Info: Unlimited By Boost

Here's the first of my "infoposts" on unlimited carriers. Keep in mind that I'll change these to reflect changes in the pricing and such of the plans, and I'll post when I've made the changes. So you can rest assured that these posts will be up to date...

But on to Unlimited by Boost...

This veyr, very new unlimited provider (note provider, not carrier) is the first variant of Boost Mobile to use Sprint's PCS network (all other Boost plans use Nextel's iDEN network). There are rumors that this plan will eventually bridge the non-contract gap between iDEN and PCS, and move customers to PCS in doing so...

With a fairly attractive plan. For $45-$55 a month, depending on your area, (taken out of some sort of prepaid balance, which is interesting), plus taxes which aren't charged now but may be later, you get unlimited minutes (local and long distance), I'm supposing the normal calling features (3-way calling, caller ID, call waiting, etc.), and for now 1x web access (which will soon be charged seperately, at a high 35 cents a day...but then again, Sprint's 1x network is faster than most). Oh,, and incoming texts are free, with outgoing texts sold piecemail at 10 cents each.

The real great thing about this provider is coverage. You can "travel" anywhere on Sprint's own PCS network (but not off of it, at least not without having to break out a credit card) for 15 cents a minute. Plus your home coverage area is quite large compared with the unlimited offering of pretty much everyone else. The service, which is right now only available in California and Texas, covers each state in two or three regions, and inside your home region you get unlimited calling, which is nice...

The only phone available right now is the Motorola c290, which is quite basic (no caller ID display) but good enough (with web and an okay-resolution screen) for a starter phone on Boost. It is $100 with a month of service included, but if you want to get it online it may be as much as $30 more expensive. Best to look on Boost Mobile's normal website (www.boostmobile.com) under the store locator...Unlimited by Boost locations will show up as such, though they're relatively few and far between.

So, to sum things up, right now Boost is on the expensive end of unlimited providers, but shows promise, considering the imminent release of "hybrid" handsets so you can use walkie-talkie and unlimited calling, and other features that should pop up soon (unlimited text, anyone?). And there's that lovely phrase "cheap roaming" that sets this provider apart from the rest...I can't wait till it goes beyond Texas and California (I'm in Texas so I could get it, but I like Pocket better for the moment...)