Telstra today announced that it has acquired MVNO Boost Mobile, giving it a second-budget brand alongside Belong.
Boost Mobile is a Telstra-powered provider specialising in prepaid plans, and is unique in that it is the only MVNO with access to the entire Telstra network. Most other Telstra-powered providers have access to a slightly smaller footprint.
Telstra was already responsible for most operational parts of the Boost Mobile business - including pricing, customer service, and product development - while Boost itself was responsible for marketing and branding.
Telstra says there will be no change for customers with Boost Mobile prepaid plans as part of the acquisition.
Most Boost employees will be integrated into Telstra as a stand-alone team to continue working on the brand. Boost founder Peter Adderton will not continue with the business, however. He told WhistleOut he will be focusing on his telco MobileX in the US.
The acquisition is expected to be completed this month.
Prior to the acquisition, Boost was planning to launch its own range of NBN plans. Adderton told WhistleOut that Boost Broadband would go live in July or August. This didn't happen, and a Telstra spokesperson was unable to confirm the status of the project.
"Our focus is on the acquisition and integration of the team right now," said the Telstra spokesperson. "Future products or how the Boost offers line up isn’t something I’m able to provide any detail on at this stage."
Even if Boost does launch NBN plans under its new Telstra ownership, there's a good chance the execution would be different. For example, Boost had originally partnered with a different wholesale partner - BTB - for NBN.
Update 2.40pm: Received confirmation that founder Peter Adderton will no longer be involved with Boost Mobile in Australia.
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