All Boost Mobile customers will be subject to speed caps from April, with the telco set to limit the maximum speeds download speed plans are capable of.
The majority of customers will be limited to speeds of 150Mbps, including those on long-expiry plans. The two exceptions to this are customers on the $50 recharge and $70 recharge. Customers on the $50 recharge will have a cap of 250Mbps, while customers on the $70 recharge will have uncapped speeds. This means the $70 recharge will be able to go as fast as network conditions allow.
These speed caps will come into effect from the first recharge a customer makes after April 4.
April 4 will also mark when 5G becomes a permanent addition to Boost Mobile plans. Boost customers have currently been able to access the 5G network as part of a free trial, which effectively becomes permanent on April 4. All Boost Mobile plans will officially have 5G as an inclusion from that date onward.
The speed cap situation at Boost is similar to what we have seen on other Telstra-powered providers. For example, Telstra's budget brand Belong caps the speeds of all its mobile plans to 100Mbps, but still offers 5G access.
A number of other Telstra-powered providers such as MATE and More have been offering a 5G free trial on certain plans, with speeds once again capped to 100Mbps. These free trials are set to expire at the end of February, but it wouldn't be surprising to see this extended.
Most of these providers also have a more expensive 5G offering with speeds capped to 250Mbps.
As it stands, the 150Mbps cap means Boost will offer faster plans than most other providers on the Telstra network. It is currently also the only Telstra MVNO that has made an indication that it will offer an uncapped plan. Telstra has kept the ability to sell uncapped 5G mobile plans to itself so far.
While speed is often touted as one of 5G's key benefits, 5G also has better network capacity and less lag. Enhanced capacity can help prevent congestion, and 5G allows for more simultaneous connections than 4G or 3G do.
Boost General Manager Jason Haynes says that the company feels 150Mbps will be more than fast enough for most customers.
"We feel this will deliver a fantastic user experience that will enable consumers to get the benefits of 5G across their day-to-day activities, including hotspotting, video streaming, browsing and social media," said Haynes. "We have also developed an uncapped plan for those consumers who need to hotspot multiple devices or regularly transfer large files."
Telstra is also set to add similar speed restrictions on to its prepaid plans in April. Most recharges will be capped to speeds of 150Mbps. Customers on a $50 recharge will get 250Mbps speeds, while customers paying between $60 and $140 for a 28-day recharge will get uncapped speeds.
Updated 18/01/23: Added commentary from Boost Mobile and information about Telstra planning to implement similar speed limits on prepaid.
Alex Choros
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