Nextel To Get Boost In Wireless Youth Marketplace
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 9/2/2002
Irvine, Calif. — Wireless startup Boost Mobile will market Boost-branded prepaid service to the youth market through all Nextel distribution channels, including Nextel-owned stores and indirect retail, Nextel said.
Boost-branded service will be offered over Nextel's network as part of an effort to broaden its customer base beyond businesspeople. Boost will launch service in mid- to late September in Nextel's California and Nevada markets. After six to 12 months, it will go nationwide if the service "meets expectations" or requires only minor tweaking, a Nextel spokeswoman said. "Boost is doing all of the marketing, distribution and customer care," she said.
Nextel is a 60-percent owner of Boost's U.S. operation. The remainder is owned by the founders of Boost's 2-year-old Australian parent, which already offers prepaid services for the youth of Australia and New Zealand.
Neither Boost nor Nextel revealed details of the service plans and phone offerings, but Boost will offer Nextel's push-to-talk feature. Distribution includes master agent/distributor American Wireless of Campbell, Calif. American's customers include small wireless specialists, car stereo stores and business-to-business operations. These companies would be unable to enter wireless on their own, largely because their expected sales volume would be below a carrier's requirements for becoming a direct agent, American said. In addition, through its size and buying power, American provides associate agents with a line of credit for which they wouldn't otherwise qualify. American also pays commissions more quickly and more often than carriers do to their direct agents, easing the cash-flow crunch on small businesses.
No related content found.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES