walsh, Makua Rothman, Jamie O'Brien, Dane Reynolds, Kolohe Andino, Sunny Garcia, Jamie Bestwick, Paul "P-Rod" Rodriguez, Josh Hansen, Tosh Townsend, Jeff "OX" Kargola, Keir Dillon, Rick Thorne, Danny Kass and Pierre-Luc Gagnon.[citation needed]
- One of Boost's most prominent teams in action sports is the Boost Mobile Freestyle Motocross Worldwide Tour/Team, which travels around the country and performs - as well as features some of the biggest names in Freestyle Motocross.[citation needed]
- Boost Mobile was also the official sponsor of Hot Import Nights, a year long event that brings together cars, models, performance artists together at locations nationwide.[citation needed]
- Boost is the long-time sponsor of UFC and MMA fighter, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.[citation needed]
- Since 2005 Boost Mobile has sponsored the national volunteer efforts of RockCorps to form Boost Mobile RockCorps. The organization encourages youth to volunteer in their communities for four hours by rewarding them with a ticket to an exclusive concert.[citation needed]
- Boost Mobile also sponsored Danica Patrick in the 2009 Indy Racing League season.[citation needed]
- Boost Mobile will sponsor Travis Pastrana in seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races, as well as several NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races in 2011.
In popular culture
- On December 12, 2005, Boost Mobile ran a promotion with Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" block of programming, particularly during Aqua Teen Hunger Force which was the main focus in that night's episode.
- Boost phones have been featured in the films Hotel for Dogs, The Hangover, Grandma's Boy, Employee of the Month and the TV series Dexter and Weeds.
Notes
- ^ a b "As More Wireless Consumers Are Adopting Flat-Rate Prepaid Plans, the Value of the New Boost Mobile Monthly Unlimited Plan Trumps MetroPCS and Cricket". Marketwire.com. 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Silver, Sara (2009-05-05). "Sprint Posts Larger Loss - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ May 4, 2009 — 10:24am ET (2009-05-04). "Boost Mobile to release text delay fix this week". FierceMobileContent. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
{{cite web}}: Text "By Jason Ankeny" ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Boost Mobile Reviews & Information". wontek.com. 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
- ^ "AdFreak: Boost Mobile has bus-stop paper shredders". Adweek.blogs.com. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ a b c "Diagnosis: Gullible". Media Watch. July 12, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ Boost Mobile (30 June 2010). "BOOST MOBILE IDENTIFIES FOUR TEXTING DISORDERS" (PDF). Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ Dr Shari Walsh (July 2, 2010). "Dr Shari Walsh replies to Media Watch" (PDF). Media Watch. Retrieved July 16, 2010.