Boost Mobile expands distribution with Walgreens

Boost Mobile is expanding into more retail locations, with customers now able to sign up for new service at Walgreens stores.

In a press release, the company said Boost Mobile is now available in more than 8,000 Walgreens locations nationwide.

In total, Boost Mobile added almost 16,000 partner retail doors in the past few months.

“We want to make affordable wireless accessible to all Americans, regardless of where they live or shop,” said Stephen Stokols, head of Boost Mobile, in a statement. “With Americans becoming more and more cost conscious, the addition of retail partners like Walgreens enables us to meet our customers in all parts of their lives, helping them discover a more affordable wireless option."

Other recent partner expansions of Boost Mobile SIM kits have included 7-Eleven and Kroger, which are in addition to Boost Mobile’s existing national retail relationships with Walmart, Target and Best Buy, where consumers will find both devices and SIM kits for sale. Boost Mobile also operates more than 4,000 of its own stores.

It’s probably safe to say Walgreens and 7-Eleven typically aren’t where most consumers buy their wireless services, but prepaid brands are present there.

“Buying wireless service at Walgreens is not really a thing,” said Jeff Moore, principal of Wave7 Research. Beyond top-up cards, the wireless service displays at Walgreens are pretty meager, he said.

Boost Infinite status check

The big question on many minds is when Dish will launch its $25/month postpaid brand, Boost Infinite, on a nationwide basis. The full rollout has been pushed back more than once.

A Dish spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fierce’s inquiry on the status of the Boost Infinite launch.

Dish announced late last year that it was making early access beta available, but during the company’s most recent earnings call, company executives stopped short of saying when Boost Infinite will launch commercially nationwide.

John Swieringa, president and COO of Dish Wireless, told investors during the call that it was still offering service primarily to “early access” customers who signed up online to get it and added that in the first half of the year Dish will start marketing the service more widely.

Of course, since that investor event, Dish has been grappling with multiple challenges, including the cyber attack that wreaked havoc on its internal communications and caused service problems for Boost customers, including the ability to pay their bills and activate SIM cards.

Dish launched the online sign-up page for Boost Infinite last year.

“We have not seen Boost Infinite sold at retail in any channel,” Moore told Fierce today.