Radio Shack selling out of Boost Mobile handsets

When I talked to Neil Lindsay from Boost Mobile, he mentioned that the company was pleased with the turn-out at that point for their new unlimited plan. They didn’t have any hard numbers, nor did I really expect them to. We still don’t have any definitive indicators, as the first quarter results likely won’t be released until late April or early May, but a research note from Wachovia sheds some light on the matter. Turns out that many Radio Shack stores are nearly sold out of Boost handsets. That’s definitely good news for both Boost and parent company Sprint, which has seen subscribers flee en masse to other carriers.

The analyst, Jennier (sic?) Fritzsche, writes: “Many of the Radio Shack reps indicated that they have seen a significant pick up in sales and interest since the new unlimited plans were rolled out at the end of January.” Again, this makes all the sense in the world. It’s an attractive offering, and provides value at a time when people are looking for the best bang for their buck. If the unlimited plan is all it’s cracked up to be (and some would say it’s not).

The only problem, it seems, is that Sprint retail store employees are still trying to get people to buy Sprint postpaid service. Again, this makes sense, as Sprint service requires a two-year contract, which is guaranteed income for the company. Boost Unlimited might be something that interests consumers, which is why they’ve offered it. However, it’s not going to be a profit machine in the same way as postpaid. This means Sprint employees will still want to sell customers postpaid.

In other Boost news, they’ve partnered with Local Solutions Network to provide a mobile portal to subscribers. This includes local news, weather, sports , and more. It’s free for unlimited subscribers, and 35 cents a ay for Pay As You Go subscribers (i.e., subscribing to wireless Web).

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