Boost calls shenanigans on MetroPCS international plan
June 29, 2009/
$5 international calling plan from MetroPCS. International calling has always been an expensive endeavor, with calls costing anywhere from two cents to two dollars per minute plus normal airtime rates. Metro’s new plan demolishes all of those per-minute restrictions. It sounds a bit too good to be true, of course, but there seems to be little tangible evidence that would lead to doubt. Still, something seems fishy, and Justin Brennan, business director for Boost Mobile, thinks that there’s something else going on with the offering. Specifically, he doesn’t understand how Metro can find a profit at such a low price point, when there is literally no limit on how much customers can use the service.
“Anything can be profitable depending on the usage. They’re obviously taking a bet on the usage. … They’re betting customers won’t use it very much.” “We really have seen some seemingly impossible offers like this come from MetroPCS before and what happens is they disappear very quickly, which make it seem that it is too good to be true.”It’s unclear what programs Brennan refers to specifically, but it could be Metro’s recent $3 unlimited plan to Mexico, which excludes calls to cell phones. That provision, however, was noted at the time of announcement. There isn’t necessarily the same type of restriction with the new $5 offering. Customers are encouraged to look up numbers if they are uncertain if the plan covers their calls. What’s strange about this criticism is that we’ve heard similar claims from other carriers about Boost’s own unlimited plan. Notably, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg claimed that Boost’s plan would cause Sprint to “eventually self-destruct.”. Now it seems Boost is lobbing similar charges at another carrier. MetroPCS is a publicly-traded company, and was actually recently added to the S&P 500 last week. If something is awry with this offering, we should find out soon enough.]]>
Posted in Metro by T-Mobile
No doubt an excellent plan. Your premise is correct, MetroPCS, unlike Boost, is a real company, a public company at that and any of its dealings are disclosed to shareholders. Perhaps Boost can explain why it is talking about being “Untaxed” when they charge $2.50 at the time of RTR or where all the handsets for their distribution be at?
Boost is a marketing ploy used by Sprint to unload its pathetic aging, unmarketable iDEN network.
The problem with this plan from MetroPCS is that you have to have an expensive plan to begin with. I have a simple Tracfone which costs me a total of $12 per month, I can make long distance and international calls to over 100 country’s for the same price as a local call. Roaming is free, the reception is great all over America and there are no hidden costs.
Not true, tracfone don’t offer unlimited minutes,
50 min / 9.99
125 min / 19.99
200 min / 29.99